Legislation aims to protect Constitution |
| March 13, 2014 |
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Representative Raúl Labrador (R-ID) voted for
legislation Wednesday that will ensure that
President Obama does not ignore his
Constitutional duties and abuse his power. The Congressman joined a majority of his House colleagues in voting for H.R. 4138, the Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe and Respect Congressional Enactments of the Law (ENFORCE the Law) Act. This bill would grant the House or Senate the authority to file a lawsuit against the executive branch for failure to faithfully execute the laws. “The President has a Constitutional duty to enforce all of America’s laws, not pick and choose which ones he wants to enforce,” Labrador said. “Unfortunately, President Obama has waged a deliberate campaign to expand executive power at the expense of Congress – a campaign that threatens the rule of law and jeopardizes our most basic liberties. We, in Congress, have a right – indeed, an obligation – to respond to the President’s abuse of power and reverse it. This is not a partisan issue. All Americans, regardless of party, want to see our Constitutional order protected. The bill we approved will give us a new tool in restoring the Constitutional balance of power, although it would be better if the President started working with us, not against us.” Examples of the President’s failure include delaying the Obamacare employer mandate; the virtual enactment of most of the Dream Act; and granting welfare work requirement waivers in violation of the 1996 welfare reform law. The Constitution does not delegate legislative authority to the President to rewrite, amend, or delay duly-enacted Constitutional laws. Only Congress can do that. At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee on February 26, constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley said President Obama’s executive overreach has brought us to a “constitutional tipping point” that needs to be addressed. |