With the recent Supreme Court decisions and President Obama’s continued threats to “go it alone” and circumvent Congress,  Congressman Huizenga wrote an op-ed discussing the need for Congress to defend it’s constitutional standing and use it’s constitutional authority to serve as a check to an expanding Executive Branch.
During the first two years of his presidency, President Obama had little reason to worry about legislative branch opposition to his policy positions. Democrats controlled both the House and the Senate, and he resided in the White House. During this time, the President and his allies in Congress were able to pass enormous “one-size fits all” legislation. Both Obamacare and Dodd-Frank became law with little bipartisan consideration. Then, in 2010, Republicans took control of the House and President Obama’s absolute control over two branches of the federal government came to an end.
Without control of the House, the President knew his approach had to change, so he embarked on what can only be described as an epic public relations campaign against congressional Republicans. He created straw-men along the way to serve his various political purposes. Heated debate continued as newspapers, cable news, and social media provided even more outlets for charged political rhetoric from both sides that only furthered the divide between the Chief of the Executive Branch and his opposition in the legislative branch.
The divide deepened when President Obama took the unprecedented step of making several “recess appointments” despite the Senate being in pro forma session. The President now routinely displays disregard for the restrictions the Constitution places on his office, often repeating various iterations of the phrase: If Congress won’t act, I will. His Administration has now made it a habit of consistently exceeding its constitutional authority. Recently, the President released five captured terrorists from Guantanamo Bay without notifying Congress, despite recently signing into law legislation that required such notification. At the direction of the White House, the EPA continues to “legislate by fiat” on carbon emission standards in an attempt to circumvent Congress. The Obama administration has also made numerous unilateral changes to Obamacare, without congressional approval. Despite all this, hope remains in checking executive overreach and restoring the balance of power.
Read the entire op-ed on Red Alert Politics HERE