WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an effort to push back against Executive Branch overreaches, Rep. Martha Roby, R-Montgomery, today announced her support of a House resolution designed to bring legal action against the Obama Administration and compel the judicial branch to rein it in.
The STOP Resolution (Stop This Overreaching Presidency) is sponsored by South Carolina Republican Rep. Tom Rice. It would direct a civil action on behalf of the House of Representatives in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging particularly egregious, unilateral Obama Administration actions that flout Constitutional restraints on the Executive Branch, including:
· The lifting of Affordable Care Act-mandated requirements on the type of insurance providers can offer;
· The one-year delay of the health care law’s employer mandate;
· The adoption of a policy against deporting certain illegal immigrants, counter to U.S. immigration and naturalization laws; and
· The decision to waive compliance with “welfare to work” laws.
“Our Constitutional constraints on government are not always convenient for political or policy goals, but they are necessary for preserving the checks and balances that ensure government still derives its authority from the people,” Rep. Roby said. “The Obama Administration isn’t the first to overstep its Constitutional authority, but its actions over the last few years have been especially blatant and egregious. We must act to rein in the Executive Branch and restore our basic, cherished principle of separation of powers.”
Two recent judicial actions have thwarted the Obama Administration’s attempts to flout the law and act outside of the Constitutionally-prescribed role of the Executive Branch. One was a strong ruling overturning President Obama’s attempt to appoint National Labor Relations Board members without Senate approval. The other was a rare mandamus order from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting the Administration’s attempt to simply not enforce congressionally-enacted laws relating to Yucca Mountain and nuclear waste.
Additionally, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to take up a case arguing that federal subsidies for ObamaCare exchanges are unconstitutional. A ruling could be made soon.
“Working through the courts can take time,” Roby said. “But, the Judicial Branch has shown a greater willingness of late to rein in these overreaches from the Obama Administration. Attorneys General from the states have done a great job challenging these abuses, and now it’s time for Congress to take action as well.”
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