It may seem somewhat peculiar and some may even say ridiculous, but on Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal, a federal judge declared that the House of Representatives had a legitimate case in suing the president. The issue at hand is related to President Obama's implementation of ObamaCare. Congress never appropriated funds for ObamaCare and it has also had major complaints with the Obama administration and its inability to "faithfully execute ObamaCare's employer mandate by issuing regulations lowering the percentage of employees who must be offered insurance and delaying the mandate's effective date for two years."(The Wall Street Journal) The Obama administration attempted to mitigate the lawsuit by declaring that the question at hand was purely a "political question" and thus it can not be contested in court. Federal District Judge Rosemary Collyer had different thoughts on the issue and finally declared that Congress does in fact have a legitimate case, because the House of Representatives is being harmed as an institution. Judge Collyer referred back to the Constitution to make her point clear by stating that Congress is using the suit to keep the Executive's power in check. Congress is supposed to have full control over appropriating funds and by denying a program or institution funds than it obviously does not support the program. By attaining funds from some other means the Obama administration has taken Congress out of the process and has limited its power as an institution. The ruling in favor of Congress gives the legislative branch the ability to express its discontent with the executive branch in a very different way, but it still remains unclear on whether or not this method of suing the Obama administration will actually prove effective.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-win-for-congress-and-a-setback-for-obamacare-1441928788
2 comments:
Wow, it definitely seems as though Congress has a lot of issue it could potentially shutdown over! First the Iran Nuclear Deal, then Planned Parenthood, and now ObamaCare. This really highlights how the executive has really played a major role in American politics since Congress has become more polarized and less willing to do their one of their most important jobs: passing legislation. There definitely has been a shift of power from Congress to the President in recent years. What does Congress's willingness to shutdown reveal? What does this reveal about the two Congresses at work? These are questions that would be interesting to think about in regards to Congress and what it's been dealing with recently.
After reaching 11th hour deals of budget issues time and time again and the extended government shutdown last year, it should come as no surprise that Congress is preparing for another stalemate over Obamacare. Partisanship is at an all time high. These conflicts originate due to the strength of each political party, and their unwillingness to compromise. The other power shift this conflict highlights, as Mariel mentioned, is the strengthening of the executive branch. A big indicator of this is the both the sheer number of executive orders and how far they go to do things beyond Congress. President Obama has used executive orders on drones and the ACA, among other things. This sets a dangerous precedent, especially considering the cast of characters running for president in 2016 (including Donald Trump).
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