Executive Overreach Task Force to Examine President's Unilateral Changes to Healthcare and Immigration Laws
Press Release
On Tuesday, March 15, 2016 at 10:00 a.m., the Task Force on Executive Overreach will hold a hearing to examine recent examples of executive overreach in which President Obama has failed to faithfully execute the law, including his failure to constitutionally implement the Affordable Care Act and his abrogation of the nation's immigration laws.
In the Affordable Care Act, Congress provided for clear statutory deadlines for compliance, including the mandate requiring employers to comply with the law after December 31, 2013. Yet the Obama Administration has unilaterally stated its policy is to rewrite the law, not by working with the People's duly elected representatives, but through blog posts, regulatory "fact sheets," and letters. Additionally, the Obama Administration has admitted to using federal taxpayer money to pay subsidies to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act even though appropriations for such payments were never made by Congress. This issue led to a federal district court judge allowing the House of Representative's lawsuit challenging the Administration's use of non-appropriated funds to proceed.
In November 2014, President Obama unilaterally created a program that would suspend immigration laws for potentially over four million people who are in the United States illegally, which is not allowed under the immigration laws passed by Congress. President Obama had previously stated over 20 times his view that it would be illegal for a president to take such a position.
Witnesses for the hearing are:
Ms. Elizabeth P. Papez, Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP
Mr. Josh Blackman, Associate Professor of Law, South Texas College of Law/Houston
Mr. Simon Lazarus, Senior Counsel, Constitutional Accountability Center
Ms. Elizabeth Slattery, Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies; The Heritage Foundation
Below is a statement from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Task Force, on the hearing.
"Throughout his tenure in office, President Obama has used his pen and phone to effectively legislate from the Oval Office. The President has unilaterally rewritten his signature healthcare law to change the employer mandate compliance date as well as use taxpayer dollars to pay subsidies to insurance companies, even though Congress has not authorized such spending. Additionally, the President has changed our nation's immigration laws by executive decree to allow millions of unlawful immigrants to stay and work here despite the fact that Congress has not granted that authority to the President.
"These unilateral, unconstitutional actions pose a threat to our Republic's separation of powers. Next week, the Task Force on Executive Overreach will begin its examination of the President's abuse of authority in domestic affairs and look for solutions to end this growing problem."
This hearing will take place in 2141 Rayburn House Office Building and will be webcast live at https://judiciary.house.gov/. Camera crews wishing to cover must be congressionally-credentialed and RSVP with the House Radio-TV Gallery at (202) 225-5214.
Background on the Task Force: The Task Force on Executive Overreach is authorized for six months and will study the impact the increase in presidential and executive branch power has had on the ability of Congress to conduct oversight of the executive branch, the lack of transparency that furthers unchecked executive power, and the constitutional requirement of the President to faithfully execute the law. Additionally, the task force will review the tools at the disposal of the Congress to restore the proper balance of powers and hold the executive branch accountable. It will also make recommendations where there are deficiencies, including legislative solutions.
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