Should we be giving the President authority to meddle in our economy without oversight? I think not! We will be voting on a bill that does that today. Rep. Ron Paul, in 2007, stated eloquently why he was opposed to reauthorizing the DPA. What he said then about the risk of giving the President too much power is even truer today. I requested a recorded vote today on HR 4809, and I plan to vote nay later this afternoon. Here are Rep. Pauls words from 2007: No one questions the need for the Federal Government to obtain the necessary resources to fulfill its constitutional role of providing for the common defense. However, the Federal government must fulfill this duty in a manner that does not conflict in any way with the Constitution or endanger republican government. The Defense Production Reauthorization Act (DPA), which gives almost unchecked power to the executive to interfere in the economy in the name of `national security, fails both of these standards. In fact, when I inquired at the sole hearing held on this bill as to which section of the Constitution authorized such sweeping grants of power to the Executive, I was greeted by silence from the `expert witnesses! Under this bill, the President is given authority to void private contracts in order to ensure that federal defense priorities, as determined by the executive, are met. The only limitation on the Presidents judgment is a requirement that he submit a series of `findings to Congress. The Executive also has what appears to be unchecked authority to use financial incentives such as loan guarantees, direct loans, and purchase guarantees to ensure production of items he determines are in the national interest. Congress appears to have no ability to perform any real oversight of a Presidential action under the DPA. In fact, my office has been informed by the Congressional Research Service that past Presidents may have invoked the DPA without even submitting the required findings to Congress! His complete statement can be found here in the congressional record: thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/?&dbname=cp108&sid=cp108Fcd3R&refer=&r_n=hr056.108&item=&&&sel=TOC_35808& And here is a link to the $390 million dollar CBO score for this bill: cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/hr4809.pdf SHARE if you are opposed to giving the president this executive authority.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 20:00:02 +0000
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