Rep. Kelly Holds Obama Administration Accountable for Circumventing Congress to Change Laws
Sends letter co-signed by 20 Members of Congress to AG Holder seeking Constitutional justification for President Obama’s unilateral action
WASHINGTON — Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) issued the following statement today in regard to a letter he authored and submitted to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder this afternoon requesting an explanation of the constitutional authority on which the Obama administration intends to carry out the president’s pledge to use his “pen” and “phone” to “take executive actions and administrative actions” affecting existing laws without congressional involvement.
“This week, the American people witnessed the latest instance of President Obama taking unilateral action to change existing law when he once again delayed part of Obamacare’s job-killing employer mandate. This provocative act of skirting the law in order to salvage a failed law is utterly unacceptable. The administration must be held accountable for its constant attempts to legislate from the executive branch.
“If past behavior is any indicator of future behavior, then this president is bound to continue fulfilling his ominous vow to use his ‘pen’ to circumvent Congress – and the Constitution – for the sake of political convenience. At the very least, the American people deserve a detailed defense from the administration’s top lawyer as to why this flagrant disregard for our system of checks and balances is not an unlawful violation of the constitutional framework of our government. And if they believe that such a violation does not matter, then they should say so.
“Our Constitution requires, and Americans demand, that all of our nation’s elected leaders respect the system of laws under which they are compelled to abide. This letter was written to serve that purpose. My fellow co-signers and I will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that no politician’s ambitions – especially the president’s – ever take him or her beyond the rule of law.”
NOTE: Rep. Kelly’s letter was co-signed by 20 members of the House of Representatives, including: Trent Franks (AZ-08), Lynn Jenkins (KS-02), Blake Farenthold (TX-27), Kerry Bentivolio (MI-11), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03), Jack Kingston (GA-01), Tim Griffin (AR-02), Randy Weber (TX-14), Steve Stockman (TX-36), Phil Gingrey (GA-11), Phil Roe (TN-01), Matt Salmon (AZ-05), Cynthia Lummis (WY-At large), Kevin Cramer (ND-At large), James Lankford (OK-05), Ted Yoho (FL-03), Ron DeSantis (FL-06), Paul Broun (GA-10), Mike Conaway (TX-11), and Kevin Yoder (KS-03). The letter can be viewed here.
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