Paul Bill on Executive Orders Gets Hearing in House PDF Print E-mail
FOR RELEASE: October 28, 1999

Paul Bill on Executive Orders Gets Hearing in House Congressman to testify on Separation of Powers

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Ron Paul said he is "both pleased and grateful" that two House sub-committees held hearings this week regarding presidential abuse of executive orders. The Legislative and Budget Process Subcommittee of the House Rules Committee meets today to discuss the issue, which is the topic of Congressman Ron Paul's HR 2655, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act.
Paul's bill will also get a hearing tomorrow at 10 a.m. in Room 2237 of the Rayburn House Office Building in the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee. Paul will testify on the bill and will spell out why it continues to be necessary. He will address both past presidential abuses of executive orders and the immediate potential for further abuses, as well detailing how this legislation specifically provides remedies when such abuses are attempted. Paul introduced the bill on July 30, just prior to the August recess of Congress. The bill currently has more than a dozen cosponsors.
In his testimony, Paul states, "For far too many years, the illegitimate uses (of executive orders) have overshadowed the legitimate. Presidents have issued executive orders that have mistakenly taken on the semblance of law. . . The Separation of Powers Restoration Act is designed to restore the separation of powers between Congress and the president as set forth in Articles I and II of the United States Constitution by: (1) terminating all existing states of national emergency and removing from the executive branch any power to declare national emergencies; (2) vesting power in Congress alone to declare states of national emergency; (3) restricting presidential power to issue executive orders by denying to them any force of law except as provided for by Congress; and (4) repealing the 1973 War Powers Resolution."
Paul also points, as an example of potential further abuse, to the November 1st, 1999, issue of U.S. News & World Report, which states that "Clinton plans a series of executive orders and changes to federal rules that he can sign into law without first getting the ok from GOP naysayers. White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was quoted as saying, 'There's a pretty wide sweep of things we're looking to do, and we're going to be very aggressive in pursuing it.'"
Paul further says, "That powers have been usurped is undeniable, and that our system is out of balance is evident to the most casual of observers. We have the opportunity to more perfectly balance our system and restrict potential abuses. That is what this bill, HR 2655, is designed to do."