Griffin: House Holding President Obama Accountable for Ignoring His Own Law, Others He Doesn't Like
Press Release
Congressman Tim Griffin (AR-02) issued the following statement after the House passed the Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe and Respect Congressional Enactments of the Law (ENFORCE the Law) Act (H.R. 4138):
"This legislation shouldn't be necessary, but President Obama's refusal to enforce many provisions of his own health care law, as well as other laws he simply doesn't like, represents a breach of trust that harms our system of government. His threat to veto this bill only underscores the importance of holding the President accountable and passing this legislation."
The ENFORCE the Law Act would, according to Rep. Trey Gowdy's (SC-04) office, put "a procedure in place to permit the House, or the Senate, to authorize a lawsuit against the Executive Branch for failure to faithfully execute the laws. The legislation also provides for expedited consideration of any such lawsuit, first through a three-judge panel at the federal district court level and then by providing for direct appeal to the United States Supreme Court. This expedited review is crucial in order to ensure that when a lawsuit is brought against the Administration to enforce our laws, the courts not only grant Congress standing, but also hear the case on an expedited timeline to prevent the President from stalling the litigation until his term is up."
Article II, section 3, of the U.S. Constitution states that the President "shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed."
In 2008, then-Senator Obama said: "I taught constitutional law for 10 years. I take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with George Bush trying to bring more and more power into the executive branch and not go through Congress at all. And that's what I intend to reverse when I'm President of the United State of America."
To date, President Obama has made 20 changes to a single law, Obamacare, through unilateral administrative action, according to The Galen Institute.
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