Posted on 01/04/2012 10:18:49 PM PST by Libloather
Republican lawmaker: Obama recess appointment is attack on Constitution
By Pete Kasperowicz - 01/04/12 12:39 PM ET
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) on Wednesday predicted that the Obama administration's decision to recess-appoint Richard Cordray as director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) would lead to numerous legal challenges against the agency that will render it unable to function for the foreseeable future.
"President Obama has delegitimized the CFPB and has opened the agency up to legitimate legal challenges that will cripple it for years," Bachus said. "The greatest threat to our economy right now is uncertainty, and the president just guaranteed there will be even more uncertainty."
Bachus did not threaten a legal challenge from Congress, and others have suggested that only a financial institution that is harmed by a CFPB rule would have the standing to challenge Cordray's appointment.
Still, Bachus was one of a several Republicans who blasted the Cordray nomination as an end-run around what had been an established rule that no recess appointments can be made as long as the Senate is meeting in occasional, pro forma sessions. The Senate met in a pro forma session Tuesday and has another one planned for Friday.
Bachus said the decision to ignore this precedent is an attack on the Constitution.
"The President's unprecedented decision to attempt to circumvent the Constitution and ignore the law he himself signed is the clearest indication yet that he has abandoned any effort to work in a bipartisan manner to strengthen accountability and oversight of this new government bureaucracy," he said.
Bachus said Republicans have sought to modify the CFPB, including by creating a five-member board to run the agency and setting up a process for reviewing CFPB rules. These changes were included in a bill that passed the House last year.
The sponsor of that bill, Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), also complained about the recess appointment on Wednesday.
"I am deeply disappointed in President Obama's decision to circumvent Congress and completely disregard our government's system of checks and balances in order to appoint a director to the flawed CFPB," Duffy said.
Duffy noted that more than 40 senators told Obama last year that they would oppose any nomination to the CFPB as it currently stands. "President Obama's decision to ignore these concerns has set a horrible precedent of allowing the president to side-step Congress and the American people at his own convenience," he said.
One of the signatories to the Senate letter, Sen. Mike Johanns (R-Neb.), said Wednesday that he too is "deeply disappointed" in the White House announcement.
"Republicans have asked the president to work with us to give the newly created — and extremely powerful — board a level of transparency and accountability," Johanns said. "Americans don't want another unelected czar with no accountability appointed by this administration. But the president is choosing to dismiss these concerns in favor of political convenience."
Just do it.
Let’s be very clear. Obama didn’t appoint Cordray as head of the CFPB. He doesn’t have that power. If he claims to have done so, he’s lying and can be ignored. Any affected organization should refuse to acknowledge the CFPB as legitimate as long as Cordray attempts to direct it. Will that land them in court? Sure. That’s to be desired.
Wow, what profound insight! Next, the 'Pubbies will tell us that BO is half black!
The Congress gave the POTUS this power and the Congress will have to take it away. Too many presidents on either side of the aisle have abused their authority, not just zero.
If these lawmakers are genuinely upset by all of this, they should use their true power and ZERO some budgets for the agencies involved. Congress could totally shutdown the NLRB by turning it’s budget into a ‘circle’ in the federal budget.
If they don’t do so, they are simply making a bunch of noise when they are complaining to the media.
They also should ignore all rules by the NLRB as it lacks a legal quorum, three of it’s ‘members’ being fraudulently ‘appointed’. That should be their first argument in any court proceedings.
Can’t the House withhold funding?
And isn’t Bachaus the person who ought to resign due to self-dealing corruption that would put any lay person in jail?
“Obama recess appointment is attack on Constitution”
Um, actually it’s ANOTHER attack on our Constitution!
Kind of like the Stalinist “Indefinite Detention of American citizens without trial” by “Presidential Authority” so many from both sides of the isle approved a few days ago.
Congress obliges in tearing up the constitution one day and then expects the socialist in the white house to abide by that same constitution the next day?
Yah, THAT is completely reasonable! /S
This sort of stupidity is why we need a genuine Constitutional Constructionist with the guts to act on congressional tripe as our next president!
“Conservative” has been watered down to the point of meaning nothing more than whatever the MSM wants it to mean when they use it as a pejorative term.
From what I have read there is no basis for a lawsuit unless someone has been harmed who can file the suit, called standing. That could take many months before it happens and the specific case may not make Obama look bad to voters. This is why Republicans are just talking no action.
This is just another political re-election strategy move by Obama to help him get re-elected.
His base liberals (progressives) are delighted
Average moderate voters either don't care or think he is helping them with this agency
Republicans are mad about it, but they won't do anything they wouldn't anyway.
Still waiting for a (congressional) Republican counter political strategy. Them just complaining about this with no effective plan of action is a waste of time and what Obama is counting on.
“House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.)”
If he will make a big issue of this, and take it to court, it will go a long way to redeeming himself.
Just sayin’...
Yeah, just what I thought, you're just going to squawk and grumble and let him keep on his path of destruction.
Pfffft!
All they hire are liberals. Women, minorities, gays, affirmative action. The Federal Gov't is a jobs program for liberals or at least this agency is. I would love to stroll into an office of this new bureaucratic sinkhole and see who works there
Article 1, Section 5 of the Constitution of the United States...
“Clause 4: Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.”
Boehner didn’t recess the House, and they have been having pro-forma sessions. Congress is NOT in recess, so Obama has violated the Constitution WRT his recess appointments.
This is a blatant violation of the Constitution, and I highly suspect that something will be done about it.
Well, I sure won’t be holding my breath waiting for the Republicans to hold him to any Constitutional standards. They certainly haven’t set any precedent in that regard now have they?
That's all well known.
But as I pointed out a lawsuit can't be filed without a plaintiff having ‘standing’ or it will get thrown out. So that means waiting until someone is harmed by this new agency. But that might be a credit card company or mortgage bank trying to charge fees or foreclose. Politically that would help Obama get re-elected with the case not being decided until after the election.
That is why Republicans are just talking not doing anything. The Republican party really is the clueless party.
“This is a blatant violation of the Constitution, and I highly suspect that something will be done about it.”
I wish I was that optimistic.
Need to ask them, “So, What does Congress need to do to never be in recess?”
Ask them “Would it be unConstitutional for GOP to declare never to go on recess, thereby denying the president a right to recess appoint?”
Bitching about it is one thing, doing something about it is another.
If the republicans don’t jump on this quick and actually do something vice talkking about it, it means nothing.
Personally, I wake up every morning hoping Obama has a vision, thinks he’s Jim Jones and pull a Jonestown with his administration.
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