Washington, D.C.  – This week, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) made the following remarks on the floor of the House during debate about House Resolution 676, which authorizes a lawsuit by House of Representatives against President Obama.

 “I rise in support of this effort to restore every branch of this government to its proper constitutional bounds.  This is not about politics. If there were a Republican President doing the same thing.  I would feel just as strongly.  This is about the Constitution.

 “Our Constitution was drafted deliberately to ensure that the greatest power in our government resided closely with the people.  That is why the portion dealing with Congress was placed first. In Article I, the framers placed the ultimate power of creating and changing laws with the Congress, and they particularly empowered the House of Representatives: the People’s House. 

 “Every two years, members of this House face the voters, and our actions in this body are judged.  No other member of this government must submit to the judgment of the people more regularly.

 “For too long, this body, under the leadership of both Democrats and Republicans, has ceded parts of our Constitutional authority to the executive branch and to agencies that are, at best, remotely accountable to voters. 

 “It is time for that to stop, and today we take a step to make it stop.  This lawsuit is about actions. The actions of an administration that has claimed more power than it has been given, even when we have already given it more authority than we should have.

 “I bear no animus to this President, but I strongly disagree with many of his policies, his stated priorities and, ultimately, his actions.  This lawsuit is not entered into lightly: it is not our first response, but rather, it is our last resort. I will vote yes on this resolution:  not for electoral gain, but rather to preserve our Constitution and the separation of powers enshrined therein.”

 At a recent hearing about this resolution, George Washington University law Professor Jonathan Turley said the following about President Obama’s overreach.

 “The President’s pledge to effectively govern alone is alarming but what is most alarming is his ability to fulfill that pledge,” said Professor Turley.  “When a president can govern alone, he can become a government unto himself, which is precisely the danger that the Framers sought to avoid in the establishment of our tripartite system of government.  In perhaps the saddest reflection of our divisive times, many of our citizens and Members are now embracing the very model of a dominant executive that the Framers fought to excise from our country almost 250 years ago.”

 The resolution passed on a 225-201 vote.

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