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U.S. Representative John Boehner
Protecting the
Constitution
Over the past five years, President Obama has circumvented the American
people and their elected representatives through executive action,
changing and creating his own laws, and excusing himself from enforcing
statutes he is sworn to uphold.
We’re not going to sit idly by while this president chips away at the
very foundation of our democracy, which is why the House is now
initiating legal action to compel the president to follow his oath of
office and faithfully execute the laws of our country.
While the president would like you to believe that this is some kind of
Republican stunt, let me be clear – this isn't about Republicans versus
Democrats; it’s about protecting the Constitution.
And when I heard the president respond to our plan with a lighthearted,
“So sue me,” – I was extremely disappointed.
This is no joke, Mr. President. The American people are
frustrated.
As Hope from Liberty Township puts it, “The tax-paying, hard-working
citizens of the USA deserve better than what we have in this
administration.”
Sharon from Tipp City recently wrote to me, saying, “Something must be
done to stop his abuse of power, trampling of constitutional rights,
and his refusal to follow the law.”
Just take a look at what the Constitution says about all of this.
It’s simple, really: the president must faithfully execute the
laws, and only the Legislative Branch has the power to legislate.
But the current president has demonstrated that he believes he has the
power to make his own laws – at times even boasting about it. He
has said that if Congress won’t make the laws he wants, he’ll go ahead
and make them himself.
In the case of the health care law’s employer mandate – which is
arguably the best known example of his executive overreach – the
president changed the law without a vote of Congress, effectively
creating his own law by literally waiving the mandate and the penalties
for failing to comply with it. Simply put, he legislated without
the Legislative Branch – and the Constitution doesn’t give presidents
the power to do that.
No president should have such authority – that’s not the way our system
of government was designed to work, and that’s not how the American
people expect their government to run. This aggressive
unilateralism practiced by President Obama presents a direct challenge
to the constitutional balance of powers, and the House is compelled to
respond.
This is not a stunt or joke. This is about standing up for the
Legislative Branch, and the Constitution, and that’s exactly what the
House is going to do.
Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Butler,
Clark, Darke, Miami, and Preble counties, and the southernmost part of
Mercer County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.
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