U.S. Representative John Boehner
House-Passed Bill Holds President Accountable for Enforcing the Law

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) issued the following statement today commending House passage of the Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe and Respect Congressional Enactments of the Law (ENFORCE the Law) Act (H.R. 4138) sponsored by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC):

“The president doesn’t get to decide which laws he’s going to enforce any more than Americans get to decide which laws they’re going to follow. That’s not what the framers envisioned, and it’s not what the president agreed to when he swore to ‘preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’ Unfortunately, this president has a pattern of ignoring laws he doesn’t agree with and re-writing others to accommodate his political agenda. The bill passed by the House today, thanks to the leadership of Jim Gerlach, Trey Gowdy, and Tom Rice, would hold the president accountable by allowing the House or the Senate to file a lawsuit on behalf of the American people if the administration fails to execute the laws. The fact that the president would threaten to veto a measure requiring him to uphold his Constitutional obligations underscores why this bill is needed, and why Senate Democrats should pass it immediately.”