First Among Equals No More
Congress has fallen down on the job. As a result, we simply do not have the same system of government the Framers established in the Constitution. The effects are ruinous – an $18 trillion national debt, imperial presidents who trash the rule of law with impunity, agencies that act like overlords, and significant restrictions on the ability of the people to hold their government accountable through elections. A group of congressional conservatives launched the Article 1 project in February 2016 to get Congress up off the floor and back in charge of the legislative power of government, large parts of which Congress has ceded to the Executive and the runaway administrative state. The Project launch event featured a number of speakers discussing how to restore Congress to its rightful place as the first branch of government among equals. Watch the full video of the launch below.
Some highlights:
Dimensions of the Problem
- The Constitution states ALL legislative power SHALL be vested in a Congress, but the reality now is that SOME legislative power MAY be exercised by Congress.
- Fresh off their experience with King George, the Framers wanted a comparatively weak executive.
- The first seven grievances of the Declaration of Independence were about executive overreach.
- In 11 years, all federal revenues will be consumed by unfunded labilities, mandatory spending, and interest on the national debt with nothing left over for defense or to run the government.
- Federal overreach and mission creep regarding public lands has resulted in the federal government owning or controlling one-third of the entire land mass of the United States.
- EPA through its Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule claims the power to regulate every puddle in the country, a clear usurpation of legislative power (WOTUS is currently held up in court).
- Antiquities Act abuse has allowed successive presidents to designate wide areas comprising millions of acres as ‘national monuments’, something Congress never intended.
Power of the Purse
- spending is on autopilot with no one in charge.
- having one up-or-down vote on a single, all-encompassing omnibus spending bill for the year is no way to govern.
Regulation
- Congress writes vague laws – blank checks, really – and deliberately leaves agencies to fill in the blanks.
- 95 percent of laws are now made by bureaucrats.
- 4,000 regulations are promulgated every year.
Proposed Solutions
- Institute a ‘one subject at a time’ rule for bills (like in the Florida constitution – The Truth 5/11/14).
Power of the Purse
- Bring back a ‘Byrd Commission’ for deep oversight of appropriations and how money is being spent.
- End the practice of self-funded agencies that get their money from fines, penalties, and fees; bring all revenue into one purse (i.e., all agency receipts are turned over to the Treasury).
- Send one-fourth of an appropriation to an agency at a time with explicit instructions on how and how not to spend it; deduct amounts from remaining installments if the agency fails to comply. This avoids government shutdowns over all-or-nothing appropriations.
Regulation
- For starters, stop creating new agencies.
- Congress needs a way to zero out (defund) objectionable agency activities.
- Create a formal mechanism to put Congress and representatives of affected industries into the rule-making process.
- Pass a law to shut down the EPA’s claimed authority to regulate greenhouse gases.
- Pass the REINS Act to bring major regulations having an impact of $100 million or more before Congress for an up-or-down vote.
