Power corrupts, doesn’t it?

President considers executive order on cyber-security

President Obama is considering circumventing Congress’  inability to pass legislation implementing certain cyber-security measures his administration wants to see in effect. His response, apparently, is to consider implementing the measures via executive order.

Does this report not bother anybody? It bothers me a bunch. It bothers me because I am seeing the legislative branch being bypassed all too often, in my humble opinion, by recent administrations (especially the most recent) using questionable methods.

The most obvious is the use of executive orders, signing statements and intelligence findings. I understand the necessity of each; however, I do have reservations about even that. I realize that Congress has sometime in the past given presidents the authority to use such tools, I just think their use has become abused and not limited as it should be.

But then, that always is the case, isn’t it?

For example, until about 100 years ago, there were few regulatory agencies in the United States and those that existed enforced Congressional laws, not their own. Then, in the early part of the 20^th Century, new agencies were created to protect the public. As the years passed, these agencies were given more and more power to draw up their own rules and regulations to enforce. Of course, Congress had a check, but basically once a rule was in the Federal Register, it became law. This is not because the Congress approved it, but it is assumed to be approved under the authorizing statute.

 

Code of Federal Regulations

 

Now, the justification for this is that Congress is too busy, or lacks the technical expertise, to micromanage these various agencies and delegates its authority to make the law to these parts of the executive branch.

Now, what Congress can do, Congress can do, although a simpleton like myself thinks it is abdicating its responsibility … but then Congresses have been doing that since the revolution. One of my favorite songs from the musical 1776 is John Adams’ lament “Piddle, Diddle and Resolve.”

What becomes bothersome is that there appears to be no real check or balance to this federal rule making and it seems to be really open to abuse of powers.

So, here we have a president, whose agenda can’t get passed by Congress, issuing executive orders to various and sundry federal agencies telling them either to ignore existing law and invent new law (amnesty for young illegal immigrants) or to make new rules that put certain policies, not Congressionally mandated or authorized, into effect (Aid to Libyan and Syrian insurgents, wavers for mandates under the Affordable Care Act, etc.) and we are not supposed to question anything?

I am sorry, but this really bothers me. If it bothers you too, then think about it. I would like to know what we can do. I would hope an election would change things, but do you think it will?

Anyway, the random thought of the day.