And frankly, I think Congress should stop trying to dodge responsibility by letting the executive stretch its authority to take care of problems Congress won't.
This is exactly why the executive should not be responsible for doing this, but instead the slower-moving legislature, so that changing the policy requires Congress to act rather than the whim of the current executive. Congress is utterly unwilling to exercise any power, and instead wants to hand off power to regulatory bodies run by the executive.
This is a great point. Congress is abdicating its responsibility to enact proper legislation and allowing this issue to be decided by the whims of whatever the executive branch wants (which is subject to change every 4 years). We need certainty with regards to this issue, and this is not the only example of congress abdicating its responsibilities (war, healthcare, immigration, etc.).
Is it though? I totally support the idea of the action, but it really feels like it should have come from congress. They are supposed to be the law makers. It feels like everytime congress fails, and we have to resort to executive actions to do every day legislation more power is being ceded to the executive branch.
Congress has delegated the authority to make these decisions to regulatory agencies. If congress wants that authority back, they can get it back via legislation. The responsibility for the current situation starts and stops with congress. The executive branch is doing what congress has asked it to do, and the executive branch would stop doing those things the moment that congress legislated the authority back to themselves.
Congress delegated this rule-making power to the executive. Congress is legally empowered to do this.
If you are unhappy about this, why won't you have congress undelegate this power? It is fully within its powers to do just that. You seem to believe that congress doing its job is the solution to this problem - why not solve it through congress doing its job?
This is just one of many examples of congress delegating it's law making duty to the executive -- normally so it can avoid any responsibility for it's actions. If the policy is not popular they blame the executive, the policy is successful they point to their delegation of power.
Hopefully, we'll see congress take back the reigns more and if anything delegate things to the states and instead of the executive.
The common excuse is that the expertise lies in the executive so they should control the rules. This can be easily answered by allowing the executive to draft the rules, but to have congress involved whenever they're changed.
Look, you can't both claim that the government is responsible for the behaviour of the executive agencies, while also claiming it's unaccountable for the behavior of the executive agencies.
Congress delegated some parts of rulemaking authority to them. It can do that. It has done that. Congress can always undelegate it, if it thinks that the agencies are doing a poor job. Or it can pass laws that modify their mandates.
Given that it doesn't do much of that, it seems to be pretty happy with the job they are doing. (You know who isn't happy? A bunch of unelected, unaccountable, partisan life-time appointees, who seem to be have a habit of legislating from the bench, ruling on hypothetical cases, or on straight-up fabricated facts...)
If you don't like a legislature that doesn't do anything, consider electing a legislature that actually wants to legislate (the current Congress ain't it.)
Bullshit. Congress has been exercising the power of the purse all along, passing budgets with deficits. Congress does not have the power to default on our obligations. The executive taking corrective action is worse than the congress doing so, but it's the congresses fault for failing to do their jobs not any sort of power grab.
Domestic policy is really Congress's responsibility, but they've granted a lot of regulatory authority to the executive in the past few decades. You can lobby them to take back some of that authority and do something sensible with it.
When the Congress hands the Executive fast-track authority for such dealings, it is quite disingenuous to point the finger at the Executive. The Executive branch is going to take and hold every single power the Congress grants it. The Congress is there to balance a runaway Executive.
Congress surrendered the authority. They are the ones to blame.
Agreed completely. I feel like this administration exists simply to taunt Congress to take actual action with regards to its wild swings on various issues.
Congress has given way too much power over to the executive, and having the most corrupt real estate developer in a city frankly renowned for the corruption of its real estate developers in charge of the executive should be teaching Congress that they need to actually exercise power rather than just handing it over to whoever is sitting at that desk.
There is plenty of blame to go around... Congress is very much a problem but their problem normally stems from the creation of a MASSIVE administrative state so they do not actually have to pass laws they just pass a statement that says "X agency will make rules to go Y goal"
There are countless situations in which Congress tries to punt its responsibility to the other branches. If they want to be a responsibility-free elected TV pundit class that lives high on the taxpayer hog, then let's amend the constitution accordingly. Congress just tries to delegate responsibility to the other two branches so it can get back to fundraising, "investigating," and grandstanding.
The Congress has the Constitutional Responsibility to act as a check on the Executive Branch, through several means, up to and including impeachment of the Executive. Trump has done several things this past year alone that would have led to censure or impeachment had they been done by past Presidents. If Congress refuses to fulfill its duty, then they deserve the anger they are receiving.
And frankly, I think Congress should stop trying to dodge responsibility by letting the executive stretch its authority to take care of problems Congress won't.
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