Rand Paul Introduces Bill to Block Obama’s Illegal “Executive Orders”

01 Mar, 2014 by Dustin Siggins

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Despite President Obama’s consistent violations of the rule of law — such as his executive actions regarding the Affordable Care Act — members of both parties have shied away from holding him accountable.

Unsurprisingly, the backbones of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) and Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) remain unbowed:

Now Senator Rand Paul is seeking another path to stop this President’s unconstitutional acts, using the courts if necessary.: In a press release on his website, Sen. Paul introduced the “Constitutional Check and Balance Act”.: According to the press release:

“I am excited to join my friend Rep. Poe in introducing legislation to provide a way to seek relief in federal court when the executive branch decides they don’t want to follow the law,” said Sen. Paul. “The Obama administration is trying to rewrite Obamacare by executive fiat and that act is a violation of the separation of powers in the United States Constitution. This and other attempts by the Obama administration to rewrite the law can be stopped if this bill becomes law.”

Senator Paul has been joined in introducing this legislation by Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX).

“As most Americans learned in eighth grade civics, the Constitution requires that the Executive Branch enforces laws passed by the Legislative Branch,” said: Rep. Poe. “Unfortunately, this Administration treats the law as a mere suggestion, picking and choosing which ones to enforce. This legislation provides a pathway for Members of Congress to go after the Administration in federal court when it fails to enforce laws passed by the legislative branch. It utilizes the principle of checks and balances when the Executive has abused its power. It is time for Congress to reign in the President.”

The legislation itself is pretty simple: A Member of Congress who voted on a bill or joint resolution during the final vote that passed said bill or joint resolution into law will have standing to sue for “declaratory or injunctive relief.”

Of course, the bill itself is not going anywhere. Which makes its introduction either political theater or an attempt to garner more media awareness of the lawbreaking habits of this administration. I’d guess the latter, which suits me just fine.