The Constitutionality (Not) Of the $700 Billion Bailout Plan As it Was First Proposed to Congress
Unless you are in a coma, it doesn't matter where you live, in Corona del Mar, San Diego, California, Orange County, CA, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Long Beach, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Riverside, Chula Vista, Irvine, San Bernardino, Huntington Beach, Fontana, Moreno Valley, Oceanside, Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Garden Grove, Palmdale, Corona, Escondido, Orange, Fullerton, Costa Mesa, Victorville, Carlsbad, Temecula, Murrieta, Mission Viejo, El Cajon, Vista, Westminster, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Hesperia, Newport Beach, Buena Park, Indio, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells or Coachella, you know that there is an economic crisis going on, and Congress passed a whopping $700 billion bailout plan that is now being implemented.
What you may not know, is that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's draft proposal for the bailout of financial service firms on Wall Street as it was presented to Congress was an unconstitutional power grab of monumental proportions.
Under Paulson's plan, no oversight, no review and no challenges would have been allowed by the courts, by Congress or by individuals.
Henry Paulson had proposed that he effectively be appointed economic czar.
Under Section 8 of his initial proposal, which for years to come, will undoubtedly form the basis for questions on bar exams for law students, "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act, are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
" Under Section 8 of this Act, the Treasury Secretary would arguably have become a more powerful figure than our largely missing-in-action President, more powerful than the head of the Federal Reserve, the SEC and Congress combined, and as such in violation of the Constitution of the United States of America.
The draft proposal was in conflict with the Constitution for the simple reason that our nation's most important document provides that every member of the executive branch, including the Treasury Secretary, is subject to legislative and executive review.
Neither Congress nor the executive may delegate its authority to a cabinet member.
It would have been like Congress delegating all its power to Sarah Palin, or to a single congressman, or to Superdog for that matter.
As hard as it is to violate the nondelegation clause in the Constitution, if there has ever been a proposal to come out of the executive branch which does a good job of it, it has been argued that this is probably the one.
The question is, did the President tell Paulson to get a blank check from Congress and to heck with the Constitution or did Paulson come up with this on his own? Did the President and Paulson really believe that if they told Congress they needed this power in 24 hours like the TV show, that Congress, even the Republicans in Congress, would give it to him? In bad times even more so than in good times, we expect the leaders of this country to protect the Constitution of the United States, not to usurp the powers it conveys on other branches of government.
Let us hope that in the coming days and months as this country tries to mend itself from this economic crisis, that Congress remembers what the executive branch seems to have forgotten - the Constitution.
What you may not know, is that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's draft proposal for the bailout of financial service firms on Wall Street as it was presented to Congress was an unconstitutional power grab of monumental proportions.
Under Paulson's plan, no oversight, no review and no challenges would have been allowed by the courts, by Congress or by individuals.
Henry Paulson had proposed that he effectively be appointed economic czar.
Under Section 8 of his initial proposal, which for years to come, will undoubtedly form the basis for questions on bar exams for law students, "Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act, are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
" Under Section 8 of this Act, the Treasury Secretary would arguably have become a more powerful figure than our largely missing-in-action President, more powerful than the head of the Federal Reserve, the SEC and Congress combined, and as such in violation of the Constitution of the United States of America.
The draft proposal was in conflict with the Constitution for the simple reason that our nation's most important document provides that every member of the executive branch, including the Treasury Secretary, is subject to legislative and executive review.
Neither Congress nor the executive may delegate its authority to a cabinet member.
It would have been like Congress delegating all its power to Sarah Palin, or to a single congressman, or to Superdog for that matter.
As hard as it is to violate the nondelegation clause in the Constitution, if there has ever been a proposal to come out of the executive branch which does a good job of it, it has been argued that this is probably the one.
The question is, did the President tell Paulson to get a blank check from Congress and to heck with the Constitution or did Paulson come up with this on his own? Did the President and Paulson really believe that if they told Congress they needed this power in 24 hours like the TV show, that Congress, even the Republicans in Congress, would give it to him? In bad times even more so than in good times, we expect the leaders of this country to protect the Constitution of the United States, not to usurp the powers it conveys on other branches of government.
Let us hope that in the coming days and months as this country tries to mend itself from this economic crisis, that Congress remembers what the executive branch seems to have forgotten - the Constitution.
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