1. Changing Obamacare on the fly without congressional action
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires that businesses employing 50 or more full-time employees must provide health insurance or pay a fine per uncovered employee. The law schedules this mandate to begin in January 2014. Yet the Administration has already announced that it will put this requirement on hold.
Meanwhile, Congress explicitly considered and rejected proposed amendments to Obamacare that would have created a specific allowance for a congressional health insurance subsidy in the exchanges, and indeed, such an exemption is illegal. But the Administration told Members of Congress and their staffers that it would give them a generous taxpayer-funded subsidy just the same.
Obamacare wonât work as written, and the Administration is just seizing power unilaterally to rewrite it.
2. Implementing the DREAM Act by executive fiat
Congress has repeatedly considered, and rejected, a bill known as the Dream Act that would effectively grant amnesty to many illegal aliens. Yet in June 2012, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano issued a directive to immigration officials instructing them to defer deportation proceedings against an estimated 1.7 million illegal aliens. Oddly, this happened about a year after President Obama admitted that âthe President doesnât have the authority to simply ignore Congress and say, âWeâre not going to enforce the laws youâve passed.ââ
3. Making ârecess appointmentsâ while the Senate was in session
In January 2012, President Obama made four ârecessâ appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, claiming that the Senate was not available to confirm those appointees. Yet the Senate was not in recess at that time. The Recess Appointments Clause is not an alternative to Senate confirmation and is supposed to be only a stopgap for times when the Senate is unable to provide advice and consent. Eventually, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit struck down the appointments to the NLRB as unconstitutional.
4. Waiving welfare work requirements
In July 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services gutted the work requirements out of the welfare reform law passed in 1996. It notified states of Secretary Kathleen Sebeliusâs âwillingness to exercise her waiver authorityâ so that states may eliminate the work participation requirement of Section 407 of the 1996 reforms. This flatly contradicts the law, which provides that waivers granted under other sections of the law âshall not affect the applicability of section 407 to the State.â Despite this unambiguous language, the Obama Administration continues to flout the law with its ârevisionistâ interpretation.
5. Encouraging federal contractors to violate the law
The WARN Act requires that federal contractors give 60 daysâ notice before a mass layoff or plant closing. Employers who do not give notice are liable for employeesâ back pay and benefits as well as additional penalties. With defense-related spending cuts set to start on January 2, 2013, defense contractors should have issued notice by November 2, 2012 (just four days before the presidential election). Yet, the Department of Labor instructed defense contractors not to issue notice for layoffs due to sequestration until after the electionâand assured them they would be reimbursed with taxpayer funds for any subsequent liability for violating the law.
http://blog.heritage.org/2013/09/17...tution/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires that businesses employing 50 or more full-time employees must provide health insurance or pay a fine per uncovered employee. The law schedules this mandate to begin in January 2014. Yet the Administration has already announced that it will put this requirement on hold.
Meanwhile, Congress explicitly considered and rejected proposed amendments to Obamacare that would have created a specific allowance for a congressional health insurance subsidy in the exchanges, and indeed, such an exemption is illegal. But the Administration told Members of Congress and their staffers that it would give them a generous taxpayer-funded subsidy just the same.
Obamacare wonât work as written, and the Administration is just seizing power unilaterally to rewrite it.
2. Implementing the DREAM Act by executive fiat
Congress has repeatedly considered, and rejected, a bill known as the Dream Act that would effectively grant amnesty to many illegal aliens. Yet in June 2012, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano issued a directive to immigration officials instructing them to defer deportation proceedings against an estimated 1.7 million illegal aliens. Oddly, this happened about a year after President Obama admitted that âthe President doesnât have the authority to simply ignore Congress and say, âWeâre not going to enforce the laws youâve passed.ââ
3. Making ârecess appointmentsâ while the Senate was in session
In January 2012, President Obama made four ârecessâ appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, claiming that the Senate was not available to confirm those appointees. Yet the Senate was not in recess at that time. The Recess Appointments Clause is not an alternative to Senate confirmation and is supposed to be only a stopgap for times when the Senate is unable to provide advice and consent. Eventually, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit struck down the appointments to the NLRB as unconstitutional.
4. Waiving welfare work requirements
In July 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services gutted the work requirements out of the welfare reform law passed in 1996. It notified states of Secretary Kathleen Sebeliusâs âwillingness to exercise her waiver authorityâ so that states may eliminate the work participation requirement of Section 407 of the 1996 reforms. This flatly contradicts the law, which provides that waivers granted under other sections of the law âshall not affect the applicability of section 407 to the State.â Despite this unambiguous language, the Obama Administration continues to flout the law with its ârevisionistâ interpretation.
5. Encouraging federal contractors to violate the law
The WARN Act requires that federal contractors give 60 daysâ notice before a mass layoff or plant closing. Employers who do not give notice are liable for employeesâ back pay and benefits as well as additional penalties. With defense-related spending cuts set to start on January 2, 2013, defense contractors should have issued notice by November 2, 2012 (just four days before the presidential election). Yet, the Department of Labor instructed defense contractors not to issue notice for layoffs due to sequestration until after the electionâand assured them they would be reimbursed with taxpayer funds for any subsequent liability for violating the law.
http://blog.heritage.org/2013/09/17...tution/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social
