High On the Agenda
When the 110th Congress convenes next month, it will face a mountain of work, much of it left-over from the do-nothing 109th Congress. At the top of the to-do list is getting a budget passed and in place. Once that is accomplished, the new Democratic Congress can finally set about to fulfill the promises that got them elected. The incoming Speaker of the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi has already given the nation a preview: hiking the minimum wage and amending the Medicare Part D program to give the government the power to negotiate on drug prices are just two of the items on Speaker Pelosi's "First Hundred Hours" list. In the overall scheme of things, those two items will be the easiest to deal with. More difficult, and, I believe, even more important will involve undoing the Constitutional damage wrought by the current administration.
High on that list is the issue of the NSA spying on Americans. An AP report suggests just what might very well happen should Congress challenge the President on that issue.
Federal agents continue to eavesdrop on Americans' electronic communications without warrants a year after President Bush confirmed the practice, and experts say a new Congress' efforts to limit the program could trigger a constitutional showdown.
High-ranking Democrats set to take control of both chambers are mulling ways to curb the program Bush secretly authorized a month after the Sept. 11 attacks. The White House argues the Constitution gives the president wartime powers to eavesdrop that he wouldn't have during times of peace.
...Lawmakers could impeach or withhold funding, or quash judicial nominations, among other measures.
The president, however, can veto legislation, including a law demanding the National Security Agency obtain warrants before monitoring communications. Such a veto would force Congress to muster a two-thirds vote to override.
Will the President force a constitutional showdown by vetoing any bill limiting his power to spy domestically? Probably, but that doesn't mean the Congress should simply fold up shop the way it has done for the past six years. The Iraq War may have been the defining issue in the 2006 elections, but the lack of congressional action on many fronts was certainly part of the reason the American citizenry threw out the Republican majority.
The AP article focused on the pivotal role of the Supreme Court in such a showdown. While that certainly is an appropriate focus, it comes into play only if Congress does its job. Part of that job will have to be done in the hearing rooms as the Democrats investigate six years' worth of administration corruption and malfeasance. If done fairly and honestly, those investigations might very well defuse any constitutional showdown by engendering enough votes to veto-proof key legislation.
Saddle up, ladies and gentlement: it's time to ride.
High on that list is the issue of the NSA spying on Americans. An AP report suggests just what might very well happen should Congress challenge the President on that issue.
Federal agents continue to eavesdrop on Americans' electronic communications without warrants a year after President Bush confirmed the practice, and experts say a new Congress' efforts to limit the program could trigger a constitutional showdown.
High-ranking Democrats set to take control of both chambers are mulling ways to curb the program Bush secretly authorized a month after the Sept. 11 attacks. The White House argues the Constitution gives the president wartime powers to eavesdrop that he wouldn't have during times of peace.
...Lawmakers could impeach or withhold funding, or quash judicial nominations, among other measures.
The president, however, can veto legislation, including a law demanding the National Security Agency obtain warrants before monitoring communications. Such a veto would force Congress to muster a two-thirds vote to override.
Will the President force a constitutional showdown by vetoing any bill limiting his power to spy domestically? Probably, but that doesn't mean the Congress should simply fold up shop the way it has done for the past six years. The Iraq War may have been the defining issue in the 2006 elections, but the lack of congressional action on many fronts was certainly part of the reason the American citizenry threw out the Republican majority.
The AP article focused on the pivotal role of the Supreme Court in such a showdown. While that certainly is an appropriate focus, it comes into play only if Congress does its job. Part of that job will have to be done in the hearing rooms as the Democrats investigate six years' worth of administration corruption and malfeasance. If done fairly and honestly, those investigations might very well defuse any constitutional showdown by engendering enough votes to veto-proof key legislation.
Saddle up, ladies and gentlement: it's time to ride.
posted by Diane at 3:27 AM
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