[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 1160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



          EXECUTIVE LAWMAKING--A VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTION

  (Mr. METCALF asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. METCALF. Mr. Speaker, executive lawmaking is a violation of the 
Constitution. Article I states that all legislative powers be vested in 
the Congress. Yet presidents have made frequent and significant use of 
executive orders and other directives to infringe on Congress's 
lawmaking authority. As Members, we must carry out our fundamental duty 
of overseeing executive policies, passing judgment on them and 
upholding the Constitutional balance of power.
  It is vital that Congress remains vigilant and holds this 
administration accountable when its aim is usurpation of power denied 
by the Constitution.
  We should not be surprised that the President is seeking to bypass 
this chamber with executive gimmicks. We have seen this before. But if 
we are not vigilant, executive orders will lead this great Nation down 
the slippery slope to tyranny.

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