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The ] |
The ] Republicans have authorized litigation against ] ] in a ] on July 30, 2014, by a ] of 225 to 201. All 225 votes in favor of a planned ] were Republicans, and 5 Republicans joined 196 Democrats to vote against proposing a lawsuit.<ref name="NYT">Jeremy W. Peters, "", '']'' (July 30, 2014).</ref><ref name="Vote">{{cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2014/roll468.xml|title=Final vote results for roll call vote 468}}</ref> The vote authorized the initiation of "litigation for actions by the President or other executive branch officials inconsistent with their duties under the Constitution of the United States".<ref name="Vote"/> The lawsuit proposal was touted by ] ], and asserts that President Obama exceeded his constitutional authority in delaying the implementation of the ] of the ].<ref name="NYT"/> | ||
==Reactions== | ==Reactions== |
Revision as of 15:30, 19 September 2014
The United States House of Representatives Republicans have authorized litigation against President Barack Obama in a simple resolution on July 30, 2014, by a party-line vote of 225 to 201. All 225 votes in favor of a planned lawsuit were Republicans, and 5 Republicans joined 196 Democrats to vote against proposing a lawsuit. The vote authorized the initiation of "litigation for actions by the President or other executive branch officials inconsistent with their duties under the Constitution of the United States". The lawsuit proposal was touted by House Speaker John Boehner, and asserts that President Obama exceeded his constitutional authority in delaying the implementation of the employer mandate of the Affordable Care Act.
Reactions
The action has been noted to be "the first time either the House or Senate as an institution has brought a lawsuit against a president over enforcement of the law", and described the vote as "a historic foray in the fight over constitutional checks and balances". Political commentators have speculated that the proposal of a lawsuit is designed to supplant efforts to impeach Barack Obama, based on Boehner's experience with the impeachment of Bill Clinton. The commentators also believe that on its merits, the lawsuit has many shortcomings.
Observers have noted that Republicans had previously pressed for legislation to delay both the employer and individual mandates the previous year, and that the day after voting to sue the President for what he saw as ignoring a law passed by Congress, Boehner called on the President to ignore a provision in an immigration law passed by Congress. Obama responded to the plan to authorize a lawsuit against him, "Everyone sees this as a political stunt, but it’s worse than that because every vote they’re taking ... means a vote they’re not taking to help people." Some prominent conservatives have ridiculed the lawsuit as being wasteful "political theater" and a "foolish move", while others criticized it for not going far enough, preferring to press for impeachment.
Origins
The chief architects of the lawsuit are Florida International University law professor Elizabeth Price Foley and lawyer David B. Rivkin. The lawsuit is authorized to challenge the actions by the President or other executive branch officials inconsistent with their duties under the Constitution, under Article II, section 3 of the Constitution, to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Foley testified in February 2014 before the House Judiciary Committee, providing a detailed four-part "roadmap" outlining how she believed the House could obtain "institutional" standing to assert an institutional injury. Her subsequent testimony, in July 2014, before the House Rules Committee, provided further detail about her legal theory on both standing and the merits of a challenge based on the President's asserted failure to faithfully execute the law.
On July 30, 2014 the House took a vote to move forward with a lawsuit to force the President to impose penalties on companies who failed to provide health care coverage for their employees. On August 25, the House of Representatives retained the services of David Rivkin at a rate of $500 per hour with a cap of $350,000 for work on the lawsuit until January 2015. It has been speculated that because the delay of the employer mandate will end by January 2015, the lawsuit, if filed, will likely become moot by then. It is not known which court the lawsuit would be filed in, although it has been speculated that the plaintiff would choose to file either in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (where Congress is physically located), or in a district that is politically hostile to Obama, on the theory that a lawsuit brought on behalf of the House could be brought where any House member lives. It has been noted, however, that conservative judges tend to construe standing issues narrowly, and would therefore be more likely to dismiss the case.
Similar lawsuit
A Florida orthodontist, with help from the conservative legal advocacy group Judicial Watch, filed a similar lawsuit against President Obama in October 2013, claiming that he has "spent time and money to prepare for the Jan. 1, 2014" deadline for the employer mandate. The orthodontist claimed to have spent "100 hours preparing for the employer mandate", with an estimated "opportunity cost of $1.1 million". While the House lawsuit has not been filed, the Florida orthodontist's lawsuit has, and was dismissed in January 2014 for "lack of standing", but an appeal has been filed. The orthodontist and Judicial Watch, like the backers of the House resolution, oppose the Affordable Care Act and have said they believe the law should be vigorously enforced to accelerate its failure.
References
- ^ Jeremy W. Peters, "House Votes to Sue Obama for Overstepping Powers", The New York Times (July 30, 2014).
- ^ "Final vote results for roll call vote 468".
- Billy House and Matt Berman, "House Votes to Move Forward on Lawsuit Against Obama", National Journal (July 30, 2014).
- Alex Rogers, "House Grants Boehner Authority to Sue Obama" Time (July 30, 2014): "The House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday granting House Speaker John Boehner the authority to sue President Barack Obama, marking the first time the legislative branch has endorsed such a lawsuit".
- Michael A. Memoli, "GOP-led House votes to sue Obama in first-of-its-kind lawsuit", LA Times (July 30, 2014), stating: "The House vote to sue President Obama is the first such legal challenge by a chamber of Congress against a president and a historic foray in the fight over constitutional checks and balances".
- "Sarah Palin says 'Impeach Obama!' but other Republicans flinch". Chicago Tribune. July 13, 2014.
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ignored (help) - ^ Hawkings, David (July 11, 2014). "Boehner's Bet: Lawsuit Will Quiet Impeachment Calls". Politico.
- Acosta, Jim (11 July 2014). "White House: GOP voted to delay Obamacare mandate". www.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
- Berman, Russell (1 August 2014). "GOP Tells Obama to Ignore Congress One Day After Suing Him for Ignoring Congress". news.yahoo.com. The Wire. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- Zachary A. Goldfarb, "Obama on GOP lawsuit: ‘Everyone sees this as a political stunt’", The Washington Post (July 30, 2014).
- Ian Tuttle, The Lawyers Behind the Lawsuit Against Obama, http://www.nationalreview.com/article/382021/lawyers-behind-lawsuit-against-obama-ian-tuttle
- Elizabeth Price Foley and David B. Rivkin, "Can Obama's Legal End-Run Around Congress Be Stopped?", Politico (January 15, 2014).
- Testimony of Elizabeth Price Foley, "Enforcing the President's Constitutional Duty to Faithfully Execute the Laws" (February 26, 2014).
- Written Statement of Elizabeth Price Foley, "Providing for authority to initiate litigation for actions by the President inconsistent with his duties under the Constitution of the United States" (July 16, 2014).
- CASSATA, DONNA (10 July 2014). "House GOP Moves Ahead on Suing Obama". abcnews.go.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
- ^ Newhauser, Daniel (August 25, 2014). "House Hires Lawyer for Obama Lawsuit". National Journal.
- Nelson, Steven (Aug. 27, 2014). "House Bills Taxpayers for Lawsuit as Similar, Privately Funded Case Unfolds". US News and World Report.
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