Yesterday the House voted on a Democratic-sponsored resolution to end President Trump’s emergency declaration on our southern border.  They believe he cannot use funds that were appropriated for other means to secure our nation's southern border.

The resolution is H.J. Res. 46 which simply stated the following:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, pursuant to section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622), the national emergency declared by the finding of the President on February 15, 2019, in Proclamation 9844 (84 Fed. Reg. 4949) is hereby terminated.

As expected, all Democrats voted for the resolution and 13 Republicans joined their Democratic colleagues and also voted for the resolution.  Two of those Republicans where from Michigan, in fact they are both from West Michigan.

They were Congressmen Justin Amash and Fred Upton.

Congressman Amash shared a letter on his Facebook page from House Liberty Caucus, which he chairs.  The House Liberty Caucus focuses on Constitutional issues and those of individual liberty and economic freedom.  A portion of the letter stated:

As Chairman Amash has stated, an emergency declaration for a non-emergency is void. Congress cannot grant the president by statute the authority to assume legislative powers at will, turning the executive branch into a legislative branch whenever the president uses magic words. This national emergency declaration does not conform to our Constitution, and Congress should terminate the president’s misuse of emergency powers before more harm is done to our constitutional system

Congressmen Upton released a statement in which he stated:

The Constitution makes it clear that the power of the purse – “spending” – be initiated by the Congress. Our founding fathers believed in the principles of checks and balances, and it is our responsibility as members of Congress to maintain that authority – no matter who is President. Strengthening our borders is an urgent necessity, but declaring a national emergency and reprogramming already appropriated funds without the approval of Congress is a violation of the Constitution

Congressman Amash has argued in the past, and on my radio show a few weeks ago, that a president may not claim emergency powers for a non-emergency situation when Congress "doesn’t legislate the way he wants."  He went on to say an emergency:

does not elicit endless debate without consensus, nor is it addressed with a plan requiring years to execute


The problem I have with Congressman Amash’s tweet is that he calls out the Republicans but not the Democrats when it comes to “executive overreach” during Obama’s administration.

Congressman Amash, at least put the blame on everyone it belongs on.

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