The impotence of Congress traces to the Great Depression. As Theodore Lowi in his classic book, The End of Liberalism, makes clear, the New Deal stripped Congress of its law-making power and gave it to the executive agencies. Prior to the New Deal, Congress wrote the laws. After the New Deal a bill is merely an authorization for executive agencies to create the law through regulations. The Paulson bailout has further diminished the legislative branch’s power.
Congress no longer has any power to stop the Executive Branch. Unwilling to fight the President and unable to stop him, Congress spends its time with insignificant and nonbinding resolutions instead of legislation to manage America.
Will the day come in America when people say “Why are we talking to the President when Congress is the authority?”
I don’t know.
1 response so far ↓
Edward Hesson // October 8, 2008 at 10:55 am
Every keen observation. Congress is pulled around by the popularity index and money. That is why so many “sweeteners” were added to the bailout bill that the executive branch wanted. The executive branch easily controls Congress with money.