Executive Powers

So in class we have been talking about powers of the President.  Of these powers, the issue of executive powers or (orders) seem to be a rallying issue of point for non-Obama supporters.  So we should examine the constitutionality of executive orders and decide for ourselves and as a class-is Obama using/abusing his powers any more than past presidents.

 Article II, Clause 1 section 1:
"The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."

The clause above is a "vesting clause."  The clause vests the power to execute the instructions of Congress, which has the exclusive power to make laws; "To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof."


So the question is does the vesting clause above allow the president the power to only carry out laws (execute the instructions of Congress), or does it allow the president to issue orders with the force of law yet not being law?

Among the more famous executive orders in U.S. history, FDR issued one that forcibly transferred Japanese-Americans and German-Americans to internment camps during World War II. Harry Truman issued an order to seize and nationalize all steel mills in America, during a labor strike in 1952. These were clearly rights-violating orders. On the positive side, in a famous 1957 order that was respectful of rights, Dwight Eisenhower put an end to racial segregation in America’s public schools.

In January of 2013 President Obama issued 23 gun proposals via executive power. The president has used his executive powers to bolster the national background check system, jumpstart government research on the causes of gun violence and create a million-dollar ad campaign aimed at safe gun ownership.

And the NSA has been widely scrutinized today under Obama but realize that tt was President Reagan’s infamous Executive Order 12333 (referred to as “twelve-triple-three”) that established and handed to the NSA virtually all of the powers under which the agency  operates to this day—allowing the agency to collect the data that so many now find to be so offensive.

On the Syria issue, Obama could have sent troops in when it was realized that chemical weapons had been used.  Instead he opted to let Congress decide in which case troops were withheld from entering Syria.  Later an agreement was reached where Syria would turn over their chemical weapons.  So thus by not hastily taking action liked he was pressed to do, the U.S. avoided sending in troops.

Read more: http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/290885-obama-uses-executive-power-to-move-gun-control-forward#ixzz2uuoYVAly

I have included a chart that shows just how many times past President's have used their "special" powers and how Obama compares.



So analyzing this chart, one can see that Obama has not done anything that compares as far as other presidents.  But I am smart enough to know that you can't judge a president's abuse of powers based on how many executive orders he has issued.  One needs to take into effect the scope of the orders such as who they affect, how they affect them, consequences of the orders, and so forth.  So I think we should all research the powers of the executive branch and executive orders and read a couple of articles, analyze a couple of charts or graphs and come to a conclusion-"Yes, I believe Obama has abused his powers under the Constitution" or "No, I don't believe Obama has abused his powers under the constitution."

By the way the chart above is average orders per year-not total for a term.  (Per annum)

Below is another chart:

Image

A History of Executive Orders

A few important takeaways from this chart:

• Executive orders are fairly common.
• Their use has dropped over the 20th century.
• So far Obama has used executive orders less than many other presidents.

So I want you to write a 1-2 page report that includes information from at least 2 articles (not Wikipedia) and 2 graphs (not mine above) answering the question:  Has Obama abused his powers as president?  You might also want to consider does the Constitution need to be amended as to give a more definitive definition to "executive power" or leave as is.