Let’s start by restoring Congress to its proper role.
This Constitution Day, we are just eight short weeks away from electing our next president.
November will also usher in the phase in a departing president’s tenure when he will likely initiate a deluge of rules and regulations, known as “midnight regulations,” in a last-ditch effort to leave as much of a legacy and influence as possible before handing over the keys to the Oval Office.
The practice is so common that we can predict it like clockwork.
Given that President Obama and his administration have passed more than 600 major rules in the past 7.5 years, we have no reason to believe he will slow down in the twilight of his presidency.
This isn’t what the Founders had in mind. Two-hundred and twenty-nine years ago this week, when our great experiment in self-government became law, “We, the People” had a promise made to us — that no matter your background or walk of life, you are free and empowered to choose your own unique version of the American dream.
We were given a system of government that places the people at the center of all decision-making and relies on the consent of the governed, with our rights and the government’s limitations clearly outlined.
With self-governance, however, comes the need for self-reflection. As we take part in this annual reflection on the genius of our Founding Fathers and the promise of America through our Constitution, we need to have an honest conversation with ourselves. If Congress is serious about its role as the people’s voice in government, then we need to utilize every tool at our disposal to restore our constitutional authority under Article I and prevent this president — any president — from fast-tracking regulations without input from the American people.
We face a serious problem in the United States — people feel they’ve lost their voice in government. By Congress delegating its authority to the executive and judicial branches, we’ve removed the American people from the process. They’re left as bystanders to the whims of executive overreach, and they’re watching the country they know and love slip away. Worse, they think their representatives are powerless to stop it.
Overreach is so routine that it is now expected, and in some cases encouraged. Few blink at the news of bureaucrats writing new regulations, judges legislating from the bench, or the president issuing executive orders.
But the consequences are very real and devastating. In fact, these are the most common complaints I hear when I travel across Eastern Washington.
The heavy hand of government and its rules are causing family businesses to shutter their doors. Local farmers are turning away from multiple generations of putting food on America’s kitchen tables because “it just isn’t worth the hassle.”
Now, more than ever, their representatives in Congress need to do something about it.
How do we make this place work more effectively on behalf of the American people? How do we protect the will of the people, We the People, from an aggressive executive and Court?
These questions keep me up at night, and I know I’m not alone. When House Republicans began to put together A Better Way: Our Vision for a Confident America, my colleagues and I sat down in task-force meetings to dive into how to make Congress better reflect the needs and will of those who sent us here.
I am so proud that our Conference came together and recognized the importance of restoring constitutional authority. We devoted an entire plank of our Better Way agenda to it, and unequivocally it is the most important plank. At the end of the day, legislating means nothing if the American people aren’t at the core.
We emphasize the need for making government more accountable by placing agencies and bureaucracy under more scrutiny from Congress; to make government more representative by rewriting old laws and implementing new ones so regulations reflect the will — and input — of the people; to restore checks on spending; and to make government more transparent by publishing publicly what we’re doing.
For me, personally, this means taking the government off autopilot and eliminating unauthorized spending. My bill, the Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act, or USA Act, is about taking back the power of the purse. Far too many government spending programs have gone years, even decades without being reauthorized, leaving the American people less able to effectively review, rethink, and possibly eliminate government programs. We need to evaluate our outdated rules that govern all aspects of our budget process and determine how we can update them for the 21st century.
We often make the mistake when looking back on history of thinking that those who came before us were somehow different from us. They weren’t different — they confronted the same challenges and weaknesses that we wrestle with today. Our Constitution, particularly Article I, is just as relevant in 2016 as it was on this day in 1787.
The careful balance our Founders gave us yielded the freest, most prosperous nation in human history. It’s on us now to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
My challenge to my colleagues this Constitution Day is to join me in reasserting that people speaking through their elected representatives is the best way to keep us free and restore the rule of law.
People need to feel like they can trust this institution, and more importantly, trust their own representatives. It’s time to rethink government from the top down, and reclaim our responsibilities as representatives every day we serve, so that everyone in this country can be back in the driver’s seat and feel secure in their lives and in their futures.