NYT: Obama Plans To Bypass Senate To Bind US To Climate Change Treaty
. . . Sen. Mitch McConnell: Another Example Of Obama Admin "Ignor[ing] The Elected Representatives Of The People When They Don’t Agree”
Today in Washington, D.C. The dirty deeds continue. Has President Obama now declared the Constitution "null and void"? Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, includes the Treaty Clause, which empowers the President of the United States to propose and chiefly negotiate agreements between the United States and other countries, which become treaties between the United States and other countries after the advice and consent of a supermajority of the United States Senate.[The President] shall have Power, by and with Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur...
President Obama has a record of trying to circumvent Congress when it suits his purposes on a whole host of issues, regardless of the limitations of his powers under the law. Most famously his administration has tried to implement immigrations proposals Congress has rejected, continues to change and tweak numerous aspects of Democrats’ unpopular health care law without legal authorization, and is using EPA regulations to enact a war on coal that was never approved by Congress. Today, The New York Times reports that the president is attempting to go even further, this time by binding the United States to a climate treaty without getting the approval of the Senate as he’s required to do under the Constitution.
The Times reports, “The Obama administration is working to forge a sweeping international climate change agreement to compel nations to cut their planet-warming fossil fuel emissions, but without ratification from Congress. In preparation for this agreement, to be signed at a United Nations summit meeting in 2015 in Paris, the negotiators are meeting with diplomats from other countries to broker a deal to commit some of the world’s largest economies to enact laws to reduce their carbon pollution. But under the Constitution, a president may enter into a legally binding treaty only if it is approved by a two-thirds majority of the Senate. To sidestep that requirement, President Obama’s climate negotiators are devising what they call a ‘politically binding’ deal that would ‘name and shame’ countries into cutting their emissions. The deal is likely to face strong objections from Republicans on Capitol Hill and from poor countries around the world, but negotiators say it may be the only realistic path. . . .
“Lawmakers in both parties on Capitol Hill say there is no chance that the currently gridlocked Senate will ratify a climate change treaty in the near future . . . . ‘There’s a strong understanding of the difficulties of the U.S. situation, and a willingness to work with the U.S. to get out of this impasse,’ said Laurence Tubiana, the French ambassador for climate change to the United Nations. ‘There is an implicit understanding that this not require ratification by the Senate.’ American negotiators are instead homing in on a hybrid agreement — a proposal to blend legally binding conditions from an existing 1992 treaty with new voluntary pledges. The mix would create a deal that would update the treaty, and thus, negotiators say, not require a new vote of ratification. Countries would be legally required to enact domestic climate change policies — but would voluntarily pledge to specific levels of emissions cuts and to channel money to poor countries to help them adapt to climate change. Countries might then be legally obligated to report their progress toward meeting those pledges at meetings held to identify those nations that did not meet their cuts. ‘There’s some legal and political magic to this,’ said Jake Schmidt, an expert in global climate negotiations with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group. ‘They’re trying to move this as far as possible without having to reach the 67-vote threshold’ in the Senate.”
The NYT notes, “In seeking to go around Congress to push his international climate change agenda, Mr. Obama is echoing his domestic climate strategy. In June, he bypassed Congress and used his executive authority to order a far-reaching regulation forcing American coal-fired power plants to curb their carbon emissions. That regulation, which would not be final until next year, already faces legal challenges, including a lawsuit filed on behalf of a dozen states. . . . The Obama administration’s international climate strategy is likely to infuriate Republican lawmakers who already say the president is abusing his executive authority by pushing through major policies without congressional approval.
“‘Unfortunately, this would be just another of many examples of the Obama administration’s tendency to abide by laws that it likes and to disregard laws it doesn’t like — and to ignore the elected representatives of the people when they don’t agree,’ Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and minority leader, said in a statement.”
Tags: NYT, President Obama, to bypass Senate, Bind US, Climate Change Treaty, U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, Power of the Senate, 2/3 must agree, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
Today in Washington, D.C. The dirty deeds continue. Has President Obama now declared the Constitution "null and void"? Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, includes the Treaty Clause, which empowers the President of the United States to propose and chiefly negotiate agreements between the United States and other countries, which become treaties between the United States and other countries after the advice and consent of a supermajority of the United States Senate.President Obama has a record of trying to circumvent Congress when it suits his purposes on a whole host of issues, regardless of the limitations of his powers under the law. Most famously his administration has tried to implement immigrations proposals Congress has rejected, continues to change and tweak numerous aspects of Democrats’ unpopular health care law without legal authorization, and is using EPA regulations to enact a war on coal that was never approved by Congress. Today, The New York Times reports that the president is attempting to go even further, this time by binding the United States to a climate treaty without getting the approval of the Senate as he’s required to do under the Constitution.
The Times reports, “The Obama administration is working to forge a sweeping international climate change agreement to compel nations to cut their planet-warming fossil fuel emissions, but without ratification from Congress. In preparation for this agreement, to be signed at a United Nations summit meeting in 2015 in Paris, the negotiators are meeting with diplomats from other countries to broker a deal to commit some of the world’s largest economies to enact laws to reduce their carbon pollution. But under the Constitution, a president may enter into a legally binding treaty only if it is approved by a two-thirds majority of the Senate. To sidestep that requirement, President Obama’s climate negotiators are devising what they call a ‘politically binding’ deal that would ‘name and shame’ countries into cutting their emissions. The deal is likely to face strong objections from Republicans on Capitol Hill and from poor countries around the world, but negotiators say it may be the only realistic path. . . .
“Lawmakers in both parties on Capitol Hill say there is no chance that the currently gridlocked Senate will ratify a climate change treaty in the near future . . . . ‘There’s a strong understanding of the difficulties of the U.S. situation, and a willingness to work with the U.S. to get out of this impasse,’ said Laurence Tubiana, the French ambassador for climate change to the United Nations. ‘There is an implicit understanding that this not require ratification by the Senate.’ American negotiators are instead homing in on a hybrid agreement — a proposal to blend legally binding conditions from an existing 1992 treaty with new voluntary pledges. The mix would create a deal that would update the treaty, and thus, negotiators say, not require a new vote of ratification. Countries would be legally required to enact domestic climate change policies — but would voluntarily pledge to specific levels of emissions cuts and to channel money to poor countries to help them adapt to climate change. Countries might then be legally obligated to report their progress toward meeting those pledges at meetings held to identify those nations that did not meet their cuts. ‘There’s some legal and political magic to this,’ said Jake Schmidt, an expert in global climate negotiations with the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group. ‘They’re trying to move this as far as possible without having to reach the 67-vote threshold’ in the Senate.”
The NYT notes, “In seeking to go around Congress to push his international climate change agenda, Mr. Obama is echoing his domestic climate strategy. In June, he bypassed Congress and used his executive authority to order a far-reaching regulation forcing American coal-fired power plants to curb their carbon emissions. That regulation, which would not be final until next year, already faces legal challenges, including a lawsuit filed on behalf of a dozen states. . . . The Obama administration’s international climate strategy is likely to infuriate Republican lawmakers who already say the president is abusing his executive authority by pushing through major policies without congressional approval.
“‘Unfortunately, this would be just another of many examples of the Obama administration’s tendency to abide by laws that it likes and to disregard laws it doesn’t like — and to ignore the elected representatives of the people when they don’t agree,’ Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and minority leader, said in a statement.”
Tags: NYT, President Obama, to bypass Senate, Bind US, Climate Change Treaty, U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2, Power of the Senate, 2/3 must agree, To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. and "Like" Facebook Page - Thanks!
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