Congressman Steve King during the task force hearing.
Iowa Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Kiron, began the hearings Tuesday for the House Judiciary’s Executive Overreach Task Force. King is the chair of the task force, and says one concern is unelected bureaucrats in Federal Agencies which craft regulations.
“Because those bureaucrats don’t have to answer to the American citizens over the course of regular elections. They have little understanding of the desires and concerns of those Americans,” King says. “So they produce policies that — for example — make energy more expensive, take people’s property through federal regulations, drive down wages through lawless amnesty programs, and restrict communications on the internet.” King says the bright line of the separation of powers set forth in the U.S. Constitution has been circumvented.
“Many legislative and budget powers have been ceded to presidents and the executive branch through statutes delegating legislative responsibility to federal regulatory agencies composed of unelected people. And statutes mandating automatic and increased spending on certain programs administered by the executive branch,” King says. King says the balance has to be put back to the way it was created by the founding fathers.
“Whatever the means of the loss of legislative power by Congress, it is imperative that Congress reclaim it. Not simply for its own sake — but because without it — individual rights and liberties cannot flourish as the founders intended,” according to King. He says he believes the founding fathers knew that even though they wanted clear lines drawn distinguishing the powers of each branch of government, they knew they could not use language to precisely lay them out.
But, King says they depended on human nature to protect the roles. “And they believed that each branch of government would jealously protect the powers granted to it in the Constitution and there would be a static tension that would be achieved between the three branches of government. I believe that has shifted over the years and we are here to address this in this task force,” King says. The Republican-controlled committee approved the task force to challenge the president’s use of executive authority on gun control and immigration.