How President Obama Could be Swept Away with His Executive Orders That Defy Congress and the Courts | Cato Institute

How President Obama Could be Swept Away with His Executive Orders That Defy Congress and the Courts | Cato Institute: "In 1974, the Senate Committee on National Emergencies and Delegated Emergency Powers was surprised to discover that “Since March 9, 1933, the United States has been in a state of declared national emergency. There are now in effect four presidentially-proclaimed states of national emergency. In addition to the national emergency declared by President Roosevelt [during the Great Depression], there are also the national emergency proclaimed by President Truman on December 16, 1950, during the Korean conflict, and the states of national emergency declared by President Nixon on March 23, 1970 and August 15, 1971.”



The committee report continued, “These proclamations give force to 470 provisions of Federal law, delegating to the President extraordinary powers, ordinarily exercised by the Congress, which affect the lives of American citizens in a host of all-encompassing manners…The President may seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize and control all transportation and communication, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and in a plethora of particular ways, control the lives of all Americans.”"



"Reportedly every president since Grover Cleveland has had some of his executive orders modified or revoked by legislation."