By Fred Wszolek
We believe that President Obama’s recess appointments of Richard Griffin and Sharon Block to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) were unconstitutional and a gross overreach by the executive branch that serves as nothing more than payback to Big Labor bosses who are bankrolling his re-election campaign. Therefore, we believe it is pivotal that the legislative branch assert its authority under the Constitution by passing legislation that ensures the system of checks and balances remains intact. Legislation introduced by Representative Jeff Landry titled the Executive Appointment Reform Act (EARA) deserves the serious consideration of Members of Congress as it states “payment for services may not be made to an individual appointed during a recess of the Senate to fill a vacancy in an existing office, if the vacancy existed while the Senate was in session and was by law required to be filled by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and for other purposes.” On its own, this is noteworthy legislative language, but particular so since the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) used the Pay Act in defense of its actions writing it “sets out the circumstances in which a recess appointee may be paid a salary from the Treasury.” Clearly, Congress has the power of the purse strings and should exercise it. If these non-recess appointees want to work to advance policies that kill American jobs, at the very least, taxpayer dollars should not be expended in paying their wages unless they are confirmed by the U.S. Senate as clearly intended by our nation’s founding fathers and completely disregarded by the current administration.
BACKGROUND:
“To amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that payment for services may not be made to an individual appointed during a recess of the Senate to fill a vacancy in an existing office, if the vacancy existed while the Senate was in session and was by law required to be filled by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and for other purposes.” (Executive Appointment Reform Act, Accessed 1/16/11)
“There is significant (albeit not uniform) evidence that the Executive Branch’s view that recess appointments during intrasession recesses are constitutional has been accepted by Congress and its officers. Most relevant, in our view, is the Pay Act, 5 U.S.C. § 5503 (2006), which sets out the circumstances in which a recess appointee may be paid a salary from the Treasury. The Attorney General has long taken the position that the Act constitutes congressional acquiescence to recess appointments under circumstances where the Act would permit payment.” (Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, Accessed 1/16/11)