Recalcitrant Congress feigns phony session
On January 4, 2012, President Obama defied Republicans by appointing, former Ohio Attorney General, Richard Cordray as the first ever consumer advocate and watchdog for the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB.) In addition, the President named three appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB.)
All four were recess appointments.
Why did Congress fail to approve any of these nominations? The simple answer is they don't want the CFPB or the NLRB to function.
The Republicans didn't like the legislation that passed into law the CFPB and the NLRB, so why would they approve individuals appointed to head these agencies?
Citibank and the Chamber of Commerce, etc. have had lobbyists at work reminding Republicans who finances their campaigns.
So taking their marching orders, the Republicans have chosen to obstruct.
The CFPB and NLRB are agencies created by law. The President is the chief executive charged by the Constitution with carrying out the laws of the land.
In an attempt to prevent the President from his Constitutional right to appoint people during a recess, Congress goes into a make-believe, pro forma session. All are out of town, everyone agrees for weeks on end, no work is going to get done. And, they are just going to have somebody gavel to order and then gavel closed a couple of minutes later. What a sham.
Presidents since George Washington have made recess appointments. President Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments, and President George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments.
Recess appointments are authorized by Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution.
On January 6, 2012, the Justice Department backed President Obama's recess appointments. Their opinion was that in the context of the convening of periodic pro forma sessions in which no business is to be conducted, "the President has discretion to conclude that the Senate is unavailable to perform its advise-and-consent function and to exercise his power to make recess appointments."
The President has come to the conclusion that he's not going to get anything out of this Congress.
Republicans pretend to want to help out and work in a bi partisan way. But, they really don't want to. Its just another masquerade.
Richard O. Schwab was formerly associate head of school, and middle school head, Cincinnati Country Day School. He is currently neighborhood team leader, Glendale Organizing For America Community Team (www.gofact.blogspot.com)
