Meerkat
06-28-2006, 04:41 PM
Debate on Hill over power of the president (http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20060628/ts_csm/asignings;_ylt=AvtJSmPq_8msaROwzfWNr8Ks0NUE;_ylu=X 3oDMTA3b2NibDltBHNlYwM3MTY-)
WASHINGTON - What should Congress do if the president refuses to enforce a law – or some part of it he deems unconstitutional?
It's a question that has simmered in the GOP-controlled Congress over issues ranging from post-9/11 national security to the use of torture in the war on terror.
But it resurfaced on Capitol Hill this week, as lawmakers consider giving President Bush (http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=President+Bush) line-item veto authority and, behind the scenes, negotiate with the White House over Mr. Bush's claim that he has authority to conduct domestic wiretapping without a warrant, despite a 1978 law that says otherwise.
"The real issue here is whether the president can cherry-pick what he likes," said Sen. Arlen Specter (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/politics/news/csm/ts_csm/asignings/19491039/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22Sen.%20Arlen%20Specter%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw), bio (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/capadv/bio/csm/ts_csm/asignings/19491039/SIG=117p02ae7/*http://yahoo.capwiz.com/y/bio/?id=497), voting record (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/capadv/vote/csm/ts_csm/asignings/19491039/SIG=11gg4hb20/*http://yahoo.capwiz.com/y/bio/keyvotes/?id=497)) (R) of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as he opened a hearing Tuesday on presidential signing statements.
WASHINGTON - What should Congress do if the president refuses to enforce a law – or some part of it he deems unconstitutional?
It's a question that has simmered in the GOP-controlled Congress over issues ranging from post-9/11 national security to the use of torture in the war on terror.
But it resurfaced on Capitol Hill this week, as lawmakers consider giving President Bush (http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?p=President+Bush) line-item veto authority and, behind the scenes, negotiate with the White House over Mr. Bush's claim that he has authority to conduct domestic wiretapping without a warrant, despite a 1978 law that says otherwise.
"The real issue here is whether the president can cherry-pick what he likes," said Sen. Arlen Specter (news (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/DailyNews/politics/news/csm/ts_csm/asignings/19491039/*http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?fr=news-storylinks&p=%22Sen.%20Arlen%20Specter%22&c=&n=20&yn=c&c=news&cs=nw), bio (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/capadv/bio/csm/ts_csm/asignings/19491039/SIG=117p02ae7/*http://yahoo.capwiz.com/y/bio/?id=497), voting record (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/capadv/vote/csm/ts_csm/asignings/19491039/SIG=11gg4hb20/*http://yahoo.capwiz.com/y/bio/keyvotes/?id=497)) (R) of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, as he opened a hearing Tuesday on presidential signing statements.