Some of President Obama’s promises have missed the mark, such as his rhetoric in support of small business and “if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” He is keeping one promise, however – his declaration that he will sidestep Congress and the law by wielding his pen and his phone, as he described it during this year’s State of the Union address, to take action unilaterally. This is contrary to our founding fathers’ system of checks and balances.

The President should not disregard laws that are inconvenient for him, or rewrite them via executive order to suit his own preferences or time frame. Time after time, he’s made changes to the health care law without congressional authorization, while his Senate allies have bottled up House legislation that would address the problems of the burdensome health care law legally. This playbook of imperial rule is also evident in both the record pace of federal regulations issued by the executive branch, and the waste, duplication and overlap in newly created programs at federal agencies without explicit authority.

The Constitution is clear: Congress writes the laws, and the President is to faithfully uphold the laws that are in place, whether signed by the current President or a predecessor. These concerns are not just a partisan invention. Jonathan Turley, a liberal law professor from George Washington University and political supporter of the President, criticized him in a Los Angeles Times op-ed on Sunday, titled "The President's Powergrab." No short-term political agenda is worth allowing the erosion of the constitutional roles of the President, Congress and the Judiciary.

Sam Graves
Chairman

Latest Committee Action

This week, we updated our “Small Biz Reg Watch” online resource. This webpage is a tool intended to alert small businesses of federal regulations that could affect them, while those proposed rules are still in the pipeline so that small firms can have their voices heard. Be sure to check it out so you can participate in and improve the federal government’s regulatory process.

On Wednesday, the Committee conducted a hearing on the rapid expansion of 3D printing and the entrepreneurial opportunities the technology affords small businesses. Through testimony from four innovators in the field, the Committee examined how 3D printing is creating growth avenues, and the importance of ensuring these innovations continue. 3D printing is the process of creating three dimensional solid objects from a digital model, typically through the deposit of a material layer upon layer until an object is formed. The technology has been around since the 1980s, but a recent shift in the affordability of 3D printers has led to an explosion in its use by consumers and entrepreneurs. View photos of 3D innovations that were displayed at the hearing.

On Thursday, the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access, led by Chairman Tom Rice (R-SC), held a hearing to examine the state of domestic manufacturing. In particular, the Committee analyzed the return of manufacturing activity to the United States that had largely been taking place overseas, a trend some refer to as “re-shoring,” and what the potential implications of this trend mean for small businesses. 

News from Washington

On Tuesday, the House passed three bills with strong bipartisan support to establish specific protections from the President’s health care law. The Hire More Heroes Act (H.R. 3474) encourages small businesses to hire veterans by ensuring that veterans who already receive health insurance through the VA are exempted from being counted towards the number of employees required by the law’s employer mandate. The Protecting Volunteer Firefighters & Emergency Responders Act (H.R. 3685) amends the definition of full-time employee in the Internal Revenue Code to ensure that qualified volunteers, including voluntary firefighters and emergency responders, are not counted for determining the number of full-time employees under the employer mandate. The Equitable Access to Care and Health (EACH) Act (H.R. 1814) protects people of any faith from being forced to buy health insurance if they have a religious objection.

On Wednesday, the House passed the Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe and Respect Congressional Enactments of the Law (ENFORCE the Law) Act (H.R. 4138). The bill requires that the President uphold and enforce the laws as written.

On Thursday, the House passed the Faithful Execution of the Law Act (H.R. 3973), requiring more transparency from the administration regarding decisions on enforcement of laws. The House also passed the Water Rights Protection Act (H.R. 3189), sponsored by Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade. This legislation strengthens private property water rights protections for farmers and ranchers.

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• Washington Times:James Jones: Rejecting Keystone pipeline would embolden Putin

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