"Mission creep" at the White House?

Too Much Presidential Power

The 2014 Atlas Summit features insight into the politics and law of today's culture.

One star of the program is Gary Lawson (pictured at left), the Philip S. Beck Professor of Law at Boston University. Professor Lawson will speak at the Summit on "Presidential Power and the Dangers of Delegation."

Here's how he describes his argument:

"The United States Code is filled with collections of words that look and act like laws but in reality simply delegate authority to make law to executive and judicial agents – prime examples include the most important major modern acts such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“Dodd-Frank”), and the Troubled Assets Relief Program (“TARP”). The Constitution is specifically designed to prevent this kind of delegation of legislative authority, but for three quarters of a century the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court have all acquiesced to permit it."Read more >