The formulation of the new stimulus package (which is certifying expenditure as far as 2019, when I suppose the assumption, goes, that we will still be in crisis, and still be in need of stimulus) demonstrates a peculiar danger to a custom of our government that, until now, has been, though corrupt and senile, still largely following the forms of the Constitution, if not its spirit. That is that money bills always originate in the House, and that the 'pork' associated with them is added by particular representatives.
Now of this new bill, near $900 billion fat, President Obama claims that none of it is pork. What does that mean? It means that no representatives are personally inserting money clauses into the document. It also means that Mr. Obama's cabinet, and their retainers, are in control of it. Given the vast number of particular benefits the bill actually dispenses, what does this imply? It implies that a relationship is growing between the presidential cabinet and lobbyists that is bypassing Congressional control.
Now I've no doubt that plenty of Congressmen are using lobbyists to get roads for their districts, but I've no doubt that private business are as well, and this time they aren't going through the Congressmen.
We conclude two important things from this little analysis:
1) Congress's hold on the budget is weakened dramatically by this precedent.
2) Executive authority is dramatically strengthened.
(The position of the lobbyists and everyone else appears to be unchanged)
Incidentally, independent money bills are being started in the Senate as well, although this is a direct violation of an express command of the Constitution that bills can only begin in the House. At this time there are actually TWO stimulus bills in Congress - one in each house. The idea is that they will compromise over a final result. Now whether or not anyone is plotting this, doesn't matter, the consequence remains: Congress is being divided against itself in regards to money. In the long run, this is the perfect opportunity for a non-partisan body, one which truly understands the people, one which stands above the corruption, etc. etc. to engineer the compromises, be the guiding light of the whole thing.
This is the exact path to cabinet government.
Monday, February 9, 2009
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1 comment:
Hm, interesting point. I think that there's an alternate route though.
Remember that it's not 900 B anymore; Congress has already begun to snip away at the amount, cutting nearly 100 B, if memory serves. I suspect there will be more nips and tucks.
Why? Congress is jealous of it's power to regulate money. Whether House or Senate, congressmen do not want to give this power over to the administration (one of the many reasons that the budgets are so hard to pass).
At any rate, you're right about Cabinet government. But you don't quite pass judgment on it, something I'd be interested in hearing from you, given your diverse governmental experiences.
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