Think of this: The United States is waging war against ISIS, and the Congress has never voted on or debated it.



Executive Branch Overreach? Lawmakers Blame Themselves

WASHINGTON — Republicans outraged over abuse of executive authority typically blame power-mad Democratic presidents for acting outside the Constitution. Not Senator Mike Lee, the conservative Utah Republican.

“This is of our own making,” said Mr. Lee, pointing his finger directly at Congress for a steady ceding of power from Capitol Hill to the executive branch. “Congress has recast itself as a back-seat driver in American politics.”

Lawmakers’ actually accepting responsibility for the weakened state of Congress represents a new phase in the struggle over executive authority. But Mr. Lee and his allies in a nascent conservative effort to reset the balance of power acknowledge that Congress has forsaken its authority partly to dodge tough decisions and make it easier for lawmakers to be re-elected. By not exerting itself on difficult issues, Congress created a vacuum that the executive branch naturally filled.

Through a new movement called the Article I Project, Mr. Lee, Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona, Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas and other congressional Republicans are joining the effort to find a way for Congress to take back some of the power.

The initiative was introduced at the Washington outpost of Hillsdale College of Michigan, under a large painting of the signing of the Constitution. It aims to spur Congress to re-establish its power of the purse, end the series of “cliffs” used as leverage to force bills through as deadlines loom, reassert congressional power over federal regulation and limit executive discretion.

The agenda calls for changing budget laws to give Congress more direct control over spending, eliminating the risk of default that has led to years of fiscal brinkmanship, bringing regulatory agencies under stricter congressional review and more clearly spelling out how much latitude executive agencies have in interpreting federal laws.

Success on any one of these would be a triumph. But those behind the Article I Project might have a better chance than the Republican governors now clamoring for a new constitutional convention to restore states’ rights. The only federal constitutional convention that has occurred so far is the original one depicted in that oil painting hanging at the Hillsdale College building.

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