Stroke of the pen, law of the land, pretty kewl eh.
The Law !?
We no need no stinkin` law !
The law is what we say it is !
So it was unconstitutional for Nixon to “impound” (decline to spend) money appropriated by Congress that Nixon deemed excessive,
but it’s okay for Obama to spend money NOT ONLY that “isn’t authorized” BUT ALSO is EXPRESSLY RULED OUT by statute?
Huh? Impeachment anyone?
“Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood”
An Illinois RINO-Rat of the Illinois thugaucracy class.
He is following Hitler’s and Stalin’s playbooks. Dictators and tyrants seize on the weakest of ‘justifications’ to do what they damn well please. After a while they don’t even pretend to need a justification. Ask the Jews, the German Polish and Russian Jews who were sent to oblivion on the flimsiest of excuses. We now have only an Executive Branch with a little judiciary standing by in the wings to rubber stamp the Dictators actions. The congress is defunct!
Didn’t we settle this line item veto business the last time there was a democrat president?
The article says the waiver is limited to three states - will LsHood's action affect only those three?
The article says the (Republican) House has already passed the bill. That fits my understanding that Dems were the ones holding it up, but, if there is a waiver in it, it does not match my understanding of the 'pubbies intent.
And so on, and so on, etc.
Call me stupid. But I though a bill had to be PASSED by both houses before it could become law. Maybe my degree in political science was all for naught and a waste of time.
Unconstitutional.
Any air travel cum legalese experts here LOL!
current law:
49 USC 41731 - Sec. 41731.
(a) General. - In this subchapter - (1) “eligible place” means a place in the United States that - (A)(i) was an eligible point under section 419 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 before October 1, 1988; (ii) received scheduled air transportation at any time after January 1, 1990; and (iii) is not listed in Department of Transportation Orders 89-9-37 and 89-12-52 as a place ineligible for compensation under this subchapter; or (B) determined,(!1) on or after October 1, 1988, and before the date of the enactment of the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century, under this subchapter by the Secretary to be eligible to receive subsidized small community air service under section 41736(a). (2) “enhanced essential air service” means scheduled air transportation to an eligible place of a higher level or quality than basic essential air service described in section 41732 of this title. (3) “hub airport” means an airport that each year has at least .25 percent of the total annual boardings in the United States. (4) “nonhub airport” means an airport that each year has less than .05 percent of the total annual boardings in the United States. (5) “small hub airport” means an airport that each year has at least .05 percent, but less than .25 percent, of the total annual boardings in the United States. (b) Limitation on Authority To Decide a Place Not an Eligible Place. - The Secretary of Transportation may not decide that a place described in subsection (a)(1) of this section is not an eligible place on the basis of a passenger subsidy at that place or on another basis that is not specifically stated in this subchapter.
SEC. 6. ESSENTIAL AIR SERVICE REFORM.
(a) In General- Section 41731(a)(1) of title 49, United States Code, is amended—
(1) in subparagraph (A) by redesignating clauses (i) through (iii) as subclauses (I) through (III), respectively;
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;
(3) in clause (i)(I) (as so redesignated) by inserting `(A)’ before `(i)(I)’;
(4) in subparagraph (A)(ii) (as so redesignated)—
(A) by striking `determined’ and inserting `was determined’;
(B) by striking `Secretary’ and inserting `Secretary of Transportation’; and
(C) by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
`(B) is located not less than 90 miles from the nearest medium or large hub airport; and
`(C) had an average subsidy per passenger of less than $1,000 during the most recent fiscal year, as determined by the Secretary.’.
(b) Limitation on Authority To Decide a Place Not an Eligible Place- Section 41731(b) of such title is amended—
(1) by striking `Secretary of Transportation’ and inserting `Secretary’; and
(2) by striking `on the basis of a passenger subsidy at that place or on another basis’ and inserting `on any basis’.
(c) Exceptions and Waivers- Section 41731 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following:
`(c) Exceptions for Locations in Alaska- Subsections (a)(1)(B) and (a)(1)(C) shall not apply with respect to a location in the State of Alaska.
`(d) Waivers- The Secretary may waive subsection (a)(1)(B) with respect to a location if the Secretary determines that the geographic characteristics of the location result in undue difficulty in accessing the nearest medium or large hub airport.’.
Passed the House of Representatives July 20, 2011.
So LaHood can waive it for airports qualifying under subsection (a)(1)(B).. alright I figured that out.
But does it matter that HE CAN’T WAIVE the requirement for those qualifying under (a)(1)(A)?
Anyway kudos to John Mica for his fight. I hope the funding authorized- $3,380,178,082 for the period beginning on October 1, 2010, and ending on September 16, 2011.’- is a cut.
Did the GOP really expect this narcissist in chief to honor any provisions of the bills they pass?
Next time he wants a debt increase - stroke of the pen.
If he can figure out a way to raise taxes the same way- stroke of the pen.
The list, ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
The stupid party allows an unelected bureaucrat to screw the country... again.
I wish ill will on all socialist politicians.
We don’t like what the House says, so we’ll just ignore it.
Now why don’t you little people make yourselves useful and pay your taxes? Your government is broke. :)
/sarc(?)
Lost a toe, but saved the leg.
It is disappointing to read these comments. Now, I sometimes post without reading the article, but in those cases at least I know what the article is about.
Neither Obama nor LaHood are claiming the right to ignore the law (or what will become the law when the Senate passes the House-approved bill and the President signs it). This is not a line-item veto. LaHood is merely invoking a clause *that was put into the bill by the Republican House* that allows the Secretary of Transportation to waive the prohibition on spending money on rural airports if it would imperil access to transportation or something like that, and LaHood will invoke the clause immediately upon the bill becoming law. Now, one can argue that LaHood hasn’t really shown that there won’t be access to rural transportation without spending that money, and perhaps we can get a court to step in and rule that LaHood hasn’t met the conditions to invoke the clause (although I doubt we’d win a court case, since the Transportation Secretary would be afforded great discretion by the courts), but that is something completely different from accusing the Obama Administration of unilaterally striking down a legal provision. Obama has done that before (e.g., by refusing to enforce DOMA), but in this case he would be acting pursuant to authority granted by the statute).
In any event, this $16 million is a trivialmissue compared to a clause of vital importance that I believe the GOP included in the FAA bill and which Obama wouldn’t be able to waive: the provisionnstriking down the regulation that would allow airline-worker unions to be created merely by the union obtaining a majority vote among workers who voted instead of a majority of all workers. That’s the real reason why the Democrat Senate refused to pass the House bill before; the fact that they’ll pass it now with the fig leaf of LaHood waiving the prohibition on spending $16 million onnrural airports makes me believe that the Democrats were afraid of getting tbe blame for the shutdown and capitulated.
Golly gee, FAA has been shut down for the past two weeks? If Bush were still pres that would have been screaming headline news.