Free Republic

President-elect Donald Trump has said he intends to cut government spending by reasserting the presidential power of impoundment, a move certain to spark a court battle and one that could redefine presidential power for decades to come. Impoundment occurs when the president chooses not to disburse funds authorized by Congress; instead leaving them unspent in the U.S. Treasury.This power is not mentioned in the Constitution but has been employed by presidents since Thomas Jefferson. Congress enacted limits on the practice 50 years ago.Now, Trump intends to challenge the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA), which he believes is unconstitutional.“I will...

On Special Report with Brit Hume on Fox News, 13 December, 2005, Senator Joe Biden (D, Delaware) said the following in reply to President Bush’s third policy speech on Iraq in Philadelphia yesterday: “Failure to get a consensus constitution spells doom for our policy in Iraq. So what is the plan, Mr. President? That is still lacking.” After saying that means participation by the UN, NATO, and Iraq’s neighbors, Biden added: “If this time next year nothing has changed concerning in terms of our success rate, we will be out of Iraq. The American people will not sustain this.” The...