Trey-Gowdy_Page-05Washington, DC—Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4138, the Enforce the Law Act, by a vote of 233-181. Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) introduced this legislation with Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA.).

Gowdy:  “The Constitution gives Congress the responsibility to write the laws and the Executive to enforce them. We don’t pass suggestions. We don’t pass ideas. We pass laws. Regardless of our politics, I hope my colleagues have enough regard for our work to expect those laws would be faithfully executed.”

“The ENFORCE the Law Act is necessary. It gives Congress the ability to remedy executive overreach—not just react to it or punish it. Our Framers designed a system of three coequal branches. As Senator, President Obama repeatedly warned of the dangers of the executive branch. This bill would allow us to defend the legislative branch as the Framers and our fellow citizens expect.”

To prevent executive overreach, the ENFORCE the Law Act puts a procedure in place to permit the House, or the Senate, to authorize a lawsuit against the Executive Branch for failure to faithfully execute the laws.  The legislation also provides for expedited consideration of any such lawsuit, first through a three-judge panel at the federal district court level and then by providing for direct appeal to the United States Supreme Court. This expedited review is crucial in order to ensure that when a lawsuit is brought against the Administration to enforce our laws, the courts not only grant Congress standing, but also hear the case on an expedited timeline to prevent the President from stalling the litigation until his term is up.

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