Congressional inaction

By Jim Killebrew

[July 15, 2014]  For weeks now we have been listening to the complaints from the Republican Party members about the multiple scandals that have unfolded from the Administration. How many times have we heard about Lois Learner, her alleged involvement in the targeted IRS investigations into conservative groups and individuals? How many times have we listened to the tirades of republican representatives and senators complaining about the spying from the NSA? We have listened to the travesty of the waiting lists in the veteran’s administration hospital system and the number of veterans who have died as a result of the sub-standard care and lack of leadership. We are even now hearing of the House of Representatives suing the President for overreaching and extending his power by changing various laws, especially in the Affordable Care Act. Now we are even hearing about the IRS official Lois Learner having written an instant message to subordinates asking about the messages and warning them to not write anything that might be shared with Congress during various investigations; the so-called “smoking gun” of the IRS issue.

Yet, through all the complaints from Congressional members we are not seeing actual action being taken. All we see is grandstanding and “woe is me” type of speeches. The Congress has the power of the purse; they control the funding of the various agencies under the President. Congress can simply reduce or eliminate the funding to those agencies so they cannot operate. The President cannot extend his power to provide the funding he needs to implement those “pen and phone” ventures he so happily likes to tout about. The Congress also has the power and authority to impeach various high-official government employees who are not doing the job they were appointed to do. Yet, to date, we have not seen any attempt by Congress to interrupt any of the inner workings of the scandals by actually holding people accountable by actually starting the impeachment process for those leaders of those agencies. Nor have we heard anything about defunding the many agencies that are spending massive amounts of money to produce emails they fail to produce, and even lose and then recycle the hard drives.

It is time, past time, for the Congress to use their Constitutional power to step up to the plate and use the tools they have available to them to actually do something and quit whining about the misuse of power the President is exerting.

Presidential inaction

Of course while the President has been keeping himself busy with the activities of his “pen and phone” to give the Congress reason to take action of their own against his abuse of power, there is something he could do that would be beneficial and increase his standing with the American people at the same time.

It was back to jail for the Marine Sgt. Tahmooressi who had a court hearing in Mexico on July 9th. For over 100 days he has been in prison for his having mistakenly crossed the U.S. and Mexican border more than three months ago. The judge hearing the case made the decision to return Sgt. Tahmooressi to his jail cell to wait for the next hearing that will keep processing for months to come as it passes through the Mexican judicial system.

Here is a Marine who has spent two tours in the Afghanistan war theater and has seemingly been “left behind” in Mexico with little or no intervention from the President or his Administration. There are many Congressional representatives who are trying to intervene on the Marine’s behalf. The President, however, seems too busy to speak up for that Marine, but for one who may have deserted his post to look for the Taliban the President seemed all too willing to negotiate with the Taliban that ultimately received five high-ranking terrorists back into their fold to fight against Americans another day.

Mexico is a trading partner with the United States that amounts to billions of dollars. Tens of thousands of Mexican citizens have illegally crossed the American border and are now being given aide to live the American way of life to follow the American Dream. The taxpayers of the United States are giving over 250 million dollars in aid to the Mexican people annually. The United States is currently involved in trying to care for at least 65,000 unaccompanied children who passed through Mexico from the extreme Southern Mexican border to the Northern Mexico border where they have been dumped without having been arrested: One American arrested and jailed for mistakenly crossing the border; 65,000 Central American citizens crossing the border, traveling more than a thousand through the heartland of Mexico and no arrests. Instead the Mexican government aids and abets that movement all the way to the American border.

One call with his phone or one letter with his pen to the President of Mexico from the President of the United States with a request or demand to release the U.S. Marine would get the job done. What is the reason he will not make the effort? Many American citizens want to know.

Looking at the inaction of both Congress in their dealings with the Presidential misadventures and the inaction of the President in his failing to connect with the Mexican government in regard to the Sgt. Tahmooressi incident is more than the American people should tolerate. We are not getting what we paid for in votes and taxes. Perhaps washing the slate clean in November would help.
 

[By JIM KILLEBREW]