Presidential Emergency Powers Are A Serious Problem

USA: News is coming out that the Occupier in Chief is planning to use emergency powers to promote abortion and to implement the “Build Back Bankrupt” agenda he cannot get through Congress. The reason both of these cannot pass Congress is because there are not enough stupid people in the Senate to vote for them. Further, implementation of the Build Back Bankrupt agenda will distress the country to such a point that chaos will ensue, much like what’s happened in Sri Lanka over the past months.

First, let’s look at emergency powers in the United States. There are 123 statutory powers that might be available to a president when he declares a national emergency. An additional thirteen would require a declaration from Congress. The most recent emergency power law is the National Emergencies Act, enacted in 1976, which ended all previous national emergencies and formalized the powers of the president. Under this law, repealing an emergency power would take two thirds of both houses of Congress.

When you take a look at the emergency powers laws, the top 16 powers are as follows:

1. Bank accounts can be frozen.

2. Bans on biological or chemical agents can be lifted.

3. Civil liberties, such as the right to a peaceful assembly, can be halted.

4. The president can order incarcerations.

5. Elections can be postponed indefinitely.

6. Federal leases can be suspended when the country faces dangers.

7. Foreign individuals can be ordered to leave the nation, and the borders can be closed.

8. National resources can be ushered into play to confront a natural disaster.

9. Sanctions pertaining to property and finances can be removed or initiated.

10. Soldiers and naval vessels may be ordered to engage in combat during a crisis.

11. The government can take control of the internet, radio, and TV because of a perilous matter, and production and distribution of goods can be seized.

12. The military can be mobilized domestically in a crisis, and martial law can be declared by the president.

13. The leader of the Executive Branch can launch a nuclear strike if necessary.

14. The president may order an assassination resulting from an emergency.

15. The right of habeas corpus can be suspended as a consequence of crises.

16. Transportation networks can be taken over by the government.

More than half of these violate the Constitution and take away our civil rights.

Let’s take a look at what presidents have done with their “Emergency Powers.”

In 1933, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 6102, eliminating the ownership of gold to “prevent hoarding.” In 1942, President Roosevelt took away constitutional rights of Japanese citizens via Executive Order 9066. The E.O. incarcerated 120,000 Japanese-Americans with no due process, no trial, no jury.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy used Executive Order 10995 to seize regulatory control of all telecommunications spectra in the United States. Kennedy, citing emergency powers, also signed executive orders allowing for the seizure of electric power fuels and minerals, roads, highways, ports, sea lanes, waterways, railroads, and the private vehicles on those throughways. Under further orders, he allowed for the Executive Office of the President to conscript citizens as laborers and seize health and education facilities and airports and aircraft. These are contained in Executive Orders 10997, 10999, 11000, 11001, 11002, 11003, 11004, and 11005. So much for the belief that Kennedy was conservative.

Since passage of the National Emergencies Act in 1976, every U.S. president has declared multiple national emergencies: Carter (2), Reagan (6), H.W. Bush (4), Clinton (17), W. Bush (12), Obama: (13), Trump (7). Most of these dealt with blocking property of foreign actors or governments and had little to do with taking away citizens’ rights.

Given what Biden and the Democrats have already done to destroy America, I have no doubt they would come up with a list of egregious declarations to finish us off before the midterms. We cannot allow this apparently lawful tyranny to continue if we expect to have a nation left. If we make it through to 2024, emergency powers need to be cut back significantly.

Featured Image: Photo (Cropped & Modified) in Featured Image (top) – by Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.