Notion That President Can Spend Public Funds W/O Congressional Authorization Is A Fantasy

[kpete]

The notion that the President is constitutionally empowered to spend public funds without congressional authorization is fantasy. . . . Nothing in the text, history, practice, or judicial construction of the Constitution leads to any other conclusion. To be sure, emergencies may arise that so threaten U.S. interests as to make immediate action-including spending without congressional authority-imperative. In such situations, the President may find it essential to direct spending without an appropriation made by law. But the President, and those who advise the President, should recognize that such expenditures contravene the clear and explicit terms of the appropriations clause and are patently unconstitutional. When emergencies necessitate spending without prior congressional approval, the President must be prepared to seek subsequent congressional ratification or face the political consequences of the unlawful conduct.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/Military_Law_Review/pdf-files/276C75~1.pdf

What becomes increasingly clear is that impeachment proponents, if they believe Bush will act in the manner ..., should be urging defunding of the Iraq Debacle, as no other act would so galvanize the country to demand impeachment and removal from office of the President.

http://www.talkleft.com/story/2007/7/23/12398/7644