WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) issued the following statement regarding House adoption of H.Res. 639, authorizing the Speaker to file an amicus brief on behalf of the House of Representatives in the case of United States v. Texas:
“Today, the House took a strong stand and pushed back against President Obama’s illegal amnesty and executive overreach. Everybody who took basic civics knows that Congress writes the laws and the executive branch implements laws. Today’s vote authorizes the House of Representatives to formally present this principle of separation of powers before the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Unfortunately, President Obama has repeatedly shown his disregard for the Constitution and our nation’s rule of law by attempting to write laws from the Oval Office. The power vested in the executive branch to faithfully execute and implement our laws is not a license to ignore, override, or rewrite laws.
“President Obama’s go-it-alone style of governing by executive fiat is a direct affront to the delicate system of checks and balances that exists between the branches of our government and the separation of powers that provides the foundation of our great democracy. For this reason, it is imperative that the House of Representatives file this amicus brief before the Supreme Court to protect the legislative branch’s role in this republican form of government. Nothing less is at stake.”