Goodlatte Applauds Passage of Resolution Defending Congress' Constitutional Powers

Authorizes Speaker to file brief in Supreme Court challenging President’s unilateral actions on immigration

Washington, D.C.  – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement on House approval of H. Res. 639, a resolution allowing the Speaker to file a brief on behalf of the House of Representatives defending Congress’ Article 1 powers to write our nation’s laws: “President Obama’s decision to ignore the constitutional limits placed on his power and act unilaterally to rewrite our nation’s immigration laws are a threat to our Republic. The President himself stated at least 22 times that he does not have the authority to change immigration laws on his own yet he did so anyway. Such lawlessness must be stopped so that we preserve the separation of powers in the Constitution and protect individual liberty.“The people’s duly elected representatives in Congress cannot sit silent as the Executive Branch continues to overstep its constitutional authority. I thank Speaker Ryan for his efforts to defend Congress’ constitutional powers so that we protect freedom for future generations, and am pleased the House acted today to fight President Obama’s power grab.”Background: In December 2014, numerous states – led by the State of Texas – filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration, and Chairman Goodlatte and others signed an amicus brief submitted to the federal court in support of the states’ lawsuit. On February 17, 2015 a federal judge temporarily blocked President Obama’s unilateral immigration actions. Following this decision, Chairman Goodlatte and other Members of Congress filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of a continued injunction against President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration in the case of United States v. Texas. On November 10, 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction preventing President Obama’s executive overreach on immigration from being implemented. The case is now pending in the Supreme Court.

Watch Goodlatte’s floor speech on H. Res. 639 here. Read Goodlatte’s November 2014 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on the unconstitutionality of President Obama’s unilateral, unconstitutional actions here.