Congressional Sovereignty Over Executive Authority Amendment of 2007 (BR)

Congressional Democrats plan to introduce a bill in the coming days that would strip President Bush of the authority they voted to grant him in 2002 to wage war in Iraq. However, given the structure of the Constitutional system, this cause is more or less lost before it is to begin, as it would require the President to sign off on a cut to his own power.

This eventuality seems to have been overlooked by the founders of our country, and the inability of Congress to take power away from a President must be addressed. The Constitution must be amended to allow Congress to draw the parameters of presidential power and deny authority which is used irresponsibly or renders the commander-in-chief a de facto monarch.

With that in mind, here is the text of the Congressional Sovereignty Over Executive Authority Amendment of 2007:

To: United States Congress and State Houses

Being that the authority of the President of the United States tends toward expansion; and that the practice of Presidents signing into law enhancements of their own power lacks the mechanism of a Constitutional check that is the bedrock of a functioning Republic; and that the Congress, having endowed a President with power, lacks currently the authority to later remove it without approval of that very President;

We, the People of the United States of America, do hereby affirm and ratify this Twenty-Eighth Amendment to the Constitution:

Section 1 - All legislation pertaining to the augmentation or diminution of Presidential authority shall be enacted as law upon passage by a supermajority, or sixty per cent, of both Houses of Congress, and shall not be subject to veto by the President.

Section 2 - Bills of this nature shall be introduced as standalone legislation only and shall not be subject to floor amendments in the Senate or House of Representatives.

I encourage our readers to view the petition I have drawn up and sign on if you agree. Any opinions, comments and partisan flames are also welcome.