Ryan: I Will Vote for Boehner Suit

A House lawsuit against President Barack Obama for overstepping his Presidential powers is gathering steam, as Cong. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., announced he plans to vote in favor of suing the President.

Ryan told Politico, "I will vote for it" when the lawsuit comes up for a House vote next week.

"We're very concerned about the lawlessness of the administration exceeding the executive branch's authority," Ryan told Politico.

After 11 Democrat-proposed amendments were defeated in a contentious battle, the House Rules Committee voted 7-4 along anticipated party lines to allow the full House to vote whether to authorize House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to bring legal action against Obama, The Hill reports.
 
The Wall Street Journal reports that at issue is Obama's delay of the section of Obamacare that requires employers to provide insurance coverage for workers until 2015, well after the mid-term elections, and exempting employers with 50-99 workers until 2016.

"This was not the way our system of government was designed to work, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Tx., Rules Committee chairman, told Politico."Laws are not a mere list of suggestions that a president can pick and choose."

Sessions told the Wall Street Journal, "If Congress doesn't act now, the erosion of legislative power will continue, and the damage to our Constitution and to our republic will be irreversible."

Politico reports that Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-NY, blasted the lawsuit as a "political stunt" while House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Cal., told the WSJ, "It is clear that Republicans will do anything to distract attention from their special-interest agenda of obstruction and dysfunction. While Democrats work to jump-start the middle class, Republicans are wasting time and taxpayer dollars on another hypocritical, partisan and preposterous lawsuit against the president."

However, Ryan fired back on Politico, "We can walk and chew gum at the same time. We can juggle a lot of bills. We're working on border security, foreign policy, appropriations and many things at one time. So, it's not as if this displaces action on other items.

"He [Obama] unilaterally waved and delayed the employer mandate. He unilaterally waved other mandates, which the law doesn't allow him to do. So he's already shown that he's prone to circumvent the legislative branch and abuse the powers of the executive branch with these executive orders."

A CNN poll finds that 41 percent of Americans believe the lawsuit should proceed, while 45 percent believe Obama has exceeded his powers, according to Politico.

If the full House approves filing the lawsuit, as it is expected to do, a federal judge will decide whether the case can go forward into federal court, Politico notes.

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