'Real-World' Versus Obama EPA: A Constitutional Power Grab

'Real-World' Versus Obama EPA: A Constitutional Power Grab

Shannon Goessling
SRN Insider

Thanks to our friends and fellow Constitutionalists at Salem Radio Network, the American people now realize that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama is engaged in a power grab against Congress and the courts. It's a constitutional crisis. And, adding fuel to the fire, President Obama's regulatory and law enforcement agencies are doing the same across the board – from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Regardless of your personal views on the environment and global warming, the actions and arguments of the EPA (and other agencies) represent a concerted effort to undermine the system of checks-and-balances that preserve our freedom.

In short, Congress provides oversight and writes laws; the courts review the laws and how they're enforced to ensure they're constitutional. The regulatory agencies are doing exactly the opposite – acting without Congressional oversight and approval, re-interpreting laws, and then arguing in court that they alone have the power to interpret and enforce the laws.

Now for the story behind the story of our legal challenges against EPA:

EPA Litigation Project Summary

Representing 12 Members of Congress and 15 companies and professional associations, SLF has filed multiple legal actions against the EPA challenging the flawed and fraudulent science and procedure used by the EPA in its so-called "Endangerment Finding" on global warming and carbon emissions. With several top scientific advisors and an excellent legal team, SLF is spearheading both court and administrative legal action to stop the trillion-dollar regulatory regime that will result in huge increases in utility and energy costs, higher taxes, and the staggering loss of 4 million jobs.

And what do we get in the terms of "improved global warming?"The best science available indicates that, if all steps were taken to follow the strict Kyoto Protocol and new regulatory schemes proposed before Congress right now, the global temperature MAY be affected by reducing the temperature slightly less than 1 degree Celsius in 100 years.

The EPA is arguing in court – the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (the second-highest court in the land) – that the court must give "extreme deference" to its decisions and that the court has little or no authority to oversee their regulations.

• Breathtaking argument, to which judges may respond, "What am I, a potted plant?"


• This runs counter to decades of court review and oversight of decisions made by regulatory agencies. IT'S THE CHECK-AND-BALANCE.


• MOST IMPORTANTLY, this is the SAME rationale argued by the FDA and NLRB, among other agencies, in court right now. This is a new line of argument, and it's unique to the Obama administration – power by seizure.

The EPA has neither received nor sought mandatory Congressional oversight in its decision to heavily regulate 6 million emitters of carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. They've re-written the law to suit their agenda. This is why we're in court.

The most transparent Administration in U.S. history? EPA, DoJ, and every federal office involved have stonewalled 11 document requests by our team under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). More entertaining and scary, the THOUSANDS of pages they've produced are 95% redacted – which makes for a quick read, and it reveals NOTHING.

'REAL-WORLD OBSERVATION' – Man-made global warming? Real-world observation of data reveals that no warming has taken place since 1998, yet there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

• Even if all the regulations are followed, EPA admits "absurd results" because the temperature change in 10 years cannot be measured by current tools (less than .00071 degrees Celsius).


• Climategate, Himalayagate, Amazongate, and etc. all reveal concerted effort to cover up the scientific data. THE MODELS DON'T WORK.


• So, what's the agenda: "Under my plan, energy prices will necessarily skyrocket" – Barack Obama, 2008.

Shannon is the executive director and chief legal counsel for Southeastern Legal Foundation, a constitutional public interest law firm founded in 1976 that is challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new climate change regulations. Visit www.epalawsuit.org for complete information on this critical litigation to protect constitutional separation of powers.

The EPA and NLRB just need to be abolished and the FDA needs to be reined in big time.

This is PRECISELY the kind of tyranny de Tocqueville warned of, not to mention Jefferson and other founders.

And believe me, this IS tryanny by executive fiat. These are unelected bureaucrats making arbitrary decisions infringing on private citizen's liberty and property. John Locke also spoke disdainfully about such usurpations by government.

Anyone who doubts Obama's Marxist tendencies need only read the article above or examine his actual record in office.