Separation of Powers Alert: Obama Seeks Climate ‘Treaty’ without Senate Ratification
CEI's Marlo Lewis: 'The administration’s game plan, apparently, goes like this. Obama climate negotiators will argue that the greenhouse gas regulations administered by EPA, DOE, DOT, and other agencies fulfill our 1992 Rio Treaty obligation to implement climate change mitigation “policies and measures.” They then ask for similar “voluntary pledges” from other major emitters. The resulting agreement would merely update the Rio Treaty. Hence, no new vote on ratification is required. Legally, the problem with this strategy is that the Senate ratified the Rio Treaty precisely on the understanding that the executive branch would not make binding emission reduction commitments absent additional advice and consent. If the administration’s greenhouse gas regulations implement the Rio Treaty, then each should have been submitted to the Senate for a vote on ratification. None were.'
