The Power of Separation American Constitutionalism and the Myth of the Legislative Veto

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Korn, Jessica.

Series:

Princeton studies in American politics.

Princeton Studies in American Politics

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (196 pages).

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton Univ Press, 1998.

Summary:

Jessica Korn challenges the notion that the eighteenth-century principles underlying the American separation of powers system are incompatible with the demands of twentieth-century governance. She demostrates the continuing relevance of these principles by questioning the dominant scholarship on the legislative veto. As a short-cut through constitutional procedure invented in the 1930s and invalidated by the Supreme Court's Chadha decision in 1983, the legislative veto has long been presumed to have been a powerful mechanism of congressional oversight. Korn's analysis, however, shows that commentators have exaggerated the legislative veto's significance as a result of their incorrect assumption that the separation of powers was designed solely to check governmental authority. The Framers also designed constitutional structure to empower the new national government, institutionalizing a division of labor among the three branches in order to enhance the government's capacity. By examining the legislative vetoes governing the FTC, the Department of Education, and the president's authority to extend most-favored-nation trade status, Korn demonstrates how the powers that the Constitution grants to Congress made the legislative veto short-cut inconsequential to policymaking. These case studies also show that Chadha enhanced Congress's capacity to pass substantive laws while making it easier for Congress to preserve important discretionary powers in the executive branch. Thus, in debunking the myth of the legislative veto, Korn restores an appreciation of the enduring vitality of the American constitutional order.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

Chapter One Introduction: American Constitutionalism and American Political Science

Chapter Two THE AMERICAN SEPARATION OF POWERS DOCTRINE

Chapter Three THE LEGISLATIVE VETO

Chapter Four THE LEGISLATIVE VETO OVER THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Chapter Five LEGISLATIVE VETOES IN EDUCATION STATUTES

Chapter Six LEGISLATIVE VETOES OVER PRESIDENTIAL AUTHORITY TO EXTEND MOST-FAVORED-NATION STATUS

Chapter Seven CONCLUSION

NOTES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

NAME INDEX

GENERAL INDEX

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691058566

0691058563

9780691219349

0691219346

OCLC:

1203951053