Obama Takes On Congress Over Policy Czar Positions.doc

Obama Takes On Congress Over Policy Czar Positions By JAMES RISEN Published: April 16, 2011 WASHINGTON — President Obama issued a signing statement on Friday night saying that he could bypass a provision in the new budget that would prevent him from appointing White House “czars” to oversee major policy initiatives. In a statement accompanying his signing of the short-term budget agreement that passed Congress just in time to avert a government shutdown, Mr. Obama objected to the provision that would eliminate money for four czars handling health care,climate change , the auto industry and urban affairs. Lawmakers have criticized the use of such czars to oversee broad swaths of federal policy, arguing that they have enormous power yet are not accountable to Congress. All of the positions affected by the budget bill are vacant or have been eliminated, and it is not clear whether the White House wanted to fill any of them. But the White House is apparently willing to take on Congress on the principle that banning the president from assigning his advisers to handle particular policy issues would constitute a breach of the separation of powers. In his signing statement , Mr. Obama took issue with an obscure provision in the budget agreement, which keeps the government running through September. Mr. Obama said that the effort to cut financing from the positions conflicts with the presidents “well-established authority to supervise and oversee the executive branch.” His statement added that the president “has the prerogative to obtain advice that will assist him in carrying out his constitutional responsibilities, and do so not only from executive branch officials and employees outside the White House, but also from advisers within it.” The statement argued that the Congressional effort violates the separation of powers “by undermining the presidents ability to exercise his constitutional responsibilities.” In his decision to pick a fight with his critics over unfilled j