More info on the health emergency ‘extraordinary powers’
Posted by Clyde Middleton
on Oct 24 2009 Filed under Politics.
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More information is available from the NYT on those “extraordinary powers” being spread around by Obama. First, the actual Proclamation has not been released on the WH website. In the “Source doc” post earlier today, we learned the following:
Page 15: When declaring a national emergency, the President must indicate, according to Title III, the powers and authorities being activated to respond to the exigency at hand. Certain presidential accountability and reporting requirements regarding national emergency declarations were specified in Title IV, and the repeal and continuation of various statutory provisions delegating emergency powers was accomplished in Title V.
It sure would be nice if the Administration would act with more transparency so we could see what powers Obama has doled out to unelected officials.
We can get some clues from the NYT piece:
The declaration that Obama signed late Friday means Health and Human Services chief Kathleen Sebelius to bypass federal rules when opening alternative care sites, such as offsite hospital centers at schools or community centers, if needed.
“Alternative care sites” could include – prove me wrong – modern-day leper colonies.
Hospitals could modify patient rules — for example, requiring them to give less information during a hectic time — to quicken access to treatment, with government approval.
This is silly. When I went to the ER a couple of years ago, all they wanted was my name so they could pull up my medical records. When I offered my insurance card, I was told they could not take it until after they were assured that I was stable. “Less information” means that they won’t pull my medical records before treating me?
The declaration, which the White House announced Saturday, allows HHS in some cases to let hospitals relocate emergency rooms offsite to reduce flu-related burdens and to protect noninfected patients.
Op cit., “leper colony.”
And now for the chilling conclusion:
It was the second of two steps needed to give Sebelius extraordinary powers during a crisis.
Now she has all the authority she needs? Why is that not comforting?
Let’s add another layer (no, I do not trust this putz). The President is required to transmit immediately the declaration to the Federal Register (“Such proclamation shall immediately be transmitted to the Congress and published in the Federal Register”). Unfortunately, he did it AFTER the publication deadline for Friday, and it is not published on the weekends. No, we haven’t heard anything out of Congress, either.
Here is why we want to see the Proclamation:
When the President declares a national emergency, no powers or authorities made available by statute for use in the event of an emergency shall be exercised unless and until the President specifies the provisions of law under which he proposes that he, or other officers will act. Such specification may be made either in the declaration of a national emergency, or by one or more contemporaneous or subsequent Executive orders published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress. (Emphasis added.)
Interesting side note – it suggests that an Executive Order is required. Have previous emergencies been declared by Proclamation?
The issue here is that Obama has engendered no trust whatsoever, so him declaring a national emergency when the swine flu has been called mild by some, much less prevalent than feared by others leads it to be a questionable act. Yes, 1,000 people have died – that’s tragic. Yes, it seems to be concentrated in young people – even more tragic. But how many people die from the seasonal flu? About 30,000 each year.
This action suggests the same level of over action as calling a joint session of Congress for a political issue.
Related Posts
- Source doc: National Emergency Powers
- Climate bill’s ‘emergency provision’ gives Obama strong-man powers
- Obama declares H1N1 a national emergency
- Source doc: DECLARATION OF A NATIONAL EMERGENCY WITH RESPECT TO THE 2009 H1N1 INFLUENZA PANDEMIC
- Emergency Filing: Chrysler Creditors Take Obama to Supreme Court
Short URL: http://libertypundits.net/?p=7970
Obama is sending congress 2 messages. He doesn’t need them for certain things he wants done, and will move without them. Second, get inline and get healthcare Passed no matter what! Or else.
What was it that HIllary said? “No crisis should be wasted?” not quite sure what they stand to gain by all this other than forcing vaccinations on people and looking like they are handling some national emergency. Kind of like people at work pretending to be busy so no one asks them what they are really doing.
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