Why We Have to Look Back

Why We Have to Look Back
Washington Post
By John Conyers Jr.
Friday, January 16, 2009; A19

This week, I released "Reining in the Imperial Presidency," a 486-page report detailing the abuses and excesses of the Bush administration and recommending steps to address them. Arthur Schlesinger Jr. popularized the term "imperial presidency" in the 1970s to describe an executive who had assumed more power than the Constitution allows and circumvented the checks and balances fundamental to our three-branch system of government. Until recently, the Nixon administration seemed to represent a singular embodiment of the idea. Unfortunately, it is clear that the threat of the imperial presidency lives on and, indeed, reached new heights under George W. Bush.

As this report documents, there was the administration's contrived drive to a needless war of aggression with Iraq, based on manipulated intelligence and facts that were "fixed around the policy." There was its politicization of the Justice Department; unconscionable and possibly illegal policies on detention, interrogation and extraordinary rendition; warrantless wiretaps of American citizens; the ravaging of our regulatory system and the use of signing statements to override the laws of the land; and the intimidation and silencing of critics and whistle-blowers who dared to tell fellow citizens what was being done in their name. And all of this was hidden behind an unprecedented veil of secrecy and outlandish claims of privilege.

I understand that many feel we should just move on. They worry that addressing these actions by the Bush administration will divert precious energy from the serious challenges facing our nation. I understand the power of that impulse. Indeed, I want to move on as well -- there are so many things that I would rather work on than further review of Bush's presidency. But in my view it would not be responsible to start our journey forward without first knowing exactly where we are.

We cannot rebuild the appropriate balance between the branches of government without fully understanding how that relationship has been distorted. Likewise, we cannot set an appropriate baseline for future presidential conduct without documenting and correcting the presidential excesses that have just occurred. After the Nixon imperial presidency, critical reviews such as the Church and Pike committees led to fundamental reforms that have served our nation well. Comparable steps are needed to begin the process of reining in the legacy of the Bush imperial presidency. I consider these three points crucial:

First, Congress should continue to pursue its document requests and subpoenas that were stonewalled under President Bush. Doing so will make clear that no executive can forever hide its misdeeds from the public.

Second, Congress should create an independent blue-ribbon panel or similar body to investigate a host of previously unreviewable activities of the Bush administration, including its detention, interrogation and surveillance programs. Only by chronicling and confronting the past in a comprehensive, bipartisan fashion can we reclaim our moral authority and establish a credible path forward to meet the complex challenges of a post-Sept. 11 world.

Third, the new administration should conduct an independent criminal probe into whether any laws were broken in connection with these activities. Just this week, in the pages of this newspaper, a Guantanamo Bay official acknowledged that a suspect there had been "tortured" -- her exact word -- in apparent violation of the law. The law is the law, and, if criminal conduct occurred, those responsible -- particularly those who ordered and approved the violations -- must be held accountable.

Some day, there is bound to be another national security crisis in America. A future president will face the same fear and uncertainty that we did after Sept. 11, 2001, and will feel the same temptation to believe that the ends justify the means -- temptation that drew our nation over to the "dark side" under the leadership of President Bush and Vice President Cheney. If those temptations are to be resisted -- if we are to face new threats in a manner that keeps faith with our values and strengthens rather than diminishes our authority around the world -- we must fully learn the lessons of our recent past.

The writer, a Democrat, represents Michigan's 14th District in the U.S. House and is chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

C-SPAN Discussion of HR 676 Tuesday Night

John Conyers and other Members of Congress will take to the floor of the House of Representatives Tuesday evening, June 10, to lead a discussion of HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation. HR 676 now has 90 co-sponsors in the House, more than any other health care bill.

Conyers has reserved the time under House Rules known as “Special Orders.” Special Orders provide the opportunity for discussion on a specific topic to occur after the last floor vote of the day. Other congressional representatives who will participate in the discussion are Emanuel Cleaver (MO), Nancy Boyda (KS), Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX) and Diane Watson (CA).

The TUESDAY, June 10, session will be covered on C-SPAN, beginning at approximately 9:00 p.m. eastern standard time (EST).

Georgia State AFL-CIO Endorses H.R. 676,Universal Health Care Bill

The Georgia AFL-CIO is the 26th state AFL-CIO federation to endorse HR 676, single-payer health care legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-Mich).

The Georgia AFL-CIO represents more than 100,000 in over 350 affiliated local unions.

The resolution passed Oct. 17th at the convention held in Augusta celebrating the 125th Anniversary of the Georgia AFL and the 50th Anniversary of the merged Georgia AFL-CIO.

When the resolution passed, Charlie F. Key, Financial Secretary-Treasurer of the state federation, said, “How can anyone in good conscience not know that healthcare is a basic necessity of life and is enshrined in those three tenets of the Declaration of Independence ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. We currently see the results of having too many uninsured. Grady Hospital in Atlanta and Memorial Hospital in Savannah are facing serious budget shortfalls because the number of uninsured patients is increasing rapidly.”

H.R. 676 would institute a single payer health care system in the U.S. by expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to every resident. HR 676 would cover every person in the U. S. for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care, chiropractic and long term care. HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. H.R. 676 would save billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private health insurance industry and HMOs.

HR 676 currently has 86 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers. It has been endorsed by 336 union organizations in 48 states including 93 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 26 state AFL-CIOs.

For more information see: HealthCare-Now.org

House Committee to Initiate Hearings on Abuse of Presidential Power

From AfterDowningStreet.org:

(Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. announced that he will be holding a full committee hearing next week titled, “The Use and Misuse of Presidential Clemency Power for Executive Branch Officials.” The hearing will be held next Wednesday, July 11, at 10:15 am in the committee’s hearing room, 2141 Rayburn House Office Building.

“In light of yesterday’s announcement by the President that he was commuting the prison sentence for Scooter Libby, it is imperative that Congress look into presidential authority to grant clemency, and how such power may be abused,” Conyers said. “Taken to its extreme, the use of such authority could completely circumvent the law enforcement process and prevent credible efforts to investigate wrongdoing in the executive branch.”

Who: The House Judiciary Committee

Witnesses, TBA

What: “The Use and Misuse of Presidential Clemency Power for Executive Branch Officials”

When: Wednesday, July 11, 2007, 10:15 am

Where: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building

See statements on the commuting of Scooter Libby’s sentence from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, and Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter: http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=547