Report: Obama Administration’s Unprecedented Attempts to Expand Federal Power

 U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) released a report – “The Legal Limit: The Obama Administration’s Attempts to Expand Federal Power” – that analyzes six instances in the last 15 months where the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the Obama Administration’s arguments for increased federal power.

 Ted Cruz 

“When President Obama’s own Supreme Court nominees join their colleagues in unanimously rejecting his Administration’s call for broader federal power six times in just over one year, the inescapable conclusion is that the Obama Administration’s view of federal power knows virtually no bounds,” said Sen. Cruz. “This is a deeply troubling pattern that we will continue to highlight as long as this Administration continues seeking ways to expand its power in direct violation of Americans’ constitutional rights.”

Sen. Cruz’s report highlights the six cases that the Supreme Court has unanimously rejected since January 2012. Had President Obama’s Department of Justice been successful in its cases, the federal government would have the power to:

• Attach GPSs to a citizen’s vehicle to monitor his movements, without having any cause to believe that a person has committed a crime (United States v. Jones);
• Deprive landowners of the right to challenge potential government fines as high as $75,000 per day and take away their ability have a hearing to challenge those fines (Sackett v. EPA);
• Interfere with a church’s selection of its own ministers. (Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School v. EEOC);
• Override state law whenever the President desires. (Arizona v. United States);
• Dramatically extend statutes of limitations to impose penalties for acts committed decades ago. (Gabelli v. SEC); and
• Destroy private property without paying just compensation. (Arkansas Fish & Game Commission v. United States).

The arguments advanced in these cases demonstrate an astonishing view of federal power on behalf of the Obama Administration that is worthy of further examination. View the full report below:

The Legal Limit: The Obama Administration’s Attempts to Expand Federal Power