Under Attack: Congressional Power in the Twenty-first Century

BY CHARLES E. SCHUMER

Every basic civics text recites that our government is divided into three branches and that these three branches are co-equal partners. But as true as that once was, this system of exquisite checks and balances is at risk of being made anachronistic by recent legal and political developments. The traditional functions of Congress as lawmaker and a check on other branches have come under sustained and systematic assault from both the udicial and executive branches.

The assault from the Executive began as a gradual diminution of congressional power after a post-Nixon-era zenith, but has accelerated most dramatically under President George W. Bush. The threat to Congress from the Judiciary comes in the form of rulings invalidating congressional enactments at an alarming pace over the past ªfteen years, largely in service of a cramped interpretation of congressional authority under both the Commerce Clause and Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. Together, these twin trends have undermined Congress’s role as lawmaker and its role as a bulwark against overreaching by the other branches.

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