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Rubio: “This idea, that somehow your idea is so good, that it is somehow above the law and above the Constitution, is a very dangerous one. It not only violates the Constitution, it violates the very principles which have kept us a free and democratic country for so long.”
Washington, D.C. – In this week’s installment of Marco’s Constituent Mailbox video series, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) addresses President Obama’s promise of continued executive overreach made in his State of the Union Address. Rubio also addressed constituents questioning his recent official visit to Asia.
Rubio reads constituent letters — from Kathleen and Richard in St. Petersburg — and responds to their concerns about the President’s unilateral agenda for 2014.
In response, Rubio said, “This idea, that somehow your idea is so good, that it is somehow above the law and above the Constitution, is a very dangerous one. It not only violates the Constitution, it violates the very principles which have kept us a free and democratic country for so long. It’s one of the things that sets us apart from the rest of the world [… ]. One of the reasons why we have not been able to address, in the proper way, many of the issues the President raised, is because of these sorts of actions that he is taking. It’s undermined a slew of other potential policy areas where there could be agreement on. But when you take unilateral executive action, you undermine the entire process. And, you make people more cautious about dealing with you because they don’t trust you to enforce the laws in the future. As you appropriately cited, ObamaCare is an example of that.”
Rubio pointed to several cases currently going through the court system that challenge many of the President’s unilateral actions. Rubio predicts the courts will ultimately agree that the President’s excessive use of executive order is an abuse of power that undermines America’s democratic system.
Rubio also reads and responds to constituent letters — from Connie in Bonita Springs, Mickey from Boca Raton and Joseph in Safety Harbor — that inquire about the official visit Rubio recently took to Asia.
As the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, Rubio said, “The only way that I can exercise oversight on policy is by going to where that policy is being implemented; to get first hand on the ground what is exactly happening; by talking to people in the embassy; by talking to the leaders of this country; by talking to our military leaders. If members of Congress, who have oversight, don’t visit these places, then the only information I have is what the press reports and what the administration tells me. And I think that puts us at a tremendous disadvantage in terms of doing our job in this co-equal branch of government where we have a responsibility to have oversight, not just on the policy, but in how the money is being spent.”
View Rubio’s full YouTube response here. For television stations interested in airing today’s response, a broadcast quality video is available here.
Rubio encourages constituents to continue writing letters and sharing their concerns via Rubio’s official website, rubio.senate.gov.