Where in the Constitution is this Authority?

By on March 27, 2009 in Constitution, Video
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If you haven’t seen it yet, Rep Michele Bachmann questioned Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke on 03/25/09 and took a position rarely seen in Washington DC.  In short, her position is that which is enshrined in the 10th Amendment – “Where in the Constitution are the Treasury and the Fed given such powers?”

Bachmann: What provision in the Constitution could you point to, to give authority for the actions that have been taken by Treasury since March of 08?

Geithner:  Oh, uh, the Congress legislated in the emergency economic stabilization act a range of very important new authorities..

Bachmann:  Sir, in the Constitution.  What in the Constitution could you point to, to give authority to the treasury for the extraordinary actions that have been taken.

Geithner:  Every action that the treasury and the fed and the FDIC is….been using authority granted by this body…by the Congress.

Bachmann:  And in the Constitution, what could you point to?

Geithner:  Under the laws of the land, of course.

Bachmann:  And if I could move to the federal reserve chair, if you could point to what provision in the Constitution that would give authority to the federal reserve – this has been over 10 trillion dollars that we’re talking about.

Bernanke:  I don’t know where 10 trillion dollars comes from.  The congress has the right to authorize funds, which is what they did in the TARP program, and they have given us in the 1930s…they gave the federal reserve the power for emergency lending as a means of addressing financial crises which is what we’ve done.

Bachmann:  And to the federal reserve chair – Do you believe there are any limits on the authority that the Federal Reserve has taken since last March…of 08?

Bernanke:  The loans we make have to be fully secured and collateralized.  We have practical limits in terms of our ability to manage monetary policies.  So there are obviously limits. We have reported extensively to the Congress on all the actions we have taken, and the actions we’ve taken have been solely and entirely for the purpose of protecting the American economy from the effects of financial collapse.

About Michael Boldin

Michael Boldin [send him email] is the founder of the Tenth Amendment Center. He was raised in Milwaukee, WI, and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA. Follow him on twitter - @michaelboldin, on LinkedIn, and on Facebook.
View all posts by Michael Boldin →

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6 comments
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Kaelieh
Kaelieh

The American people are rightly justified in their anger over unconstitutional actions taken in the past and more importantly the failure of our representatives to take a stand against such actions. However, our continued objection of such issues will only further hinder the state of the Republic and action to prevent future injustices if we do not forgive such grievances when our representatives do take action against unconstitutional acts today.

We reserve our god-given right to be angry and to demand accountability for our representatives. Each and everyone that has failed us each and everyday in the past deserve to answer for these crimes.

We, the People, must also take heed to wisdom. Our rightful anger over the past cannot be allowed to stop progression of federal power. Failure by our legislature to listen and act when we, the people, spoke out demanding it, can only cease if we do not begrudge when they take action because they have finally heard our words.

We can be angry. We should be angry. We will make those criminals answer to us. But in order to do so we must not condemn those who do take action against crime, for if we out of anger do not allow the voices of the few to prevent the crimes of the many, we are defeating our own cause.

Michael Boldin
Michael Boldin

Kaelieh: I think you've given a really valuable perspective here. We need to hold those accountable that have violated their oaths to the constitution - while at the same time rewarding those who 'come in from the darkside' so to speak. It's a fine line, but if there's nothing positive for those doing the right things now, where's the incentive?

ed from ga
ed from ga

Mr. Geithner correctly answered the question. His authority comes from Congress, which passed the legislation that created his position and the laws under which that position operates. Michele Bachmann is an idiot.

Michael Boldin
Michael Boldin

Ed, actually you have it completely backwards. While the Congress did pass legislation to "authorize" these activities, it's that legislation itself that should be questioned.

The constitution was written under a principle called "positive grant" - meaning that only those things that were "positively" listed in the constitution were "granted" as powers to the federal government.

The founders felt so strongly about this principle that they codified it in law as the 10th Amendment, which spells out quite clearly that the feds cannot do things that the constitution doesn't authorize.

To question where the constitution authorized government, or agency actions is the duty - I would argue the prime duty - of legislators on the federal level.

In my opinion, there are only 2 legislators that are doing this. Ron Paul, and now Michele Bachmann. Almost all the rest are constitutional criminals.

John Silka
John Silka

Wait, so David, you don't care if someone says what is right ...do you? You only care about whether or not they were right or wrong in the past? With that in mind, I would recommend that you never, ever, ever listen to anyone.

DavidL
DavidL

And where was Rep Michele Bachmann when President Bush was ordering wiretaps, internments and TARP funds in the first place? Sorry, you don't get it both ways I'm afraid.

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  1. The Right Side of Life » Friday’s Headlines says:
    March 27, 2009 at 11:07 am

    [...] Where in the Constitution is this Authority? [...]