23rd
May 2007 - President Bush has signed a directive
granting extraordinary powers to the office of the
president in the event of a declared national emergency,
apparently without congressional approval or oversight.
The "National
Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive"
was signed May 9.
It was
issued with the dual designation of NSPD-51, as a
National Security Presidential Directive, and HSPD-20,
as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive.
The
directive establishes under the office of the president
a new national continuity coordinator whose job is to
make plans for "National Essential Functions" of all
federal, state, local, territorial and tribal
governments, as well as private sector organizations to
continue functioning under the president's directives in
the event of a national emergency.
"Catastrophic emergency" is loosely defined as "any
incident, regardless of location, that results in
extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or
disruption severely affecting the U.S. population,
infrastructure, environment, economy, or government
functions."
The
president can assume the power to direct any and all
government and business activities until the emergency
is declared over.
The directive says the
assistant to the president for Homeland Security and
Counterterrorism, currently
Frances Fragos
Townsend,
would be designated as the national continuity
coordinator.
The directive makes no
attempt to reconcile the powers created for the national
continuity coordinator with the
National Emergency Act,
which requires that such proclamation "shall immediately
be transmitted to the Congress and published in the
Federal Register."
A
Congressional Research Service study notes the National
Emergency Act sets up Congress as a balance empowered to
"modify, rescind, or render dormant" such emergency
authority if Congress believes the president has acted
inappropriately.
But the
new directive appears to supersede the National
Emergency Act by creating the new position of national
continuity coordinator without any specific act of
Congress authorizing the position.
The
directive also makes no reference to Congress and its
language appears to negate any requirement that the
president submit to Congress a determination that a
national emergency exists.
It
suggests instead that the powers of the directive can be
implemented without any congressional approval or
oversight.
Homeland
Security spokesman Russ Knocke affirmed the Homeland
Security Department would implement the requirements of
the order under Townsend's direction.
The
White House declined to comment on the directive.
National Security and Homeland Security
Presidential Directive
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html
