Rae Oliver Davis: “I would point out, first of all, that in a national emergency, the President of the United States does have the ability…”

“I would point out, first of all, that in a national emergency, the President of the United States does have the ability to enact an emergency rule. But what this amendment seeks to do is shield the Department of Homeland Security from Congress's authority to approve regulations under the REINS Act. That shield should be denied. For example, take the Department's rule to extend compliance deadlines for States to issue secure driver's licenses under the REAL ID Act. Ten years after 9/11 when hijackers used fraudulent licenses to board airplanes to murder 3,000 innocent Americans, DHS continues to extend the deadline. Another example is the Department's 2009 rule to recall the Bush administration's no-match rule. That regulation helped companies to identify illegal workers and comply with Federal immigration law. When the Obama administration issued its rule to repeal no match, it put the interests of illegal immigrants above those of millions of unemployed Americans and legal immigrants. This is the kind of decisionmaking that takes place at the Department of Homeland Security. Congress should use every tool it can use to reassert its authority over the legislation rulemaking functions it has delegated to DHS. The result will be to streamline communication, to improve communication in crisp and focused pieces of legislation and regulation. The REINS Act is available to do that.…”