Bill Flores: “First of all, I think it is important to set the record straight. The issue here is not whether or not we want to take…”

“First of all, I think it is important to set the record straight. The issue here is not whether or not we want to take care of our oceans. All of us want to take care of our oceans. All of us believe in managing the ocean economy, the ocean ecology. We also believe in trying to make sure that we have a government that adheres to this Constitution. Under article I of that Constitution, all legislative powers are reserved to this body, to this Congress, not to the President. That is the issue at stake here. The President has overstepped his constitutional statutory bounds. Now, in the year 2000, Congress did pass something during the 106th Congress to create an ocean commission to review and make recommendations. Since then, the 108th, 109th, 110th, and 111th Congresses each looked at those recommendations and decided to take no legislative action. That is what caused the President to move forward with his executive order to try to go around Congress. There are no appropriations. We have asked the Department for this function specifically. We have asked the Department of Interior specifically to provide their statutory support for the President's actions. They have provided none. So the President has gone around Congress by signing these executive orders.…”