Burying the Constitution Under a Tarp

22 Pages Posted: 22 Jul 2009

See all articles by Gary Lawson

Gary Lawson

University of Florida Levin College of Law

Date Written: July 20, 2009

Abstract

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, a.k.a. 'the bank bailout bill,' engendered a fair degree of political controversy during and after its enactment but relatively little constitutional controversy. That is unfortunate, and at least a bit puzzling, because, as a matter of original meaning, the statute raises important constitutional questions along at least four dimensions: it is questionable whether Congress had the enumerated power to authorize the Treasury Department to purchase securities, the specific authorizations were sufficiently vague to raise serious questions under the nondelegation doctrine, the expansion of the powers of the Secretary of the Treasury under the statute make it quite possible that then-Secretary Henry Paulsen could not implement the Act in 2008 without a new appointment under the Appointments Clause, and President Bush’s unilateral decision to use some of the bank bailout money to subsidize automobile companies and unions reflects a truly stunning assertion of executive power. This essay, which is an extended version of remarks delivered on a panel on 'The Administrative State and the Constitution' as part of the Federalist Society’s February 27-28, 2009 student symposium entitled 'Separation of Powers and American Constitutionalism,' sketches these four legal problems with the EESA and relates them to broader themes regarding the place of the modern administrative state in the constitutional order.

Keywords: The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, EESA, the bank bailout bill, American Constitutionalism, separation of powers, securities

JEL Classification: K19, K22, K23, K40, K49

Suggested Citation

Lawson, Gary, Burying the Constitution Under a Tarp (July 20, 2009). Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, Vol. 33, 2010, Boston University School of Law Working Paper No. 09-31, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1436462

Gary Lawson (Contact Author)

University of Florida Levin College of Law ( email )

P.O. Box 117625
Gainesville, FL 32611-7625
United States

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