Remarks on Signing an Executive Order Establishing the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and an Exchange With Reporters
Issued 2010-02-18 by Barack Obama
Plain-English Overview
AI-generated summary explaining what this action does, who it affects, and why it matters
President Obama signed an executive order creating a bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform to address the government's long-term debt problem. The commission, led by former Senator Alan Simpson and former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, will have 18 members total—some appointed by the President and others by Democratic and Republican congressional leaders. Any recommendations will require approval from 14 of the 18 members to ensure bipartisan support.
The commission's job is to develop recommendations on how to cover the costs of all federal programs by 2015 and improve the country's long-term fiscal outlook. At the time of signing, the government was spending about 25 percent of GDP but only taking in about 16 percent, creating what Obama described as a structural deficit that had grown significantly since the budget surpluses of the late 1990s.
This action affects all Americans because it addresses federal spending and debt levels, though the commission itself only makes recommendations rather than directly changing policy. The executive order creates an advisory body to study the problem and propose solutions, rather than implementing specific budget cuts or tax changes on its own.
AI-generated summary for educational purposes
Constitutional Analysis
How this action fits (or doesn't) within Article II authority and existing law
This executive order ("Remarks on Signing an Executive Order Establishing the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and an Exchange With Reporters") involves withholding, pausing, or freezing federal funds. The President's stated reasoning: "One was a financial crisis brought on by reckless speculation that threatened to choke off all lending." This directly implicates the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which was passed specifically to prevent presidents from refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated. Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution grants Congress the exclusive "power of the purse."
When Congress passes an appropriations bill and the President signs it into law, the executive branch is legally obligated to spend those funds for their designated purpose. Courts have consistently held that policy disagreements do not give the President authority to unilaterally withhold congressionally appropriated money. This type of action frequently prompts litigation and has been struck down by federal courts.
Official Summary
Administration of Barack H. Obama, 2010 Remarks on Signing an Executive Order Establishing the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform and an Exchange With Reporters February 18, 2010 The President. Hello, everybody. All right. Good morning, everybody. When I took office, America faced three closely linked challenges. One was a financial crisis brought on by reckless speculation that threatened to choke off all lending. And this helped to spark the deepest recession since the Great Depression, from which we're still recovering. That recession, in turn, helped to aggravate an already severe fiscal crisis brought on by years of bad habits in Washington. Now, the economic crisis required the Government to make immediate emergency investments that added to our accumulated debt, critical investments that have helped to break the back of the recession and lay the groundwork for growth and job creation. But now, with so many Americans still out of work, the task of recovery is far from complete. So in the short term, we're going to be taking steps to encourage business to create jobs. That will continue to be my top priority. Still there's no doubt that we're going to have to also address th