Money has been redirected before.
Never has that authority been used as an end-run against the direct will of Congress.
So have you come off of the whole âheâs appropriating moneyâ meme now?
I did a Google search for âBudget sweep authorityâ.
I got no results. What exactly are you referring to?
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The power of appropriations is not just the power to spend money - it is also the power to decide what to buy.
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The President canât just make â â â â up, call it an emergency and then use funds anyway he wants. That is not legal.
US general says no military threat on southern border
No, it is the allotment of money to the various departments and agencies of the federal govât via the federal budget passed by congress.
Heâs not appropriating money, heâs reallocating money thatâs already been appropriated and redirecting it under the legal authority granted under the Emergency Powers Act.
You understand thatâs an op-ed from Newsmax, not an OMB document.
Right?
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When Congress appropriates money for specific purposes, the Executive canât willy-nilly redirect it for another purpose of his choosing. Iâm sure youâd agree with that. If Congress appropriates money for a general fund, to be used by the Executive branch as it sees fit, then sure, itâs fair game. Is that the sort of fund Trump is claiming from?
Sit back and watch. It doesnât have to be a âmilitary emergencyâ.
Itâs been done by pretty much every president going back at least to the Johnson Administration. Itâs going to happen again.
âŚexplicitly spending money against the will of Congress.
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
Does money leave the Treasury when it isnât spent?
Itâs already been drawn. The money is currently sitting in various department and agency accounts.
So where is that money, if not in the Treasury?
What example(s) of a president declaring an Emergency, and using his declaration as a justification for taking money legislated for one purpose to use for a different purpose of his choosing are you thinking of?
Treasury doesnât hand out bundles of money prior to it being spent.
Read the article above. Each agency and department has their own accounts.
It doesnât have to be done via emergency declaration.
Thatâs just a spreadsheet.
All of those âaccountsâ are part of the Treasury.
And thatâs not an âarticleâ. Itâs an opinion piece.
And itâs already been drawn from the general fund and distributed to the various agencies and departments via appropriations.
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