Is it time to revisit the "independent" agency?
Washington Times (6/21/22) op-ed: "'All executive power shall be vested in the President of the United States of America.' With those 15 simple and unambiguous words, the framers of the Constitution — and those state legislatures that ratified them — made clear that they believed in and had created a unitary executive...Unfortunately, one of the “reforms” promoted by the Progressive Movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was an attempt to redirect and attenuate the unitary nature of the president. This ultimately led to the creation of independent agencies — 'independent' precisely because they stand outside the constitutional framework specified in Article II...The question of independent agencies is not academic. It is current and pressing.For instance, in February, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — which regulates wholesale electricity rates and the construction of pipelines (among other things) issued two new draft policy statements that would have the practical effect of banning the construction of new natural gas pipelines in the U.S. These documents would expressly impose a basis for procedural and litigatory delays in permitting pipelines. In early March, FERC Chair Richard Glick testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. During the hearing, Sen. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican, asked: 'Has anyone higher up in the administration ever spoken to you in regards to somehow slow-walking or otherwise impeding or otherwise accentuating policy that would have the effect of impeding the development of natural gas pipelines?' Mr. Glick answered: 'Absolutely not.' Unfortunately, a series of requests to FERC under the Freedom of Information Act made by the Institute for Energy Research, indicate that Mr. Glick had met with a senior administration official — the deputy national climate adviser, Ali Zaidi — every other week for months before the new policies were announced."
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"Washington power‐brokers thus have a powerful tool to provide real relief at the pump—relief that’s also costless for everyone except the special interests that are currently enriched by Jones Act protectionism. We’re about to find out what scares politicians more: shipping lobbyists or irate drivers."
– Colin Grabow,
The Cato Institute
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