'I’ve got a pen': Obama raises hackles with executive actions

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

With his newly announced overhaul of National Security Agency surveillance activities, President Obama has once again hit a nerve with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

 

The president, as he often does when facing a nettlesome problem, used his executive powers to implement changes. In his address on Friday, Obama said he's approved a "new presidential directive for our signals intelligence activities both at home and abroad."

 

The directive, Obama said, would strengthen oversight of intelligence and ensure trade and investment relationships are taken into account when spying. The president also went on to order a transition away from the bulk data collection program in its current form -- and restrict the ability of analysts to access that database during the transition.

 

Some House Democrats said executive actions alone were not enough.

 

"It is now time for Congress to take the next step by enacting legislation to appropriately limit these programs," Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., said in a statement, adding that Congress must "trust but codify" when it comes to the president's promises.

 

"Executive Branch overreach in the name of national security did not start -- and will not end -- with this administration," New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler said in a written statement. "The balance of powers enumerated in the Constitution must be respected for generations to come, regardless of who occupies the White House."

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The pen isn't always mightier...