The Difference Between a Bill and an Executive Order

Explained in the parlance of the average 'Merican, even you folks listening in Rio Linda should be able to comprehend (that's a big word that means understand) this:

Wow, hell must be getting colder.

otisptoadwater wrote: Explained in the parlance of the average 'Merican, even you folks listening in Rio Linda should be able to comprehend (that's a big word that means understand) this:

This also begs the question of whether anyone truly understands the difference between an executive order and an executive action.

ZHawke wrote:

otisptoadwater wrote: Explained in the parlance of the average 'Merican, even you folks listening in Rio Linda should be able to comprehend (that's a big word that means understand) this:

This also begs the question of whether anyone truly understands the difference between an executive order and an executive action.

Well, it is SNL not PBS.

BlazerBob wrote: Well, it is SNL not PBS.

I get that. But there are also quite a few, from what I've seen, that are "confused", shall we say, about the President's action on immigration reform.

If true, this is an interesting dynamic.

pjmedia.com/tatler/2014/11/23/snl-snubs-...cks-executive-order/

"The sketch may be tongue-in-cheek payback on the part of NBC after being snubbed by the president, whose administration just so happened not to request air time from the Big 4 to announce his executive order plans in prime time. Dubbed “The Commander-in-Chief of MSNBC,” Obama has employed his “heckler’s veto” multiple times in the past, and Saturday Night Live sketches were far from immune. Last night’s humor is obviously a sampling of what can happen when Tina Fey no longer manages the Obama campaign from its 30 Rock location.

Despite the president’s latest appearance on Univision and Telemundo, the majority of Latino voters disagree with his executive order and rate amnesty low on their list of priorities:

By a margin of 56 percent to 40 percent, Hispanic voters oppose allowing illegal immigrants to obtain federal benefits, including Obamacare benefits, “while they are going through the legalization process and before the 90% goal is reached.”

When asked to choose which of four issues — the economy, immigration reform, education, or health care — is most important to them, registered Hispanic voters said immigration reform was their lowest priority.

ZHawke wrote: This also begs the question of whether anyone truly understands the difference between an executive order and an executive action.

OK, I will admit to my ignorance regarding the difference. The best explanation I have found so far is:

Executive Actions Versus Executive Orders

Executive actions are any informal proposals or moves by the president. The term executive action itself is vague and can be used to describe almost anything the president calls on Congress or his administration to do. But most executive actions carry no legal weight. Those that do actually set policy can be invalidated by the courts or undone by legislation passed by Congress.

The terms executive action and executive order are not interchangeable. Executive orders are legally binding and published in the Federal Register, though they also can be reversed by the courts and Congress.

A good way to think of executive actions is a wish list of policies the president would like to see enacted.

- uspolitics.about.com/od/Gun-Control/a/Ex...Executive-Orders.htm

If all Obama did in his "executive action" on immigration is to provide a non-binding list of his wish list regarding immigration policies, which, being non-binding in my understanding means no one has to follow them, why did he do this, other than to further divide the country?

Would you please explain this to me, in understandable terms, since you have a much greater knowledge and understanding of the issue than I do, ZHawke?

Wouldn't be a bad thing if modern teachers still used Schoolhouse Rock in the classroom. I still remember things I learned from those programs. Lolly, lolly, lolly, get your adverbs here!

FredHayek wrote: Wouldn't be a bad thing if modern teachers still used Schoolhouse Rock in the classroom. I still remember things I learned from those programs. Lolly, lolly, lolly, get your adverbs here!

Conjunction junction, what's your function? Hooking up words and phrases and clauses now...


And...


I'm just a bill, yes I'm only a bill, and I'm sitting here on Capital Hill...

jf1acai wrote:

ZHawke wrote: This also begs the question of whether anyone truly understands the difference between an executive order and an executive action.

OK, I will admit to my ignorance regarding the difference. The best explanation I have found so far is:

Executive Actions Versus Executive Orders

Executive actions are any informal proposals or moves by the president. The term executive action itself is vague and can be used to describe almost anything the president calls on Congress or his administration to do. But most executive actions carry no legal weight. Those that do actually set policy can be invalidated by the courts or undone by legislation passed by Congress.

The terms executive action and executive order are not interchangeable. Executive orders are legally binding and published in the Federal Register, though they also can be reversed by the courts and Congress.

A good way to think of executive actions is a wish list of policies the president would like to see enacted.

- uspolitics.about.com/od/Gun-Control/a/Ex...Executive-Orders.htm

If all Obama did in his "executive action" on immigration is to provide a non-binding list of his wish list regarding immigration policies, which, being non-binding in my understanding means no one has to follow them, why did he do this, other than to further divide the country?

Would you please explain this to me, in understandable terms, since you have a much greater knowledge and understanding of the issue than I do, ZHawke?

To be honest, I don't know if I fully understand any of this either. From what I've been able to find, nobody seems to know exactly what an executive "action" really is. The best descriptive word I've found so far is "hortatory" which, in effect, means tending or aiming to exhort. That's my understanding of what Obama tried to do following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School by issuing his 23 executive actions at that time. He knew they weren't going anywhere. None of them did. That's why I'm so concerned with all the hoopla over the immigration issue. If all these executive actions are is an effort to exhort, then the administration should come clean on that and have full disclosure on it. Thus far, the only thing I've heard is Obama telling Congress if you don't like it, pass a bill. While I don't believe that is intended, necessarily to "divide" the country, that is, in my opinion, pretty much exactly what's happening. It's politics, plain and simple. Politicians play these games, and we, the people are the "beneficiaries" (sarcasm meter on high) of those games. If you're interested, I did find a couple of articles that explain it better, but even they tend to use the executive order and executive action interchangeably.