Page 10 - Pro Forma Session News Today

Chairman howard dean. i just want to go to what jay carney said about this today because there is a little bit of a technical problem in this one. and that is that the republicans are saying, wait main, the senate wasnt really in recess is they had it in pro forma session. so jay carneys response to that is n. an overt attempt to prevent the president from exercising his authority during this period is a gimmick called pro forma sessions which are sessions during which no senate business is cond...

Opposed to. >> this is a gimmick versus a constitutionally signed authority. we feel very comfortable that the constitution -- [ inaudible ] >> reporter: republican front runner mitt romney sharply criticized nlrb appoint in the a new ad. the national labor relations board stands with the stooges selected by the president says to free enterprise like boeing you cant build a factory in south carolina. because south carolina is a right to work state. that is simply un-american. >> reporter: with r...

Which now they wont get. nothing will happen with the agency until a new president and congress. >> bret: not only did the recess appointment happen but the president installed three people to the national labor relations board that were also being blocked in this pro forma session by the republicans. charles, what about his this standoff? >> i think its not about the appointee or even about the agency. i think this is a lawless action by the president. the end of a long string of lawless action...

The president can make appointments. but he did not mention that the senate was in pro forma session to pass the tax cut. >> bret: thank you. now a story that could effect the pocketbook of people all over the country. chief washington correspondent jim angle examines a huge dilemma involving your money. >> governors and their taxpayers have a big problem on their hands. two to $3 trillion in promised pension and benefit to state and local workers they cannot pay for. >> this is a huge mess. odd...

barack obama. i think it will be very hard for him to win the general election because i think it just blurs everything. i think a real conservative who stands for solid values, essentially for new hampshire values -- >> the former massachusetts governor holds what looks like an insurmountable lead in new hampshire so he is moving on to south carolina. that states primary is january 21st. it has been a deadly day in iraq. at least 60 people were killed in attacks in baghdad and other...

its own brutal crackdown, thats its running out of money. im wolf blitzer. im wolf blitzer. youre in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com it could get lonely being the front-runner especially if youre way out front in new hampshire as romney is now. the first in the nation primary is only five days away. that makes him the prime target of his rivals, but theyre also squabbling among themselves and while romney can afford to look ahead to south carolina, some ca...

Standards of washington, this is certainly it. this has never been done before. we call the house historian. you go back to the administration of teddy roosevelt and even then, there is no direct comparison. what hes done is made a recess appointment when the congress is not in recess. and the president and his staff are perfectly willing to suffer the slings and arrows about technicalities and procedures and watch people wring their hands and portray him as standing up for the middle class. the...

Which now they wont get. nothing will happen with the agency until a new president and congress. >> bret: not only did the recess appointment happen but the president installed three people to the national labor relations board that were also being blocked in this pro forma session by the republicans. charles, what about his this standoff? >> i think its not about the appointee or even about the agency. i think this is a lawless action by the president. the end of a long string of lawless action...

He stepped forward richard cordray but no go there as well. now the president has done something that has enraged republicans today, tamron. theyre calling it an illegitimate abuse of power. but what theyre calling it in democratic circles, or at least how theyre portraying it, the president standing up for what he believes is right, procedure and nice at thises of the senate be damned. this is what were talking about. this is a recess appointment. the trouble is the senate which is in charge of...

Three people to the national labor relations board today while the senate was in pro forma session. the u.s. chamber of commerce may launch a legal challenge and senate republicans charge the moves are unconstitutiona unconstitutional. because president cant make recession appointments where the senate is not actually in recess. in fact, democratic leader harry reid previously used pro forma sessions to block such appointments by then president bush. >> nevertheless, constitutional scholar who s...