Please Note: The EPA has classified carbon as pollution. All humans emit carbon therefore, all humans are polluters and subject to the whims of the tyranny of the EPA.----------------------------------------------------
Washington - In a brazen power grab by the administration, the Environmental Protection Agency has presumed the power to "garnish non-Federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed the United States without a court order."
Part of President Barack Obama’s vow to use executive orders and Cabinet-level authorities to govern the U.S. while ignoring Congress, the EPA empowered itself by simply claiming it has the authority to garnish wages of private citizens who ”violate its rules.”
Not only has the administration claimed the right to garnish wages using the EPA, it has fast-tracked the plan to take effect on September 2 without notice to Congress or conducting public discussions.
To justify its new powers the EPA cites the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, which gives all federal agencies the power to conduct administrative wage garnishment, provided that the agency allows for hearings at which debtors can challenge the amount or the terms of repayment schedule.
The plan immediately drew the ire of Republicans and others. Sen. John Barrasso, (R-Wyo.) told The Washington Times, "The EPA has a history of overreaching its authority. It seems like once again the EPA is trying to take power it doesn’t have away from American citizens.”
The Obama administration has made clear its intentions to govern by way of executive orders and such power grabs as the new EPA plan in lieu of governing through the voters' elected representatives in Congress.
For its part, the conservative Heritage Foundation says the new EPA rule gives the federal agency "unbridled discretion" over the process of challenging fines. Pres. Obama appoints all Cabinet leaders to serve at his pleasure.
David Addington, group vice president for research at Heritage Foundation, told the Washington Times that “the rule not only puts the burden of proof on the debtor, rather than the agency, but also allows the EPA to decide whether a debtor even gets a chance to present a defense before picking whomever it chooses to serve as a hearing officer.”
EPA has issued far more fines since President Barack Obama took office. In 2012, the agency took in $252 million in fines, up from just $96 million in 2009.
Not unlike the unpopular Affordable Care Act passed by Democrats, the limitations and scope of the new EPA rule are unknown, which means the federal agency’s operations will become more like those utilized by the IRS who also has the power to garnish wages and seize the private property of U.S. citizens.
