Who Needs the Legislative Veto Symposium: Reactions to Chadha: Separation of Powers and the Legislative Veto 35 Syracuse Law Review 1984

35 Syracuse L. Rev. 685 (1984)
Who Needs the Legislative Veto

handle is hein.journals/syrlr35 and id is 705 raw text is: WHO NEEDS THE LEGISLATIVE VETO?
Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr.*
I. INTRODUCTION
I have been asked to appraise the likely impact of the Su-
preme Court's decision in Immigration and Naturalization Service
v. Chadha1 on the way our government works. As a member of the
United States Senate-and especially as a member of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee-I am greatly concerned with what I
take to be the most fundamental question regarding the Chadha
decision: Does it leave the federal government more or less able to
meet its responsibilities?
On the one hand, I believe our government can and will func-
tion, for the most part, more effectively in the absence of the legis-
lative veto. Especially with regard to the regulatory agencies, the
legislative veto has too often tempted Congress to delegate to ad-
ministrative agencies the hard legislative work of writing law, too
often resulted in the intrusion of Congress upon the proper ground
of the Executive, and much too often thrust Congress into the role
of a court of appeals for the regulatory agencies, where legions of
lobbyists descend to plead their narrow, special interests and dis-
rupt the proper work of Congress.
On the other hand, I believe that the loss of the veto will make
it difficult for Congress to meet its responsibilities in a limited
number of policy areas. My primary concern is foreign pol-
icy-especially war powers and arms-export control-where
Chadha strikes at the foundations of carefully structured systems
for sharing power between the executive and legislative branches.
To discuss the impact of Chadha on the way the government
functions I do not think I need delve very far beneath the surface
of the Chadha decision. Other participants in this symposium have
done that, and have done so far more expertly than I could.
For members of Congress, the fundamental message of
* United States Senator (D. Del.); Ranking Minority Member, Senate Judiciary Com-
mittee; Member, Senate Foreign Relations, Budget, and Intelligence Committees; J.D., Syr-
acuse University College of Law, 1968; A.B., University of Delaware, 1965.
1. 103 S. Ct. 2764 (1983).

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