NIXON AND IMPOUNDMENT, NOT SPENDING FUNDS, CONGRESS AND COURTS

In the 1970's a President, seeking to reduce inflation, tried a new tactic. Simply not spending the money that congress appropriated. OK, it wasn't entirely new, but it had been used in defense spending after the war where demand was needed or in very small amounts. This was billions of collars.

As we discuss impoundment could be considered unfair - because a President could technically pass nice sounding bills and then later, kill the funding, thus getting credit for the good image of legislation without having to execute.

As President Trump is using a similar technique, we look at impoundment and what Congress did in reaction (myriad steps from creating a new Budget Office to legislation to monitoring like hawks, to going to the press). We also look at the Supreme Court.

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