Question: Does the President have Constitutional Authority to sign secret agreements with foreign states without the consent of the Senate?

Focusing on the Constitutional -

[The President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur;
(US Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2)

...Are the provisions of the clause exclusive - that is, does it provide the only way that the United States may enter into international obligations?
...While the Treaty Clause was, in the original understanding, the exclusive way to make treaties, the Framers also apparently recognized a class of less-important international agreements , not rising to the level of "Treaties," which could be approved in some other way. Article I, Section 10, in describing restrictions upon the states, speaks of "Treat[ies]" and "Agreement{s}.. with a foreign Power" as two distinct categories. ... Still, this exception for lesser agreements would have to be limited to "agreements" of minor importance, or else it would provide too great an avenue for evasion of the protections the Framers placed in the Treaty Clause.
According to the Restatement of Foreign Relations Law of the United States, the President may validly conclude executive agreements that (1) cover matters that are solely within his executive power, or (2) are made pursuant to a treaty, or (3) are made pursuant to a legitimate act of Congress.
(Michael D. Ramsey, The Heritage Guide to the Constitution, pg 206-208)

Send us your comments about issues in this newsletter.

Current Issue

The Texas House passed HB1892 Wednesday after the Senate last week approved an earlier version of the moratorium on a project some critics see as part of a "NAFTA superhighway" system and ties with Canada and Mexico that threaten U.S. sovereignty. The bill has been sent to Gov. Rick Perry for signature by May 14, but it passed with veto-proof margins of 27-4 in the Senate and 139-1 in the House.
WorldNetDaily.com, May 4, 2007

The center of this issue is the NAFTA Superhighway and a "North American Union." Does the President have the authority to make such agreements that go beyond the scope of the NAFTA Treaty without the consent of the Senate? What do you think? Give us feedback.

Do you have a question regarding the Constitution?

Send us your question.

Would you like to contribute to the CACP Newsletter (GEMS)?
Click here to view requirements.

We need your help to reach our goal to get Gems to the email of each and every elected official, government employee, members of the news media, social studies and history teacher in the US and abroad. Send us only their email addresses, we will send them Gems. If they do not wish to receive it unsubscribing is as easy as clicking on the "unsubscribe" link. This newsletter may be the only study they may have of the Constitution.
Share the Constitution.

Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster and what has happened once in 6,000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.- Daniel Webster

This is always a free subscription! We guarantee our subscription list is never shared with any third party. Ever!

Did you miss an issue of Gems. Find it at CACP.info
To unsubscribe click here.

To contact webmaster.