Fisher dissects the crucial constitutional disputes between the executive and legislative branches of government from the Constitutional Convention through the beginning of the Bush administration, venturing beyond traditional discussions of Supreme Court decisions to examine the day-to-day working relationships between the president and Congress.
By analyzing a mixture of judicial pronouncements, executive acts, and legislative debates, Fisher pinpoints the critical areas of legislative-executive tension: appointment powers, investigatory poers, legislative and executive vetoes, the budgetary process, and war powers. He then examines these areas of tension within a concrete political and historical context.
To scholars, this book offers a comprehensive examination of the institutions and issues of public law. For practitioners, general readers, and students of American government, it demonstrates how constitutional issues shape and define current events.
New material in this edition: The line-item veto and rescissions Paula Jones and presidential immunity Removal power: Clinton and Travelgate, Bush and the Postal Service Military operations in Libya, Panama, and Iraq justified as "self-defense" Presidential actions "authorized" by the U.N. and NATO in Korea, Iraq, Haiti, and Bosnia Whitewater: presidential attorney-client privilege and the independent counsel NAFTA, GATT, and "fast-track" trade legislation Clinton's executive order 12954 and the National Labor Relations Act The legislative veto and new tests to Chadha The budget shutdowns of 1995-96 Bush, Iran-Contra, and quid-pro-quos
