Wolf on COG, State of Emergency & Congress Breaking the Law

In response to the call to action outlined in the article “To All Readers: Help Force Congress To Observe the Law on National Emergencies!!!” by Prof. Peter Dale Scott and former Rep. Dan Hamburg (D-CA), I emailed and faxed Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA), and Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA). In my letter I noted that former President Bush declared a “State of Emergency” on September 14, 2001 and continued it every year since then, and I asked why Congress has not yet met to “consider a vote on a joint resolution to determine whether that emergency shall be terminated”, as Section 1622(b) of the National Emergencies Act requires them to do, every six months following such a declaration. I also asked if Congress, the Executive and the Judiciary are “operating according to the Constitution, or according to the rules of Continuity of Government”, as the Continuity of Government procedures enacted on 9/11 have never been formally rescinded.

The only one to respond as of today, May 3, 2009 is Wolf; my letter to him and his response are posted at Scribd.com, and the text of each is pasted below. April 27, Wolf sent me his reply, and included a copy of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report, “National Emergency Powers”, but did not answer either of my questions, instead saying;