Enshrined our in United States Constitution, our Founders meticulously designed three branches of government so that too much power would not be concentrated in any one branch. This is because they understood that if one branch were to possess unchecked authority, that power would ultimately diminish the inherent rights of the individual citizen.

 Article I of our Constitution created the Congress — the legislative branch ­ to write the laws; Article II created the office of the President ­­— the executive branch — to faithfully execute the laws made by Congress; and Article III created the U.S. Supreme Court — the judicial branch — to assure that the actions of the Congress and the President are in keeping with our Constitution.

 Unfortunately, the most prominent examples in recent memory have shown ‘a combination of two trends – the aggressive expansion of executive authority by the President and the abdication of legislative authority by the Congress. This not only undermines the Founders’ design but it creates a direct threat to our representative form of government and ultimately to our individual liberty.  Over the years, we have seen Republican and Democratic presidential administrations usurp more and more legislative power through their executive agencies.

Robert Hurt represents Lunenburg in the U.S. House of Representatives.