Constitutional powers expert eyes Congress, terrorism

Louis Fisher, senior specialist at the Library of Congress and renowned scholar on constitutional law, will present an invited public lecture at WSU at 3:30 p.m. April 26 in Kimbrough Hall 101.

The lecture, titled “Overseeing the War on Terrorism: Has Congress Abdicated Its Role?” is a presentation of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service. Fisher’s talk will explore the part Congress played in setting the scope and direction of the “War on Terrorism.”

“There is probably no topic more important in American politics today than the ‘War on Terrorism’ and who is making certain policy decisions and why the decisions are made,” said Cornell Clayton, professor of political science and interim director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at WSU.

With over a dozen books and more than 300 articles to his name, Fisher is considered by many to be the country’s leading expert on the constitutional powers of Congress and the president. His many books include “Constitutional Dialogues,” “Presidential War Power,” “Constitutional Conflicts Between Congress and the President,” “Presidential Spending Power,” and “American Constitutional Law.”He has just published two recent books, “Nazi Saboteurs on Trial” and “Religious Liberty in America.”

“Recently, the Bush administration has found itself at odds with even the Republicans in Congress over several policies, such as the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program, which conflicts with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and the administration’s insistence that it is not bound by congressional statutes and international laws that forbid the use of torture and extreme forms of interrogation,”
said Clayton.

“Not only is Louis Fisher extremely knowledgeable, but he is a very engaging speaker,” said Clayton. “We are really fortunate to have him visit WSU.”