An executive waiver is an administrative tool used by presidents of the United States, and other of its Federal executives, permitting the selective enforcement of some laws. The right of the president to delay implementation of certain provisions is normally written into a law, to provide flexibility that Congress cannot offer.
[
Such ]waiver
A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege.
Regulatory agencies of state departments or the federal government may issue waivers to exempt companies from certain regulations. For example, a United St ...
s enhance presidential control of domestic policy. Waivers are sometimes used in grant programs to allow experimentation and flexibility.[ There is also an extraordinary circumstances waiver in Section 502b of the ]Foreign Assistance Act
The Foreign Assistance Act (, et seq.) is a United States law governing foreign aid policy. It outlined the political and ideological principles of U.S. foreign aid, significantly overhauled and reorganized the structure U.S. foreign assistance p ...
.[Rhonda L. Callaway, Elizabeth G. Matthews trategic US foreign assistance: the battle between human rights2008 219 pages page 60]
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
's administration used waivers in dealing with the Aid to Families with Dependent Children
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was a federal assistance program in the United States in effect from 1935 to 1997, created by the Social Security Act (SSA) and administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Serv ...
program in the 1980s. President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
also employed waivers to give state's flexibility in Welfare reform. Medicaid waivers have also been used.[Joel D. Aberbach, Mark A. Peterso]
The Executive Branch
Oxford University Press, Jan 26, 2006 - 640 pages pages 508-511 President Obama used executive waivers in 2015 to lift most sanctions on Iran in return for Iran not pursuing nuclear weapons.
See also
* Presidential exemption
References
{{Reflist
Law of the United States