1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

Under Article I, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, the authority to lay and collect taxes, duties, and tariffs belongs solely to the elected representatives of the people in Congress. It was never intended to be wielded by executive decree. Today, the Executive Branch is systematically usurping this core legislative authority, bypassing Congress to levy billions of dollars in unilateral import taxes on the American public: - Executive Tax Hikes on Consumers: Tariffs function as a direct sales tax on American households, driving up checkout costs on groceries, vehicles, and everyday essentials. The nonpartisan Yale Budget Lab estimates current tariffs cost the average American household roughly $1,100 a year. - Historic Revenue Shifts: Under this administration, the average statutory tariff rate has climbed to roughly 11 percent—reaching levels not seen in over eight decades. Federal tariff revenue has rivaled traditional corporate tax receipts, shifting the national tax burden onto consumers without a single vote cast in Congress. - Shopping for Legal Pretexts: Following the Supreme Court’s 6–3 ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump limiting emergency tariff authority under IEEPA, the administration shifted tactics—pivoting to Section 301 duties and resurrecting Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, an obscure 96-year-old provision. Cycling through statutory theories to evade judicial and legislative limits is not the behavior of an administration that respects constitutional bounds. Surrendering Article I authority degrades Congress from a co-equal branch into a ceremonial bystander. You cannot allow any president to rewrite tax schedules under the guise of perpetual economic national emergencies. I demand that you take immediate, bipartisan action to reassert your constitutional authority: 1. Pass the Trade Review Act (S. 1272 / H.R. 2712): Enact this bipartisan legislation to require 48-hour presidential notification for new tariffs and force an automatic 60-day sunset unless Congress explicitly votes to approve them. 2. Repeal Archaic Tariff Delegations: Eliminate obsolete statutory loopholes—specifically repealing Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and reforming Section 232 national security provisions to require affirmative congressional assent. 3. Use the Power of the Purse: Attach binding riders to upcoming appropriations bills withholding enforcement funds from agencies attempting to collect duties that have not received explicit legislative authorization. Do your job. Reclaim the Power of the Purse and defend the Constitution.