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When President Obama declared to the nation that he had a “phone and a pen,” the message was clear: if Congress didn't act as he wanted, he would act unilaterally.

This built on his choice phrase from 2011 of “We Can’t Wait,” seeking to bypass Congress with a litany of executive orders, recess appointments, and bureaucratic rulemaking.

When he said he would act without Congress during last year’s State of the Union, my colleagues across the aisle didn’t speak up for the legislative branch’s role. Rather, most Democrats stood up and applauded the executive branch taking over their role.

These elected members of Congress were signaling to their constituents that they are fine with being irrelevant. They would rather stand with President Obama than stand up and represent their constituents.

Irrelevant representation is what happens when members of America’s most representative branch concede their elected role as the legislators in our government. Rather, they’ve essentially handed over their voting cards to President Obama to ignore or rewrite the duly passed laws we all swore to uphold!

Our democracy and its foundational balance of power are in trouble. The notion of governing authority coming from the people is at peril.

The will of “We the People” is diluted by every act to circumvent Congress: executive actions, regulatory decrees, and discretionary enforcement.

Do everyday Americans not see what is happening?

From rewriting immigrations laws to explicitly elbowing out the Senate from reviewing a possible Iran treaty, this Administration has staked out a governing course contrary to the Constitution.

Even on supposedly independent commissions, the Obama agenda is being followed lock-step in his march around Congress. Just last month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passed a 317-page secret report to regulate the Internet after President Obama indicated his support. This will have legal effect without a vote in Congress!

When the public does notice in due time, these legal rewrites are sometimes reversed. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearm’s (ATF) attempt to ban certain bullets is a recent example. The agency attempted to ban certain bullets by simply omitting particular language in a draft regulatory framework. The public noticed, and the ATF backed off.

As elected officials, we take an oath to uphold the laws of the land. If a law is flawed or disliked, we have a process to change it legally. Until it is changed by the legislative branch and signed by the president, it is the law, and it is to be upheld.

Our time-tested Constitutional framework to separate powers, with strong checks and balances, is in jeopardy.

When our nation was founded, the Executive Branch had only three departments; State, War, and Treasury. Today, it’s up to fifteen, not to mention various other agencies, administrations, and commissions.

These executive bureaucracies have authorities to create regulations and penalties that were never voted on by the citizens or their elected representatives.

One strong check Congress can impose to rebalance executive power is the REINS Act, short for Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny.

As a legislative lasso around the White House, the REINS Act would require a congressional vote on any new federal regulation that has an estimated negative economic impact over $100 million. As a result, the American people have a say in the rules being imposed on the public.

This bill is an opportunity for Congress to recoup some of its legislative authority that has drifted away.

May our generation leave a restored legacy on the commitment to our founding principle: government doesn’t grant power to the people, “We the People” must consent to be governed.