Under pressure from the American colonists, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1765. At the same time, however, Parliament also passed a Declaratory Act, which made it clear that the British government had the legal right to raise revenue from the colonists in the future with or without their consent. In other words, the repeal of the Stamp Act was an act of grace that wouldn’t be repeated in the future. We all know how that turned out.
In a similar vein, ten GOP senators, including several who voted for the rescissions package, just sent a letter to OMB noting that money appropriated for specified local educational programs was being withheld by the executive branch against their wishes. The letter is clearly an effort by these senators to reassert the principle of legislative control over the power of the purse, even as it is being violated by the rescissions package. Don’t do this again, in other words. What we just did was a one-off.
Right. Tell it to the colonists.