Does the system of Presidential Executive orders have any democratic oversight from the Congress or Senate?
The executive order, which is currently in place, which created the Federal Emergency Management Agency appears to already have much more severe powers than anything that can be implemented let alone thought about by even the most Machiavellian politician here in the UK.

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12148.html#

The subsidiary Presidential Executive Orders E.O. 10998, E.O. 10999, E.O. 11000 are already currently US law.

They appear to allow the enforced enslavement of US citizenry under the executive powers of the President of the United States of America during an emergency.

During the recent tragedy of the Virginia Tech, why was a reported state of emergency declared in Virginia. I never did understand legally why this happened for what was a essentially a civil criminal act.