As some of you may be aware, according to the President and Congressional
Republicans, a bill does not have to pass both the Senate and the House to become a
law. Forget your sixth grade civics lesson, forget the book they give you when you
visit Congress - "How Our Laws Are Made," and forget Schoolhouse Rock. These are checks
and balances, Republican-style.
As the Washington Post reported
<http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/news/nation/politics/14177032.htm> last
month, as the Republican budget bill struggled to make its way through Congress at the
end of last year and beginning of this year (the bill cuts critical programs such as
student loans and Medicaid funding), the House and Senate passed different versions of
it. House Republicans did not want to make Republicans in marginal districts vote on
the bill again, so they simply certified that the Senate bill was the same as the House
bill and sent it to the President. The President, despite warnings that the bill did
not represent the consensus of the House and Senate, simply shrugged and signed the
bill anyway. Now, the Administration is implementing it as though it was the law of the
land.
Several public interest groups have sought to stop some parts of the bill from
being implemented, under the theory that the bill is unconstitutional. However, getting
into the weeds a bit, they have lacked the ability to stop the entire bill. To seek
this recourse, the person bringing the suit must have what is called "standing," that
is they must show they were injured or deprived of some right. Because the budget bill
covers so many areas of the law, it is difficult for one person to show they were
harmed by the entire bill. Thus, many of these groups have only sought to stop part of
it.
After consulting with some of the foremost constitutional experts in the nation, I
determined that one group of people are injured by the entire bill: Members of the
House [of Representatives]. We were deprived of our right to vote on a bill that is now being treated as the
law of the land.
So, I am going to court. With many of my Democratic Colleagues (list appended at
the bottom of this diary), I plan to file suit tomorrow in federal district court in
Detroit against the President, members of the Cabinet and other federal officers
seeking to have a simple truth confirmed: a bill not passed by the House and Senate is
not a law, even if the President signs it. As such, the Budget bill cannot be treated
as the law of the land.
As many of you know, I have become increasingly alarmed at the erosion of our
constitutional form of government. Whether through the Patriot Act, the President's
Secret Domestic Spying program, or election irregularities and disenfranchisement, our
fundamental freedoms are being taken away. Nothing to me is more stark than this,
however. If a President does not need one House of Congress to pass a law, what's next?
The following is a list of co-plaintiffs on this lawsuit. I would note that I did
not invite every Member of the House to join in the suit, and I am certain many, many
more Members would have joined if asked. However, this was not possible for various
arcane legal reasons.
The other plaintiffs include Rep. John Dingell, Ranking Member on the Energy and
Commerce Committee; Rep. Charles B. Rangel, Ranking Member on the Ways and Means
Committee; Rep. George Miller, Ranking Member on the Education and Workforce Committee;
Rep. James L. Oberstar, Ranking Member on the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee; Rep. Barney Frank, Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee; Rep.
Collin C. Peterson, Ranking Member on the Agriculture Committee; Rep. Bennie Thompson,
Ranking Member on the Homeland Security Committee; Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, Ranking
Member on the Rules Committee; Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark, Ranking Member on the Ways
and Means Health Subcommittee; Rep. Sherrod Brown, Representing Ohio's 13th District.
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