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Conyers and 10 Other Reps. Sue to Stop Enactment of Deficit Reduction Bill

By Jeralyn, Section Legislation
Posted on Thu Apr 27, 2006 at 03:09:25 PM EST
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11 members of the House of Representatives will sue President Bush tomorrow to stop enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act. From a press release by Rep. John Conyers (received by e-mail, no link yet):

On February 8, the President signed a version of the "Deficit Reduction Act" that had passed the Senate, but had never passed the House (the House passed version of the bill provided for 36 months of durable medical equipment funding whereas the Senate bill provided for 13 months - amounting to a roughly $2 billion difference) As such, the version signed by the president should not be considered a "law," as it does not comply with the constitutional requirement that the same exact bill pass both Houses of Congress. According to public accounts, the Republican leaders of the House and the Senate, as well as the President, were well aware the legislation before the President had not passed the House of Representatives before the presidential signing ceremony.

"Once again the Administration is playing fast and loose with the Constitution. Anyone who has passed the sixth grade knows that before a bill can become a law, both Houses of Congress must approve it. That the Bush Administration is now saying otherwise underscores the Constitutional crisis we are facing in this country," said House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Congressman John Conyers, Jr. "Over 200 years of legal precedent dictate that such discrepancies can be handled through simply refiling the paperwork, or re-voting the whole bill. Because the bill cuts billions of dollars to the Nation's most needy, the Republican leadership prevented a re-vote at all costs."

From Rep. Pete Stark:

"Schoolhouse Rock has taught generations of Americans how a bill becomes a law," said Rep. Stark, Ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee. "As most school children can attest, a bill is just a bill on Capitol Hill until it passes both the House and Senate in identical form and is signed by the President - or Congress overrides his veto. I'm sorry we've had to resort to this lawsuit, but I am committed to protecting our democracy."

Here are the Representatives who have joined on as plaintiffs:

include the Ranking Members on relevant committees and subcommittees impacted by the Deficit Reduction Act: 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, Ranking Member on the Commerce Health Subcommittee.

The Congressmen are represented by Dykema Gossett PLLC and Professor Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional expert at Duke Law School.

This is a bad bill. People who sign up for many health insurance programs or to renew their benefits will have to prove they are citizens by "presenting a birth certificate, a passport, or another "satisfactory" form of identification that has not yet been determined."

The law increases interest rates on federal student loans. It will hurt child support enforcement efforts.

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    Conyers and 10 Other Reps. Sue to Stop Enactment of Deficit Reduction Bill | 2 comments (2 topical)
    Re: Conyers and 10 Other Reps. Sue to Stop Enactme (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Apr 27, 2006 at 04:44:52 PM EST
    This is a bad bill.
    If it were the best bill ever, it still didn't get properly passed by Congress. Even George III wouldn't have ventured to try to pull off something like this. Why does our own George II think he can?

    Re: Conyers and 10 Other Reps. Sue to Stop Enactme (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Apr 28, 2006 at 10:00:45 AM EST
    Looks to me like Dubya is our George III, rea. Washington was George I. And yes, the badness of the bill is irrelevant to the argument being made. Bringing it in seems like a distraction from the main point.

    Conyers and 10 Other Reps. Sue to Stop Enactment of Deficit Reduction Bill | 2 comments (2 topical)