"Schoolhouse Rock has taught generations of Americans how a bill becomes a law," says Rep. " said Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee in a press release just issued by 11 U.S. Congressmen.
"As most school children can attest," Stark says, "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."
11 ranking Members of the United States House of Representatives will be filing a law suit in U.S. District court on Friday, The BRAD BLOG has learned, seeking a permanent injunction of "Deficit Reduction Act" which George W. Bush signed into law on February 8th of this year, despite its not having passed both houses of Congress.
The BRAD BLOG has obtained an exclusive copy of the suit to be filed tomorrow by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) and 10 other Democratic law makers, as well as a timeline of the events in the matter as compiled by the House members.
-- COMPLAINT IN FULL [WORD format].
-- Timeline of the events [WORD format].
"On February, 8 at 3:43 p.m.," the complaint alleges, Bush signed a bill that "never was passed by the United States House of Representatives."
The difference in the language of the House and Senate bills, is a clause requiring Medicare to cover rent for "certain durable medical equipment." The version of the bill pased by the House requires payments for 36 months. The Senate version requires payments for only 13 months.
The difference in the cost of the federal outlays for the two different versions is said to be approximately $2 billion.
The two houses of Congress were never able to pass a joint version of the bill, and yet, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and President Pro Tem of the United States Senate, Ted Stevens (R-AK), "signed a statement attesting that the bill signed by the President had been passed by both the United States House and the United States Senate."
"Once again the Administration is playing fast and loose with the Constitution," Conyers says in a Press Release (posted in full at the end of this article).
"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."
Several other members were equally clear in the press release which excoriates the Bush Administration for yet another Constitutional transgression.
Says Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee in the release: "Time and time again the President has sought to discard the Constitution as if it were an old shoe."
Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Committee is quoted as saying, "the Constitution is clear --- legislation signed by the President must be passed by both the House and the Senate. In allowing the President to sign a bill that was not passed by the House, Congressional Republicans made a mockery of the legislative process."
The "FACTS" section of the complaint explains the matter quite clearly...
33. On February 1, 2006, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill purportedly identical to S. 1932, but Section 5101 of this bill set the duration of Medicare payments to rent certain durable medical equipment at 36 months instead of 13 months.
34. This additional 23 months of Medicare rental payments for durable medical equipment in the House-passed bill amounted to an increased federal outlay of approximately $2 billion.
35. The United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate therefore failed to pass identical versions of S. 1932.
36. The United States Constitution requires that in order for a bill to be signed into law by the President and to take effect, the House and the Senate must pass identical versions of the bill.
37. On February 8, 2006, the version of S. 1932 presented to and signed by the President set the duration of Medicare payments to rent certain durable medical equipment at 13 months.
38. United States House Speaker Dennis Hastert and President Pro Tem of the United States Senate, Ted Stevens, signed a statement attesting that the bill signed by the President had been passed by both the United States House and the United States Senate. It is undisputable, however, that the House and Senate did not pass the same bill.
39. United States House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, and President George W. Bush were all aware by late morning on February 8, 2006, prior to the signing ceremony, that the bill presented to the President reflected the Senate bill but was never passed by the House. On information and belief House Speaker Dennis Hastert, through his staff, had asked the administration to delay proceedings until the problem could be addressed by the House and Senate.
40. The bill signed by the President, on February 8, 2006 at 3:43 p.m., never was passed by the United States House of Representatives.
41. On February 8, 2006 at approximately 7:30 p.m. the United States Senate passed S.Con.Res. 80 by unanimous consent, stating: "That the enrollment of the bill S. 1932 as presented to the President for his signature on February 8, 2006, is deemed the true enrollment of the bill reflecting the intent of the Congress in enacting the bill into law." The assertion by the Senate that the bill is law can have no legal effect and has no bearing on such as 13 is not 36 months.
42. The enrollment of bill S. 1932, as prescribed in S.Con.Res. 80, did not take effect as law under the Constitution to render the bill a law since the bill neither had been considered nor voted on by the House of Representatives.
43. The bill presented to the President and signed by him could not become a law.
44. The President, members of his cabinet and federal corporations are treating as a law, a bill that is not the law of the United States.
As remedy in the case, the House Members seek an order from the Circuit Court "declaring that the purported Act is not a law because it does not meet the requirements of Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution," as well as a temporary restraining order and a permanent injunction to stop implimentation of the act.
The complete text press release issued by the House Members filing suit, follows...
Contact: Jonathan Godfrey
Conyers and 10 Ranking Members File Suit to Stop Budget Cuts that Violate Constitution
(Detroit, MI) Congressman John Conyers, Jr., joined by 10 additional Members of Congress, brought legal action to enjoin the implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act.
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."
Congressman John Dingell, Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee noted that, "this lawsuit points out the evils of combining political expediency and constitutional shortcuts. There is no excuse for avoiding basic institutional responsibilities that the American people expect to be carried out honestly."
"Republican leaders were in such a rush to ram this bill through Congress and get the President to sign it that they violated the Constitution in the process," said Rep. George Miller, Ranking Member of the Education and Workforce Committee. "And they were in a rush because this was a very, very bad bill. They wanted to spend as little time as possible having to explain their backwards priorities - like cutting $12 billion from financial aid programs for college students - to their constituents."
Congressman Charles Rangel, Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Committee explained that "the Constitution is clear --- legislation signed by the President must be passed by both the House and the Senate. In allowing the President to sign a bill that was not passed by the House, Congressional Republicans made a mockery of the legislative process. This suit attempts to right the wrong, restoring order to the bicameral process required by the Constitutional drafters."
Rep. Bennie Thompson, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee added, "time and time again the President has sought to discard the Constitution as if it were an old shoe. During these difficult times, it is imperative that we here in Congress adhere to process set forth by our Constitution to ensure that the American people are getting what they paid for when they voted us into office. I don't believe that our founding fathers gave the Bush Administration a free pass to only comply when it suits their current political needs."
"This lawsuit will test the intellectual integrity of those who argue for the literal application of the original intent of the constitution, since the requirement that both houses of Congress pass laws in identical form is one of the least ambiguous provisions in that document," said Rep. Barney Frank, Ranking Member on the Financial Services Committee.
"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."
In addition to Rep. Conyers, 10 other 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 and Gossett PLLC and Professor Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional expert at Duke Law School.
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