Republicans Start Teaching Members How to Obey the Constitution

Dave Weigel writing at Slate has a story which may make you very happy. IF we can get over our apprehension and mistrust.

Dave shows us a copy of the memo discussing the item in The Pledge to America to cite a Constitutional authority for every bill. It looks good. Can we trust them? How serious are they? Is this an event of personal conviction, or political expediency?

Here’s the rule:

The new rule will be a new paragraph of clause 7 of rule XII:

“(c) A bill or joint resolution may not be introduced unless the sponsor has submitted for printing in the Congressional Record a statement citing as specifically as practicable the power or powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the bill or joint resolution. The statement shall appear in a portion of the Record designated for that purpose and be made publicly available in electronic form by the Clerk.”

and there’s even a FAQ!

Q. What if a sponsor declines to attach a Constitutional Authority Statement when introducing a bill?

A. Under the rule, the clerk will not accept the bill and it will be returned to the sponsor. This is the same process used to enforce clause 5 of Rule XII, which since 1995 has prohibited the introduction of bills or resolutions which seek to designate a specific period of time (such as a day, week, or month) for a particular commemoration.

well well well…

December 20, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: National

One Response

  1. Tweets that mention Republicans to obey Constitution // DWeigel #teaparty #tpp #sctweets #gop -- Topsy.com - December 20, 2010

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Karen Martin. Karen Martin said: RT @SpbgTeaParty: Republicans to obey Constitution // DWeigel http://tinyurl.com/2f7qzpa #teaparty #tpp #sctweets #gop [...]

Leave a Reply