The power grabs of the current president have sparked a debate over the inherent power of the Executive branch, and exactly what was granted the President by the Congress in the AUMF. But while the Executive has been grabbing and asserting additional power, members in the Legislative have been giving it away. It has to stop.
Let's take suspending clause 6(a) of Rule XIII as a prime example. Clause 6(a) requires a 2/3 majority of the House to override the rule giving Representatives at least 24 hours to read/review legislation before they vote on it. Now, suspending 6(a) is nothing new; it was ostensibly designed to speed the business of the House. But it's use is growing and, as of December 18, 2005 (with
H Res 632), it's use has changed into a blanket "put a bag over your head and vote the way I tell ya" on
anything that enters the House on a given date.
Rep. Matsui on the floor of the House:
I would like to take a moment to explain to the American people exactly how out of the ordinary it is.
This is the first time that a totally open-ended blanket martial-law rule has been brought to the House floor. Every other rare use of this procedure has specified at least a category of legislation. This rule is unprecedented for the power it grants the majority.
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This will tarnish the honor of this institution by restricting the democratic process. It will allow bills to come up with absolutely no prior notice to Members. Members may not have time to examine what is in the bill. They may not have even heard of the bill before.
There is a risk that last-minute language could be written incorrectly, or that it could have unintended consequences. There is the risk that controversial provisions could be inserted without proper review.
Also troubling is what happened after HR632 was passed; after Rep. Matsui demanded a record of who voted for the measure, that recorded vote was attacked repeatedly until, eventually, the House relented and all record of who voted for and against the measure was eliminated from public record, making it virtually impossible for voters to hold their representatives accountable for giving this power away.
In part, this is simply an attempt to coerce (blind) party loyalty, especially when members of the GOP have been seen breaking ranks, talking about oversight and questioning the wisdom of surrendering legislative power to the Executive. Suspending 6(a) forces votes largely along party lines, politicizing the lawmaking process and giving the Executive (via those working to push the agenda of the Executive) the unprecedented power of legislation without review. It also assumes that once a party becomes the majority, the other party should virtually cease to exist.
These power giveaways are especially troubling in light of Dennis Hastert's and Tom DeLay's close adherence to Bush policies and priorities, even in the face of strong public opposition (eg Social Security privatization). Hastert and the House leadership have sought at every opportunity to obscure what they are doing and thwart the legislative process by calling special sessions, holding open votes, and pushing through legislation in the middle of the night/on weekends. It happens so often it's become a joke. But not one at which we should be laughing.
Now that it's clear that
- the President intends to expand his powers and do even more secretive acts outside Congressional (and public) oversight,
- Bush is trying to pack the court with justices who favor Executive immunity for breaking our nation's laws,
- Dennis Hastert will use late-night bill passage and the suspension of 6(a) to force blind votes and push through the Bush agenda,
we must demand that our lawmakers take a stronger stand against such abdications of their own responsibility and oversight in the name of expediency. This is something on which the Democratic leadership should be especially disciplined. Contact your representative today and urge them to keep their eyes open and the bags off their heads, and to strongly oppose any more of these legislative giveaways.