A Tidal Wave Is Brewing
By Henry Lamb
October 12, 2009
Rep. John Shadegg has been trying to get a bill enacted for 15 years that would simply require legislators to cite the constitutional authority for any legislation that is proposed. His bill is called the Enumerated Powers Act (HR450). It now has 52 co-sponsors, but there is very little chance that it will ever get to the floor for a vote.
Why? Because the Democrats in Congress will not allow it.
This bill would not be necessary if the Democrats would simply follow their own rules. House Rule XIII (3)(d)(1) requires:
"Each report of a committee on a public bill or public joint resolution shall contain the following: A statement citing the specific powers granted to Congress in the Constitution to enact the law proposed by the bill or joint resolution."
That's right. The rules of procedure in the House of Representatives already require that every bill or resolution cite the constitutional authority for the proposed legislation. This rule is routinely ignored.
Why? Because Democrats control the Rules Committee and the entire House of Representatives, and they routinely "waive" or "suspend" this rule.
Some people remember when Nancy Pelosi stood on her pedestal and proclaimed: "This leadership team will create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history" (November 16, 2006). Ignoring a House rule is a minor offense, compared to the corruption that Ms. Pelosi readily accepts when it affects her Democratic colleagues.
How quickly did she and her colleagues invoke House rules to condemn Rep. Joe Wilson when he blurted out "you lie" during President Obama's sales pitch to Congress? But when Democrat Alan Grayson uses visual aids to claim that the Republican health care plan calls on sick people to "Die Quickly," there's nothing at all offensive to Pelosi and her colleagues about the gross lie Grayson speaks.
But even this duplicity is minor compared to the corruption that Nancy continues to reward by her failure to take action.
Charles Rangel has failed to report his income from rental property in the Dominican Republic; has used rent-controlled housing facilities for campaign activities to avoid more than $7,000 in rental payments, and much, much more.
John Murtha provides a treasure trove of investigations into all sorts of abuse of power. Murtha's earmark list contains big rewards for the same companies that appear on his contributions list.
Maxine Waters completely ignores the conflict of interest rules by using her influence to set up meetings between the Treasury Department and her friends at OneUnited Bank -- which, incidentally, wound up with $12.1 million in bailout funds.
Corruption is not limited to Democrats, by any means; they just seem to be better at getting away with it.
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