Conyers v. Bush: Update

[kpete]

Thursday :: July 20, 2006
Conyers v. Bush: Lawsuit over Federal Reduction Act

Rep. John Conyer's (D-MI) is suing President Bush over the enactment of the Federal Deficit Act http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/27/154625/574.

Shorter version: The House and Senate passed different versions of the bill and even though they went to conference, a House clerk later changed a provision and Bush signed it into law. Bush can't sign a bill unless it has been agreed to by both the House and Senate.

The Government moved to dismiss Rep. Conyer's lawsuit, and last night, he filed his motion and brief in opposition. http://talkleft.com/conyersvbush.pdf

No one in the House of Representatives voted on the version of the bill which was signed into law. The Senate version was never presented in the House for a vote. .... The Deficit Reduction Act needed to be passed by the House of Representatives in the same form that it passed the Senate. The Act never did and thus the Act is not valid. A law is not validly enacted if even “one of paragraph of that text” is different.

This seems pretty basic to me. The House members were disenfranchised. If this process is approved, what's to stop Bush from signing into law any bill passed by only one house of Congress?

http://talkleft.com/new_archives/015368.html

[ThomWV]

1. You Got The Last Question Wrong

The question is not what is to stop him from signing into law any bill passed by only one house of the Congress. The guestion is what is to stop him from signing into law anything every written by anyone other than both houses of congress. As it stands now he could have his driver rewrite a law which he would sign and then presumably enforce. At a more basic level what is to stop him from writing the law himself, as seems, by use of his proxy, to be the case in this event?

[magellan]

2. I wouldn't put it past him

And even if it was a law decreeing free donuts and coffee for life for every American, it'd be wrong and I'd be against it.

I'm on a diet. :P

[hootinholler]

6. How does his use of signing statements differ from your scenario?

Seems to me he already does this.

-Hoot

[lovuian]

3. bush is a dictator

conyers is trying good for him!!!

[ThomWV]

4. How Long Until A Ruling?

I am not a lawyer but I read the brief. It seems straight forward enough.

Of course a decision has to be made by the court but the argument presented seems enough. The words are there for the court to review, they are either the same or they are not. The procedures seem straight forward as well. Only the written record counts, another point that the court will find easy to accept, and of course that means that the exact words can be compared and the timeline reconstructed with precision.

Anyway it looks like a no-brainer to me. How long will it take? Forever one presumes .....

[me b zola]

5. Thanks for posting an update

k&r for Rep Conyers doing the people's work.

[EC]

7. Maybe, they don't really want a Deficit reduction act

and this way, the one he signed would make it invalid...but the critters can hit the campaign trail saying they passed a deficit reduction bill to ease the publics concerns....