Let's Have A Constitutional Showdown
By Henry Lamb
March 23, 2009
Editor's Note: - A link to contact your congressman is available at the end of this column on Pg. 2.
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Every Congressman swears an oath to "...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." To a casual observer, these words could be interpreted to mean that laws enacted by Congress should be consistent with the requirements of the Constitution. To the majority of Congress, these words mean something else, or have no meaning at all, because much of the legislation produced in Washington has no relationship at all with the Constitution.
If we are a nation founded upon the U.S. Constitution, then our laws should be constrained by the Constitution. If we no longer wish to be constrained by our Constitution, we should abandon it, and fly by the seat of our congressional pants.
Let's have a constitutional showdown.
Arizona Representative John Shadegg has introduced the "Enumerated Powers Act" (HR450) which requires that:
"Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act."
What a great idea! Every congressman who has sworn to "...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution," should eagerly endorse this concept - or be exposed as a blatant hypocrite.
The bill was introduced on January 9; it has 18 co-sponsors. This means that 417 representatives are not co-sponsoring the bill -- yet. This number could, and should, change. It will not change, however, unless voters force their individual representative to co-sponsor the bill, or publicly explain why he will not.
This is how to have a constitutional showdown. Every person should call his or her representative and ask directly if the representative will co-sponsor and vote for HR450, the Enumerated Powers Act, or to explain why not -- in writing.
Keep a diary. The staff person who takes your call (get their name) will tell you that someone will get back to you. When you haven't heard from the staffer in two days, call again. And again. And again, if necessary. If you haven't gotten a reply in two weeks, after four or more calls, write a letter to every newspaper in your district explaining your request, and the response from your representative.
If you get a positive response, and a promise to co-sponsor the bill, check with the to make sure he has actually signed the bill. When he does, write a letter to every newspaper in the district thanking the representative for living up to his oath.
Every representative should be hounded by many callers until each representative either co-sponsors the bill or declares why not. But this may not be enough.
The bill was referred to the Rules Committee, and to the Judiciary Committee. Even if the bill had 435 co-sponsors, the chairman of either committee could simply refuse to move the bill from the committee to the floor for a vote.
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