Statement of Constitutional Authority
Rules of the House of Representatives, XIII, 3.(d)(1):
"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 the Congress in the Constitution to enact the law proposed by the bill or joint resolution."
The Freedom21 report describing this rule and the actions they are taking to seek compliance with this rule, is published in a PDF file available here.
Is this rule being followed, or ignored by the Democratic party who has majority control in the House of Representatives?
As Freedom21 proposes in their report, Republicans should lead an effort to ensure the rule is followed and that every bill should be challenged on the floor to force a yea or nay vote before the bill proceeds if the statement is not already included in the committee language. The reason cited are:
1) Rules are made to be followed, one would presume, for good and important reasons. Thus, demanding that they be followed is the responsible thing to do;
2) Doing this will raise the issue of the importance of the Constitution as the foundation of the Rule of Law;
3) It will encourage debate as to the meaning of the parts of the Constitution cited (or not cited), thus raising awareness of the Constitution both with our legislators and the public (since the challenges and the ensuing debates will get reported, at least in the alternative media);
4) Challenging every bill the Democrats put forward will irritate the heck out of them, probably causing some of them to melt down in public;
5) Publicly standing up for the Constitution will give representatives something concrete – genuine action in defense of the Republic – to take home to their voters during the upcoming elections.
Rush Limbaugh