The Slaughter Rule, whereby House Democrats may “deem” the Senate health care bill passed without actually voting on it, is causing a lot of outrage across the country. There is also a lot of legal opinion on whether such a rule would be constitutional or subject to other legal challenges.
The Constitution seems clear. Article I, Section 7 states: “Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States…” A bill has to pass both branches of Congress before it can become law. The Senate parliamentarian has ruled that the Senate cannot act on a bill making corrections to the original bill until the President has signed the original bill into law. The President cannot sign the Senate bill into law unless the House has also voted on it. It seems clear that the Slaughter Rule is not a legal way forward.
Politico quotes a law professor who has refreshingly simple advice on for Democrats:
“If I were advising somebody,” on whether deem and pass would run into constitutional trouble, “I would say to them, ‘Don’t do it,’” said Alan Morrison, a professor at the George Washington University Law School who has litigated similar issues before the Supreme Court on behalf of the watchdog organization Public Citizen. “What does ‘deem’ mean? In class I always say it means ‘let’s pretend.’ ‘Deems’ means it’s not true.”
Democrats will not get away with supporting the Slaughter Rule and claiming that they didn’t vote for the Senate bill.
What’s more, Obamacare passed via the Slaughter Rule will undermine the rule of law, may cause states to declare that the law will be unenforceable within their borders and will unleash anger against the federal government that will make the tea party protest of the past year look like pro-government rallies. Red State has a post that discusses the possibly frightening consequences should Democrats go down this path.
President Obama announced in Ohio yesterday that premiums for employers will drop 3,000 percent if Congress enacts Obamacare. So for every $1,000 an employer currently pays, they will receive back $30,000. The audience applauds this obviously absurd statement. I guess the teleprompter malfunctioned.
Just imaging what the media would be doing if George Bush would have said something like this. We would never hear the end about what an idiot he is.
Here is the full text of the one minute speech (via Hot Air):
“The Democrat health care bill that’s being brought through the Congress this week is nothing more than a government takeover of health care, and the American people know it. I know the administration doesn’t like us to use that phrase, but come on. When you mandate that every American purchase health insurance whether they want it or need it or not, you mandate that every business provide it, you create a massive government-run bureaucracy exchange that mandates what’s in insurance plans, you wrap that all in about $1 trillion worth of spending, that’s a government takeover of health care.
“But what’s really remarkable about this whole business is that not only the American people rejected this plan but Democrats are so desperate to pass it that they’re willing to trample on the traditional rules of the House and Senate and even trample on the Constitution of the United States to get it done.
“The Constitution provides that a bill becomes a law if it’s passed the House of Representatives and the Senate. Democrats actually don’t have the votes to pass the Senate bill, so they’ve decided they’re going to try and pass the bill without a vote.
“Well that would be news to the Founders of this country, and a betrayal of the commitment of every Member of this Congress to the American people. I urge the Speaker, if you have the votes for the Senate bill, bring it to the floor. If you don’t, let’s scrap the bill and start over for the American people.”
Listen to Congressman Paul Ryan condemn the way Democrats are trying to pass Obamacare. Ryan makes many of the points that have been made by this blog and others in the past weeks and months. Listen to Paul Ryan, one of the best leaders we have in Washington:
House Democrats may try to have it both ways. They want to vote for the Senate bill and have it become law and then pray that the Senate will still support a reconciliation bill that undoes provisions that were supported by sixty senators in November.
If this is their plan, they should put the video below in an unending loop so that they can get used to what their election campaign will be hearing as we approach the 2010 elections:
A new billboard featuring a smiling Ronald Reagan and the caption “Remember Real Hope and Change?” has appeared next to a highway in Minnesota as reported by Hot Air. The message is similar to the “Miss Me Yet?” billboard featuring George W. Bush that appeared also in Minnesota earlier this year, but this is definitely an upgrade.
Hope and change were not empty slogans when Reagan was president. Reagan brought hope and change to millions of people throughout the world who were freed from the oppression of communism.
Here is an excerpt from an historic speech President Reagan made to the British Parliament in 1982 where he predicted that communism would be left on the “ash heap of history.” Seven years later the Berlin Wall fell and after two additional years the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. No one would have believed this possible in 1982 – except Ronald Reagan.
The Democrats are amazingly frank at the true objective of passing health care legislation. Here is Nancy Pelosi as quoted The Plum Line Blog (via Hot Air):
Pelosi said passing the bill would allow Dems to undertake a “debate” with Republicans over “what is the balanced role that government should have.”
…
“I have no intention of not passing this bill,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi also sought to reassure those unhappy with the Senate bill by stressing that future legislation would follow, suggesting that after they passed this legislation Dems might try to do away with the insurance industry’s antitrust exemption, among other unnamed initiatives.
“Kick open that door, and there will be other legislation to follow,” she said. “We’ll take the country in a new direction.”
Pelosi said that failure for Dems was unthinkable. “If we don’t pass the bill, how do we explain that to the American people?” she asked. “We as Democrats with two Houses and the White House could not make this historic decision to go forward?”
Recall what other Democrats have said about their ultimate goal of having a single-payer (i.e. nationalized) health care system:
If opponents of Obamacare become complacent, Pelosi, Reid and Obama will get this passed. We need to continue to keep up the pressure on Democratic Congressmen who voted against Obamacare in November and Stupak Democrats who have said that they cannot support federal funding of abortion included in the Senate bill.
The Obama administration last week week attempted to argue that Catholic bishops didn’t oppose the Senate version of the ObamaCare bill as a way of “proving” that the bill won’t fund abortions. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has responded by asking parishes to post and/or read aloud a statement that clarifies their position on the bill, which is adamant opposition. In the statement that many Catholic parishioners will find greeting them as they attend Mass, the USCCB not only declares its opposition but also urges Catholics to contact their elected representatives in Washington to stop it
As long-time advocates of health care reform, the U.S. Catholic bishops continue to make the moral case that genuine health care reform must protect the life, dignity, consciences and health of all, especially the poor and vulnerable. Health care reform should provide access to affordable and quality health care for all, and not advance a pro-abortion agenda in our country. Genuine health care reform is being blocked by those who insist on reversing widely supported policies against federal funding of abortion and plans which include abortion, not by those working simply to preserve these longstanding protections.
* On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed major health care reform that reaffirms the essential, longstanding and widely supported policy against using federal funds for elective abortions and includes positive measures on affordability and immigrants.
* On December 24, the U.S. Senate rejected this policy and passed health care reform that requires federal funds to help subsidize and promote health plans that cover elective abortions. All purchasers of such plans will be required to pay for other people’s abortions through a separate payment solely to pay for abortion. And the affordability credits for very low income families purchasing private plans in a Health Insurance Exchange are inadequate and would leave families financially vulnerable.
* Outside the abortion context, neither bill has adequate conscience protection for health care providers, plans or employers.
* Congressional leaders are now trying to figure out how the rules of the House and Senate could allow the final passage of a modified bill that would satisfy disagreements between House and Senate versions.
ACTION: Contact your Representative and Senators today by e-mail, phone or FAX.
* To send a pre-written, instant e-mail to Congress go to www.usccb.org/action.
* Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices. Contact info can be found on Members’ web sites at www.house.gov & www.senate.gov.
MESSAGE – HOUSE:
“I am pleased that the House health care bill maintains the longstanding policy against federal funding of abortion. On the other hand, the provisions on abortion funding in the current un-amended Senate health care bill are seriously deficient and unacceptable. I urge you to work to uphold essential provisions against abortion funding, to include full conscience protection and to ensure that health care is accessible and affordable for all. I urge you to oppose any bill unless and until these criteria are met.”
MESSAGE – SENATE:
“I am deeply disappointed that the current un-amended Senate health care bill fails to maintain the longstanding policy against federal funding of abortion and does not include adequate protection for conscience. I urge you to support essential provisions against abortion funding, similar to those in the House bill. Include full conscience protection and ensure that health care is accessible and affordable for all. I urge you to oppose any bill unless and until these criteria are met.”
WHEN: Votes in the House and Senate are expected at any time. Act today!
The coming week will be decisive in determining whether Obamacare passes. Obamacare is not just about health care, but rather about irreversibly expanding the power and reach of the federal government. Read “Why Democrats Are Willing to Lose November Election If They Pass Obamacare” to understand why Obama persists in pushing legislation that is opposed by the majority of Americans.
Obama and the Left will try to convince, intimidate and bribe the roughly forty Democrats in the House who opposed Obamacare in November to get enough votes to pass the Senate bill. If that fails, they are ready to use parliamentary maneuvers, some of which may be unconstitutional, to get their way. The most outrageous of these is the “Slaughter Solution” which would declare that the House “deems” the bill passed without an actual vote.
Pro-life Democrats like Bart Stupak cannot vote for this bill and then rely on a promise to have a subsequent reconciliation bill remove federal funding of abortion. Once the Senate bill is signed by President Obama, it is law and a reconciliation bill advocating things the majority of the Senate opposes will not pass. Any representative who votes for the current bill is responsible for the consequences and will face the voters’ wrath in November.
The Slaughter Rule, whereby House Democrats may “deem” the Senate health care bill passed without actually voting on it, is causing a lot of outrage across the country. There is also a lot of legal opinion on whether such a rule would be constitutional or subject to other legal challenges.
The Constitution seems clear. Article I, Section 7 states: “Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States…” A bill has to pass both branches of Congress before it can become law. The Senate parliamentarian has ruled that the Senate cannot act on a bill making corrections to the original bill until the President has signed the original bill into law. The President cannot sign the Senate bill into law unless the House has also voted on it. It seems clear that the Slaughter Rule is not a legal way forward.
