Press Release from the Committee on Government Reform Minority Office:
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Administration Oversight
Legal Scholars Agree: Budget Bill Did Not Pass Both Houses and Is Not Valid Law
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Tuesday, February 14, 2006 -- Several constitutional law experts contend that the budget bill the President signed on February 8, 2006, is "not constitutionally permissible" and "is not law." In a letter to the Democratic Leader, Rep. Waxman includes expert analyses he has gathered about the bill, which did not pass the House and Senate in identical form and therefore violates the Bicameral Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Because of a clerk’s mistake, the two houses passed different versions of the bill. Though aware of the disparity, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and President pro tem of the Senate Ted Stevens signed a statement attesting that the legislation had been passed by both the Senate and the House and transmitted the bill to the President. Leader Pelosi includes Rep. Waxman's letter in her appeal to the Speaker to bring the bill back before the Congress for a fair and constitutional legislative process.
