109 HCON 472 IH: Recognizing the independence of the courts U.S. House of Representatives 2006-09-13 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 472 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 13, 2006 Mr. Stark (for himself and Mr. Conyers) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Recognizing the independence of the courts of the United States.

Whereas the Constitution of the United States established three branches of Government, exhibiting a separation of powers, as well as a series of checks and balances among branches; Whereas the power of the Supreme Court to review Acts of Congress was established in 1803 by Marbury v. Madison and cemented by consensus among Americans; Whereas laws enacted by Congress and actions taken by the Executive Branch can conflict with the core principles of the Constitution; Whereas vibrant democracy requires open discourse and constant self-reflection, as well as the malleability of those truths not considered essential to the preservation of the Federal system itself; Whereas various bills to limit the jurisdiction of Federal courts to review the constitutionality of Acts of Congress or controversial social issues, commonly referred to as court-stripping, have recently passed the House of Representatives; Whereas many other such bills have been proposed or introduced for consideration by Congress; Whereas the power of Congress to limit the jurisdiction of the Federal courts to adjudicate basic constitutional issues or to prevent the courts from hearing constitutional challenges is highly questionable; Whereas this power would weaken the Constitution by rendering potentially unconstitutional laws immune from any challenge in the Federal courts; and Whereas this power, in the hands of our predecessors, could have precluded favorable court decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that— (1)the Congress hereby commits itself to exercise additional restraint regarding the passage of bills that limit the jurisdiction of the courts of the United States; and (2)these courts should continue to adjudicate cases alleging conflicts between Acts of Congress and the Constitution of the United States.