[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1221 Laid on Table in House (LTH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1221

           Raising a question of the privileges of the House.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2008

 Mr. Boehner submitted the following resolution; which was laid on the 
                                 table

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
           Raising a question of the privileges of the House.

Whereas the Democratic Leadership has engaged in a continuing pattern of 
        withholding accurate information vital for Members of the House of 
        Representatives to have before voting on legislation;
Whereas the conference report on H.R. 2419, which was adopted by the House on 
        May 14, 2008, and the Senate on May 15, 2008, contained title III, 
        relating to trade, which contained sections 3001 through 3301;
Whereas the Speaker and the Clerk certified that the enrolled copy of H.R. 2419 
        transmitted to the President was a true and accurate reflection of the 
        actions taken by the House and Senate;
Whereas the enrolled copy certified by the Speaker and the Clerk and presented 
        to the President failed to include title III and sections 3001 through 
        3301 and was not an accurate or complete document;
Whereas the President vetoed and returned to the House said certified copy;
Whereas before laying the President's message before the House, the Speaker and 
        the Democratic Leadership were informed by the Office of the Law 
        Revision Counsel and the Committee on Agriculture that said certified 
        copy was erroneous and not an accurate or complete document;
Whereas on May 21, 2008, the Democratic Leadership deliberately chose to ignore 
        that notification and instead allowed the House to vote on an incorrect 
        version of this legislation;
Whereas a veto override requires \2/3\ of the House to vote in the affirmative, 
        and knowledge of this mistake may have influenced each Member's decision 
        and therefore changed the outcome of this vote, which is why the 
        Democratic Leadership chose not to pursue a correction of this 
        legislation;
Whereas the effect of these actions raises serious constitutional questions and 
        jeopardizes the legal status of this legislation;
Whereas Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Hoyer knowingly scheduled and began 
        consideration of the President's veto of H.R. 2419, without regard to 
        the serious and obvious constitutional questions and detrimental 
        implications to the sanctity of the House and its process;
Whereas at the direction of the Republican Leader, senior staff contacted the 
        Chief-of-Staff to the Speaker and the Floor Director for the Majority 
        Leader, requesting that they immediately halt consideration of the veto 
        message until the facts surrounding the errors could be sorted out and 
        all Members could be notified;
Whereas the Democratic Leadership refused that request;
Whereas in the 109th Congress, the current Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, offered a 
        privileged resolution, H. Res. 683, accusing the Republicans of 
        concealment, incompetence, and corruption with respect to the enrollment 
        error of the Deficit Reduction Act;
Whereas the Deficit Reduction Act was the subject of numerous lawsuits 
        questioning its validity due to the enrollment error, including a 
        lawsuit filed by several Democratic Members;
Whereas in a memorandum from the Clerk of the House to Speaker Nancy Pelosi 
        entitled ``Farm Bill Omission'' and dated May 21, 2008, the Clerk stated 
        ``Enrolling Division staff expressed concern in receiving direct calls 
        from Leadership and the Committee to accelerate the enrolling 
        process.''; and
Whereas the Democratic Leadership's repeated efforts to thwart the normal 
        legislative process by cutting corners, ignoring requirements of the 
        Constitution and House rules, and rushing through legislation with major 
        errors, forces Members to vote on controversial legislation without 
        thorough time for review and must be denounced: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall 
        begin an immediate investigation into the abuse of power 
        surrounding the inaccuracies in the process and enrollment of 
        H.R. 2419, Food and Energy Security Act of 2007, vetoed by the 
        President on May 21, 2008; and
            (2) the Speaker, Majority Leader and other Members of the 
        Democratic Leadership are hereby admonished for their roles in 
        the events surrounding this enrollment error.
                                 <all>