[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 103 (Thursday, July 22, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H6580-H6613]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MARRIAGE PROTECTION ACT OF 2004
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 734, I
call up the bill (H.R. 3313) to amend title 28, United States Code, to
limit Federal court jurisdiction over questions under the Defense of
Marriage Act, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 734, the bill
is considered read for amendment.
The text of H.R. 3313 is as follows:
H.R. 3313
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Marriage Protection Act of
2003''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON JURISDICTION.
(a) In General.--Chapter 99 of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1632. Limitation on jurisdiction
``No court created by Act of Congress shall have any
jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate
jurisdiction, to hear or determine any question pertaining to
the interpretation of section 1738c of this title or of this
section. Neither the Supreme Court nor any court created by
Act of Congress shall have any appellate jurisdiction to hear
or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of
section 7 of title 1.''.
(b) Amendment to Table of Sections.--The table of sections
at the beginning of chapter 99 of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``1632. Limitation on jurisdiction.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The amendment in the nature of a substitute
printed in the bill is adopted.
The text of the amendment in the nature of a substitute is as
follows:
H.R. 3313
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Marriage Protection Act of
2004''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON JURISDICTION.
(a) In General.--Chapter 99 of title 28, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1632. Limitation on jurisdiction
``No court created by Act of Congress shall have any
jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate
jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to
the interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution
of, section 1738C or this section.''.
(b) Amendments to the Table of Sections.--The table of
sections at the beginning of chapter 99 of title 28, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following
new item:
``1632. Limitation on jurisdiction.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Sensenbrenner) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) each will
control 45 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Sensenbrenner).
{time} 1300
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the time
for debate on H.R. 3313 be extended by 20 minutes, said time to be
equally controlled by myself and the ranking member, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Conyers).
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shimkus). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
General Leave
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 3313.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the distinguished majority leader.
Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I asked the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Sensenbrenner) for the privilege of opening this debate so as to lay
before the
[[Page H6581]]
House not only the arguments in favor of the Marriage Protection Act,
but also, and perhaps more importantly, to appeal to Members on all
sides of this issue to conduct today's debate with the compassion and
civility that it deserves.
Mr. Speaker, I repeat my appeal to Members on all sides of this
issue. I would hope that Members would conduct today's debate with the
compassion and civility that it deserves.
I really feel that, I fear that the debate about homosexual marriage,
which has recently been thrust upon the entire Nation by the Supreme
Judicial Court of Massachusetts, has begun to deviate from a productive
conversation about public policy. Too often proponents and opponents
seem more interested in talking to themselves than to each other, and
if we truly seek a national consensus on the future of marriage, little
can be gained by an afternoon spent hectoring each other.
So those who oppose homosexual marriage need not be lectured about
compassion any more than those who support it need to be lectured about
morality. You think this bill is cruel and we think same sex marriage
is a contradiction in terms. Saying so at the top of our lungs for the
next few hours will do little good for anyone, least of all the
millions of American homosexuals who deserve respect in this debate as
American citizens and as human beings.
Mr. Speaker, we are elected to judge policies, not people, and the
policy before us today, the Marriage Protection Act, would reaffirm the
current national consensus on homosexual marriage by leaving to the
States and to the American people the right to define marriage in this
country. This is the position that many Democrats say that they
support, all 50 States deciding for themselves how to define marriage
rather than a one-size-fits-all definition being imposed on them from
above, and this bill is their opportunity to publicly adhere to that
argument.
If you support the States and respect the will of the American
people, you must support this bill. The overwhelming bipartisan passage
of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, signed into law by President
Bill Clinton, provides uncontradicted testimony to the consensus
opinion of the American people, an opinion shared by every civilized
society in history. That consensus is simply that marriage is the union
between one man and one woman.
The consensus of the American people is simply that marriage is the
union between one man and one woman. It is not a contract of mutual
affection between consenting adults. It is, instead, the architecture
of family, the basic unit of civilization, and the natural means by
which the human species creates, protects and instills its values in
its children.
Traditional marriage is the most stable, enduring and efficient means
of raising children, laying down the roots of community life and
establishing the necessary and sustainable predicates of nationhood.
This is the evolution of civilization.
Individual men and women, with the innate qualities of their gender,
come together in shared sacrifice to raise children. They each make
their own unique contributions to the raising of boys and girls as male
and female models for their male and female children and create the
ideal family unit of mother, father and children, an ideal established
by nature, sustained by human experience and supported by decades of
social science.
It is not a collection of individuals but of families that come
together to form a community of shared values and common purpose, and
communities in turn come together and bind each other by those shared
values and common purpose to establish a common nation. If any link, if
any link in that chain breaks, like, for instance, the erosion of the
traditional family that has occurred in this country over the last 40
years, the institution of marriage suffers, but so does the Nation.
Children need their community and their Nation to help stabilize
their social environment so that they can have the same chances in life
we and every generation of Americans have had before them. That is why
there has always been and always will be a compelling government
interest to protect the institution of marriage from corrosion within
or artificial social engineering without.
If it is true what the Massachusetts Supreme Court says, and I do not
believe that it is, that ``marriage is an evolving paradigm,'' then
should not that evolution be an organic, natural evolution and left to
the collective and evolving wisdom of the American people?
And if, on the other hand, no such institutional evolution exists,
does not the arrogance of judges who would impose on our society their
own contrary and misguided prejudices fundamentally undermine American
democracy?
In both cases the answer is yes, and in both cases the Marriage
Protection Act will ensure that we take the proper course.
We are a nation of laws, not commandments, and neither the
conservative politician nor the liberal judge by himself has the right
to define marriage for a nation of 270 million people. That
responsibility, that responsibility lies with the people we all serve,
whether it is in Sugar Land or San Francisco and everywhere in between.
So I urge my colleagues, let us have a debate. Let us have a civil
debate. But in the end I hope my colleagues understand that that
responsibility lies in the body of the House of Representatives and you
will vote yes on the bill before us.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I begin by thanking the leader and the chairman of the
Committee on the Judiciary, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr.
Sensenbrenner), for allowing us to add 10 minutes on each side to this
debate.
Now, let us begin with the nature of H.R. 3313. This is not about
marriage. This is about whether the third branch of government, the
judiciary, since Marbury v. Madison will continue to be the arbiter of
what is constitutional in the American system.
So I begin by pointing out that to deny any branch, any issue the
right to full judicial review would bring about more chaos than even
the proponent of this change, which is patently unconstitutional, would
want. The legislation is the first of its kind that has ever been
brought to the floor of the House of Representatives.
Never have we ever tried to do something as breathtaking as taking
away the right of a Federal appeal when it is clearly permissive not
even to go to the Supreme Court. We had an amendment that would have
allowed the Supreme Court at least to take precedent. It was voted down
by the conservatives in the Committee on the Judiciary. This would be
the only instance in the history of the Congress that we have totally
precluded the Federal courts from considering the constitutionality of
Federal legislation.
The other body only last week decided this question the same way that
I pray we will today. They turned it back. It was considered too
unconstitutional and too unprecedented. Now, make no mistake about it,
were the bill to be enacted, the chaos that would ensue from 50 States
plus the District of Columbia issuing conflicting opinions on the
marriage law would be irrational.
Why, I ask my colleagues, and I will yield, why would anyone want to
create out of this rational body a law that would prevent the Federal
courts from deciding cases rather than allowing anywhere up to 50, 51
different decisions? I yield to anyone in this body.
So I want to urge to you that the reason is that we are actually
stripping the Federal courts from jurisdiction that has historically
been theirs. We have these branches in the judiciary. Now, what would
have happened had conservatives decided during the civil rights battles
of the sixties to have decided that we would just take the decisions
away from the courts, or Brown v. The Board or any of the tests against
the Civil Rights Act, the Voter Rights Act, would have had nowhere to
go had someone come across this incredibly weird decision.
So I rise in strong opposition to this. I urge the Members, as the
leader who preceded me said, may rationally analyze where stripping the
Federal courts from any one single issue, where that would lead this
great Constitution and democracy of over 209 years.
I rise in strong opposition to this unconstitutional, discriminatory,
divisive, and unprecedented bill. The only reason we are debating today
is that the President is in danger of losing his job and wants to
detract attention from
[[Page H6582]]
his failure in Iraq and to bolster support amongst right-wing
conservatives.
In the past few weeks, I am sorry to say the death toll of U.S.-led
forces in Iraq topped 1,000. The bipartisan 9-11 Commission found,
contrary to the President's implications, that there was no
``collaborative relationship'' between Iraq and Al Qaeda. And we all
know that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq.
What did the President do about it? He followed the advice of
conservative organizers and ``changed the subject'' so he could have a
chance of winning in November.
That is why we are here. The President and the Republican leadership
know that a constitutional amendment could not pass; in fact, it failed
the Senate last week. Instead, they are moving this divisive and
unconstitutional bill, which proposes to strip all federal courts and
the Supreme Court from reviewing not just one but two acts of Congress.
I cannot believe that proponents of this bill understand its
implications. Imagine if, in the early 1950's, a conservative Congress
had succeeded in stripping the federal courts of jurisdiction to hear
segregation cases. The Supreme Court would never have issued its
historic Brown v. Board of Education decision declaring that separate
was not permitted in education.
Alternatively, consider the implications if a more liberal Congress
opted to prevent federal courts from hearing any Second Amendment
cases. How would my conservative colleagues like it if the California
or the Massachusetts Supreme Court was the final arbiter of the right
to bear arms in their states? Would they think it fair that a single
class of citizens--gun owners--were excluded from appeals to our
federal judicial system?
Yet that is what H.R. 3313 would do--deny any judicial review, even
by the Supreme Court--of any case brought challenging the
constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which clarifies that
states need not give full faith and credit to same sex marriages
entered into in other states. This legislation would be the first and
only instance in which Congress had totally precluded the federal
courts from considering the constitutionality of federal legislation.
This runs totally contrary to our bedrock principles. Article III of
the Constitution says ``the judicial Power of the United States, shall
be vested in one supreme Court.'' And in the more than 200 years that
have passed since Marbury v. Madison, judicial review has served as the
very touchstone of our constitutional system and our democracy.
It is no wonder that, when court stripping legislation was proposed
in the 1970's concerning school prayer, abortion, and busing,
conservatives found the proposals to be so repugnant. Then-Yale Law
School Professor Robert Bork wrote of the bills, ``you'd have 50
different constitutions running around out there, and I'm not sure even
conservatives would like the results.'' Senator Barry Goldwater stated
that the ``frontal assault on the independence of the Federal courts is
a dangerous blow to the foundations of a free society'' and warned
``there is no clear or coherent standard to define why we shall control
the Court in one area but not another.''
Today, the stakes are no less significant. As emotionally charged and
politicized as the issue of same sex marriage has become, we should not
use that controversy to permanently damage the courts, the
Constitution, and the Congress. At a time when it is more important
than ever that our Nation stand out as a beacon of freedom, we must not
countenance a bill that undermines the very protector of those
freedoms--our independent federal judiciary.
The bill is even more misguided considering that it was a state
court, not a federal court, that issued an opinion that permitted same
sex marriage. Further, no federal court has even opined on the
constitutionality of DOMA.
Make no mistake about it. If this bill is enacted, chaos will ensue
when the fifty states and the District of Columbia issue conflicting
opinions on DOMA. Then my colleagues on the other side will be
clamoring for review by a Supreme Court that has seven Republican
appointees and two Democratic appointees.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this legislation.
Congressional Research Service.
Memorandum
To: House Committee on the Judiciary, Attention: Perry
Apelbaum.
From: Johnny H. Killian, Senior Specialist, American
Constitutional Law, American Law Division.
Subject: Precedent for Congressional Bill.
This memorandum is in response to your query, respecting
H.R. 3313, now pending before the House of Representatives,
as to whether there is any precedent for enacted legislation
that would deny judicial review in any federal court of the
constitutionary of a law that Congress has enacted, whether a
law containing the jurisdictional provision or an earlier,
separate law. We are not aware of any precedent for a law
that would deny the inferior federal courts original
jurisdiction or the Supreme Court of appellate jurisdiction
to review the constitutionality of a law of Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3313, the Marriage Protection Act, simply prevents
one or more Federal judges from striking down the provision of the
Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, that protects States from
having to recognize same sex marriage licenses granted in other States.
This bill will prevent unelected lifetime appointed Federal judges
from taking away from the States their right codified in DOMA to reject
same sex marriage licenses issued elsewhere if States so choose.
DOMA passed the Congress overwhelmingly in the House by a vote of 342
to 67 and in the Senate by a vote of 85 to 14, and it was signed into
law by President Clinton.
{time} 1315
This afternoon we will hear from opponents of this bill that this is
an unprecedented move to restrict the jurisdiction of the Federal
courts. This is not the case.
Beginning with the first Congress, when the Judiciary Act of 1789 was
passed, the jurisdiction of the Federal courts was limited; and since
that time, Congress has passed enactments either expanding or
restricting the jurisdiction of the Federal courts, whether it be in
the area of diversity jurisdiction or elsewhere, including the
interpretation of Federal laws.
Just less than 2 years ago, as a part of a supplemental
appropriations bill, the Congress enacted a provision inserted by
Senator Daschle of South Dakota preventing Federal court review of
determinations made on the clearing of brush on Indian reservations in
South Dakota. That was not called an assault on the Constitution by
anyone. It was merely a determination by the Congress that these types
of questions should not be reviewed judicially, and that is very
clearly authorized by article III, section 2 of the Constitution.
Today, we are talking about an issue of whether the Federal courts
can interpret the Defense of Marriage Act to take away the right of the
State to determine its own marriage laws.
We have heard earlier in this debate that the supreme judicial court
of Massachusetts in an interpretation of States rights made the
determination that it was unconstitutional to deny marriage licenses,
and in that one State only, to persons of the same gender who applied
for such a license. What this bill will do is to prevent a Federal
court from exporting the decision of a divided court in a single State
to the other States.
I do not believe that when James Madison wrote the Constitution his
idea of federalism was to allow a divided court in a single State to
set national policy, and I sincerely doubt the Constitution would have
been ratified had that been the notion that pervaded Philadelphia in
1787 and in the State legislatures elsewhere.
What we are doing here is restoring the Federal system. We are
restoring a Federal system in an area that has always been conceded to
be the province of the State.
Now, a lot of people will also argue against this bill saying that
the danger is not there. I am here to say that the danger is real.
Just 2 days ago, a lesbian couple married in Massachusetts filed the
first lawsuit in a Florida Federal court to set Federal precedent and
to strike down DOMA's protection that allows States not to recognize
same-sex marriage licenses issued in Massachusetts. The attorney for
the plaintiffs explicitly stated he filed the case because he wants a
Federal court to force every State to recognize same-sex marriage
licenses issued in Massachusetts, whether the people of that State
agree or not.
Now, the laws of Florida are different than the laws of
Massachusetts. Florida should be allowed to make its own laws and to
enforce its own laws and not to have residents who disagree with those
laws run to Massachusetts and come back and force a Federal judge to
recognize that license in Massachusetts.
[[Page H6583]]
The threat that is posed to traditional marriage by a handful of
Federal judges whose decisions can have an impact across State
boundaries has renewed concern about abuse of power from the Federal
judiciary. This concern has roots as old and venerable as our Nation's
history and is nothing new in the year 2004.
Thomas Jefferson wrote of Federal judges: ``Their power is the more
dangerous as they are in office for life and not responsible to the
elective control.''
Abraham Lincoln said in his first inaugural address in 1861: ``The
candid citizen must confess that if the policy of the government, upon
vital questions, affecting the whole people, is to be irrevocably fixed
by decisions of the Supreme Court, the people will have ceased to be
their own rulers having, to that extent, practically resigned their
government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.''
This statement by Abraham Lincoln was in the wake of the Dred Scott
decision, a decision of the Supreme Court which was the single most
important spark that began a civil war which to this day was the most
bloody conflict in our history.
A remedy to abuses by Federal judges has long been understood to lie,
among other places, in Congress's ability to limit Federal court
jurisdiction. H.R. 3313 would prevent a few Federal judges from
rewriting State marriage recognition laws in ways that do not reflect
the will of the people. Nothing in this bill denies anyone their day in
court. The bill simply provides that in cases involving DOMA's
protection of States rights, those cases are to be brought in State
court.
The door of the courthouse is not slammed shut. The people who were
married in Massachusetts and want to get recognition of their marriage
elsewhere, it is the State courthouse that they go to, not the Federal
courthouse.
Any Member who wishes to protect the Defense of Marriage Act's
protections for States from invalidation by Federal judges should
support this bill. The vast majority of Members of the House represent
States that have passed laws that specifically rely on the right of the
States codified in DOMA to resist same-sex marriage licenses issued out
of State.
The Constitution clearly provides that the lower Federal courts are
entirely creatures of the Congress, as is the appellate jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court, excluding only the Supreme Court's very limited
original jurisdiction over cases involving ambassadors and cases in
which States have legal claims against each other.
In The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton made clear the broad
nature of Congress's authority to amend Federal court decisions to
remedy perceived abuse. He wrote, describing the Constitution, that
``it ought to be recollected that the national legislature will have
ample authority to make such exceptions, and to prescribe such
regulations as will be calculated to obviate or remove the
inconveniences'' which are posed by decisions of the Federal judiciary.
That understanding prevails today. As a leading treatise on Federal
court jurisdiction has pointed out: ``Beginning with the first
Judiciary Act in 1789, Congress has never vested the Federal courts
with the entire `judicial power' that would be permitted by article
III'' of the Constitution. Even the famously liberal Justice William
Brennan wrote a Supreme Court opinion that said: ``Virtually all
matters that might be heard in article III Federal courts could also be
left by Congress to State courts.''
The United States Constitution applies to the State courts. That was
made clear in the 14th amendment.
Limiting Federal court jurisdiction to avoid abuses is not a partisan
issue. Senate Minority Leader Daschle, as I have previously indicated,
supported legislation enacted during the last Congress that denies the
Federal court jurisdiction over the procedures governing timber
projects in order to expedite forest clearing. If limiting the
jurisdiction of the Federal court is good enough to protect trees, it
sure ought to be good enough to protect a State's marriage policy.
Far from violating the separation of powers, legislation that leaves
State courts with jurisdiction to decide certain classes of cases would
be an exercise of one of the very checks and balances provided for in
the Constitution. No branch of the Federal Government can be entrusted
with absolute power and certainly not a handful of tenured Federal
judges appointed for life. The Constitution allows the exercise of
judicial power, but it does not grant the Federal courts the unchecked
power to define the limits of its own power.
Integral to the American constitutional system is each branch of
government's responsibility to use its powers to prevent overreaching
by the other branches. H.R. 3313 does just that, and I urge my
colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), Democratic whip.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
I supported the Defense of Marriage Act. I rise now in the defense of
the Constitution of the United States. I rise now in defense of the
separation of powers. I rise now in defense of a Nation of laws, not of
men and women.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to seriously consider the
ramifications of the legislation under consideration.
If this bill becomes law, it will represent the first time in our
history that Congress has enacted legislation that completely bars any
Federal court, including the United States Supreme Court, from
considering the constitutionality of Federal legislation. Thus, it
contradicts the Supreme Court's historic ruling more than 200 years ago
in Marbury v. Madison, which enunciated the principle of Federal
judicial review of Federal laws and established the separation of
powers doctrine.
How dramatically different has that made America than every other
nation in the world, in fact? A Nation of laws.
In Marbury, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote: ``It is emphatically
the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law
is.''
This legislation, however, would undue the deference and respect that
Congress has given to the principle of judicial review. It would
intrude upon the principle of separation of powers; and as a result, I
believe it is unconstitutional.
This legislation also would undermine the independent Federal
judiciary. Even the majority's witness, hear me colleagues, the witness
called by the majority, Professor Redish, said that if Congress strips
the courts of jurisdiction it would, the majority's own witness, ``risk
undermining public faith in both Congress and the Federal courts.''
That was your witness, not ours.
And there is little doubt that this bill would set a dangerous
precedent.
The author of the Defense of Marriage Act, one of the most
conservative Members that has served in this Congress, Bob Barr, said
this: ``My main concern with H.R. 3313 is that it will lay the path for
the sponsors of unconstitutional legislation to simply add the language
from H.R. 3313 to their bills.'' Bob Barr, the sponsor of the Defense
of Marriage Act, said that.
If this end-run of judicial review becomes law, what is next? No
judicial review of laws restricting freedom of speech or religion or
laws affecting the right to vote?
I was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1966. One of the first
bills I voted on in January of 1967 was to repeal the miscegenation
statutes that then were on the Maryland books. America has nevertheless
stood strong.
Let us reject this undermining of what America stands for, a Nation
of laws, not of men and women.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman
from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee
on the Constitution.
Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Wisconsin
for his leadership on this issue. I also want to thank the gentleman
from Indiana (Mr. Hostettler) for proposing this legislation and his
leadership as well.
{time} 1330
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3313, the Marriage
Protection Act. This legislation prevents unelected lifetime appointed
Federal
[[Page H6584]]
judges from striking down the protections Congress afforded States
through the Defense of Marriage Act.
The fact of the matter remains that marriage between a man and a
woman has been and continues to be the cornerstone of our society. If
we are going to change that, if we are going to make two men able to be
married or two women able to be married in this country, and I do not
think we should, but if we were, it ought to be done through the will
of the people, and the will of the people is expressed through their
elected representatives, either at the State legislature, whatever
State they are located within, or the Congress of the United States,
should we determine to take that on nationally.
Rather than having the elected representatives do this, it has been
done piecemeal by a rogue mayor, for example, in San Francisco, or a
court by a 4 to 3 decision in Massachusetts. So clearly what has
happened here, and this is an issue that some on the other side of the
aisle might think that Members on this side of the aisle want to be
debating today, well, this is an issue which has been thrust upon us by
rogue mayors and rogue courts, not something we chose but something we
have to do.
The Subcommittee on the Constitution that I chair held four hearings
focusing on the status of marriage in the United States. One of the
hearings focused specifically on the issue we are considering today.
That hearing clearly demonstrated that we could, if we wished,
constitutionally strengthen the Defense of Marriage Act and limit the
ability of activist Federal judges to force one State's controversial
marriage laws on any other State by passing this legislation. We can
clearly constitutionally do this.
Now as my colleagues know, in 1996 the House overwhelmingly passed
the Defense of Marriage Act by a 342-67 vote. The Senate voiced similar
support passing DOMA by a vote of 85-14. It was later signed into law
by President Clinton. In passing DOMA, Congress recognized that
controversial views on marriage adopted in one State should not be
forced on other States. Understanding that marriage as defined by a
State would have an impact across State lines, Congress exercised its
authority under Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution, the full
faith and credit clause, to protect States right.
Under this provision, ``full faith and credit should be given in each
State to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every
other State; and the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner
in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the
effect thereof.''
Today, 44 States have enacted laws defining marriage as between a man
and woman. That is 88 percent of the States, and 86 percent of the
population throughout the country. So far, 38 States have specifically
rejected the recognition of same sex marriage licenses granted out of
State. Unfortunately, the will of the States could be jeopardized by
Federal judges. That is the point of this legislation.
H.R. 3313 will protect the provision of DOMA that keeps final
authority of the will of the States with the States, not with Federal
judges. Let me make something very clear. If Members voted for the
Defense of Marriage Act or purport to support it now, Members must
logically vote for the Marriage Protection Act, this law. Voting
against this legislation will undermine DOMA and potentially force
same-sex marriages on all 50 States.
The Constitution allows Congress to protect DOMA through judicial
limitations set forth in H.R. 3313. Together, Article III, Sections 1
and 2 of the Constitution, provide that the Federal courts derive
authority solely from Congress and the Supreme Court's appellate
jurisdiction is subject to such exceptions and such regulations as the
Congress shall make. Moreover, this authority was made clear as far
back as the first Judiciary Act of 1789, which according to leading
scholars ``is widely viewed as an indicator of the original
understanding of Article III.''
Mr. Speaker, I strongly encourage my colleagues to support this
legislation. It is very important.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, more than anything else, today's debate is about the
politics of a national election. Perhaps our sons and daughters have
been sent to Iraq based on intelligence we now know was not correct,
perhaps millions of Americans are out of work, and many more do not
have access to a doctor. Perhaps our seniors cannot afford life-
protecting medications, but none of that matters, at least we can today
take the time out to beat up on an unpopular minority.
Mr. Speaker, that may be good politics, but it demonstrates a
dangerous contempt for our system of government. This debate is not
really about gay marriage, no matter how long they may talk about it.
The courts will or will not declare the Defense of Marriage Act
unconstitutional. We do not know that yet. If they declare the Defense
of Marriage Act unconstitutional, for those that disagree with them,
the remedy is the normal remedy, a constitutional amendment, which I
gather we will be debating on this floor in a couple of weeks before we
know what the courts do.
But this debate is about whether Congress can adopt unconstitutional
legislation on any subject and protect that legislation from
constitutional challenge by stripping the courts of their jurisdiction
to consider any such challenge. We have never done that before in our
history, and we should not do that now.
No less a conservative icon than Barry Goldwater opposed court
stripping bills in previous decades on the subjects of school prayer,
school busing and abortion, which were the big issues in those days. He
warned his colleagues that, ``The frontal assault on the independence
of the Federal courts is a dangerous blow to the foundations of a free
society.''
Our former colleague, Bob Barr, the author of the Defense of Marriage
Act which this bill purports to protect, had this to say in a letter to
the Members of Congress about this bill. ``H.R. 3313 will needlessly
set a dangerous precedent for future Congresses that might want to
protect unconstitutional legislation from judicial review. During my
time in Congress, I saw many bills introduced that would violate the
takings clause, the second amendment, the 10th amendment, and many
other constitutional protections. The fundamental protections afforded
by the Constitution would be rendered meaningless if others follow the
path set by H.R. 3313.'' That is from Bob Barr.
The distinguished majority leader of the House, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. DeLay), has already said that if this bill passes he will
introduce court-stripping legislation on other subjects. In fact, the
likelihood is that language saying the court shall have no jurisdiction
to judge the constitutionality of this act will become boilerplate.
Just as every rule that we consider in this House has boilerplate
language saying that all points of order against this bill are waived,
which means the rules of the House do not apply, it will become
boilerplate on every bill of doubtful constitutionality. That would
render the Bill of Rights meaningless.
The 1936 Stalinist constitution of the Soviet Union read wonderfully
on paper. It had a long list of Bill of Rights, freedom of religion,
freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. It was not worth the paper
it was written on because there was no means of enforcing those rights.
We depend on the courts to enforce our rights against majorities
represented in Congress or State legislatures, momentary majorities
perhaps.
Without the means of the courts enforcing the Bill of Rights, the
Bill of Rights is a nullity. Our Constitution would become like the
Soviet constitution, meaningless. We must have a Federal forum to
protect liberty, otherwise that liberty will not exist.
The due process clause of the fifth amendment, passed after the
Judiciary Court Act of 1789, says that no person may be deprived of
life, liberty or property without due process of law. Due process of
law means there has to be a judicial forum to assert the right and have
the judges decide.
We are told the State courts will be the forum. The State courts will
decide whether a law, a Federal law or a State law, violates the United
States Constitution. That means we will have 50 different
constitutions, 50 different laws. We say in the Pledge of Allegiance
the United States is one Nation, indivisible; not if this bill passes.
If this bill and other bills like it pass, we
[[Page H6585]]
will balkanize the United States. The Constitution will mean one thing
in New Jersey, another thing in New York and a third thing in
Pennsylvania.
Mr. Speaker, it is our very system of government and the
constitutional system of checks and balances which is under attack with
this bill. If the Congress by statute can prevent the Federal courts
from applying the Constitution on any subject matter, then the
protections of an independent judiciary, the protections of the Bill of
Rights, the protections of the United States Constitution, become no
more than a puff of smoke. It will, of course, be unpopular minorities,
whether religious minorities, political minorities, ethnic minorities,
racial minorities, lesbians, gays, whoever is unpopular at the moment,
who will lose their rights.
There have been many Supreme Court decisions I have found loathsome
and wrong, such as Bush v. Gore, and some of the cases invalidating or
limiting our civil rights law, but while that makes me question the
wisdom of some of the justices, even occasionally the motives, it does
not make we want to alter the fundamental structure of our government
that has protected our liberties for the last two centuries.
The evisceration of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, the natural
result of this bill, threatens all of us. It is far, far more important
than the question of gay marriage, which is not really involved here
because that has not been decided by the courts. We are playing with
fire with this bill, and that fire could destroy the Nation we love.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
Mr. Speaker, the predictions of attacks by opponents of this bill,
including the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), are slaps in the
face of the 50 States.
The Supreme Court itself agrees in this case. In a decision this
year, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that ``the whole subject of domestic
relations of husband and wife, parent and child belongs to the laws of
the States and not to the United States.'' That is Elk Grove Unified
School District v. Newdow.
The Supreme Court also has stated, ``domestic relations are
preeminently matters of State law.'' That is Mansell v. Mansell, 1989.
And that ``family relations are a traditional area of State concern,''
Moore v. Sims, 1979.
So by reserving marriage law decisions to States, as this bill does,
we are doing nothing more than what the Supreme Court itself has said
is proper.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr.
Hostettler), who is the author of the bill.
(Mr. HOSTETTLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. HOSTETTLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin
(Mr. Sensenbrenner), the chairman of the full committee, for yielding
me this time.
In my discussion during the consideration of the rule, I informed the
body of the constitutional basis for this law. I have several of the
provisions beside me here, and for Members who are actually interested
in what the Constitution says, that is available in the record as well
as in several copies that are available to every Member's office.
However, I would like to address some of the issues talked about
during this debate, and one of the issues that is a discussion of where
we are with regard to other countries, it was suggested earlier, and we
heard it in the last person's speech, that somehow we are doing as the
Soviet Union has done in the past by limiting the ability for
individuals to go before the court.
Well, the fact is that there was a mechanism in the Soviet Union very
similar to the mechanism we have in this country, and it was referred
to as the Politburo, and the Politburo was a very small entity of
individuals that made policy for the hundreds of millions of individual
citizens of the Soviet Union. We have that today in this country. We
refer to it as the United States Supreme Court. As few as five people
in black robes can look at a particular issue and determine for the
rest of us, insinuate for the rest of us, that they are speaking for
the majority when, in fact, they are not.
It is time with the passage of this legislation to say that we will
have the people in the several States to determine their marriage laws,
and we will not allow, for example, what is attempting to be done in
the State of Florida, and that is a couple that was wed in the State of
Massachusetts imposing their will on the rest of the country by
overturning the Defense of Marriage Act.
This bill uses constitutional provisions to allow the States and to
allow the citizens of the several States to determine the definition of
marriage for themselves and to not allow another State and especially
the Federal judiciary to determine the definition of marriage for them.
{time} 1345
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from California (Mr. Berman).
Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
I think I just heard the Supreme Court of the United States
analogized to the politburo of the Soviet Union, but I am not sure. The
Hostettler fix was tried before. It has never happened, but it was
tried before and here is what Attorney General William French Smith
said in a letter to Strom Thurmond back in 1982:
``The integrity of our system of Federal law depends on a single
court of last resort having a final say on the resolution of Federal
questions. State courts could reach disparate conclusions on identical
questions of Federal law, in this case interpreting the Constitution,
and the Supreme Court would not be able to resolve the inevitable
conflicts.''
If you want to do away with the supremacy clause, repeal Marbury v.
Madison, and rip apart any uniform effort to enforce constitutional
protections, you should vote for this bill. But one day, some liberal
runaway court in some State, justices which we cannot impeach and that
we did not confirm over in the other body, one day that court will come
down and say that DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, is
unconstitutional because of the full faith and credit clause; and the
losing parties, the people who want State control on the issue of who
can marry, will not be able to appeal that to the U.S. Supreme Court
under this bill.
What a ridiculous situation.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Smith).
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the
Committee on the Judiciary, the gentleman from Wisconsin, for yielding
me this time.
Mr. Speaker, all Americans are entitled to a fair hearing before
independent-minded judges whose only allegiance is to the law. However,
over the last several years we have witnessed some judges wanting to
determine social policy rather than interpret the Constitution. They
seem to be legislators, not judges; promoters of a partisan agenda, not
wise teachers relying on established law.
Judicial activism has reached a crisis. Judges routinely overrule the
will of the people, invent new rights, and ignore traditional morality.
Judges have redefined marriage, deemed the Pledge of Allegiance
unconstitutional, outlawed longstanding religious practices, and
imposed their personal views on all Americans.
Fortunately, there is a solution. The Constitution empowers Congress
to say that some subjects are off-limits to Federal courts. The
constitutional authority authorizing Congress to restrain Federal
courts, in fact, has been used before, and it should be used again.
The legislation being considered today preserves the right of State
courts to consider the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage
Act, DOMA. It prevents Federal judges from ordering States to accept
another State's domestic relations policy, an area of the law
historically under the jurisdiction of the States, not the Federal
Government.
While the bill does not dictate any conclusions about DOMA, the vast
majority of States have enacted laws that support DOMA. We need to
protect the right of the voters of those States to define marriage as
they see it.
When Federal judges step over the line, Congress has a responsibility
to
[[Page H6586]]
drop a red flag. On behalf of the American people, we should vote for
this legislation because it rightfully restrains Federal judges who
threaten our democracy.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 20 seconds.
Mr. Speaker, reference was made before to the Daschle court-stripping
bill. There was no such thing. His bill did not court-strip. In fact,
in the case of Biodiversity Associates v. Cables, his bill was judged
constitutional. If the courts had been stripped of jurisdiction, they
could not have done that.
The CRS says, ``We are not aware of any precedent for law that would
deny the inferior Federal court's original jurisdiction or the Supreme
Court of appellate jurisdiction to review the constitutionality of a
law of Congress.''
Let us stop with this nonsense that this is not unprecedented.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Scott).
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this
bill. It is an attack on fundamental rights and unconstitutionally
exceeds the power of this body to regulate the judicial branch of
government.
Within our constitutional framework, although Congress is expected to
follow the Constitution, it is not for Congress to make the final
decision as to what is constitutional and what is not. Since Marbury v.
Madison in 1803, at least until today, there has been a longstanding
acceptance of the principle that the United States Supreme Court is the
final arbiter of what is constitutional and what is not. And although
Congress has some power to regulate the jurisdiction of Federal courts,
it cannot totally prevent the Supreme Court from ensuring that States
comply with the Constitution.
Mr. Speaker, this bill not only violates numerous constitutional
principles; it is dangerous policy. If this bill were found to be
constitutional, there would be no prohibition against boilerplate
language stuck into every bill we consider, stripping judicial review
from every controversial issue.
Frankly, I am glad that this kind of legislation did not pass before
1954 so Congress did not strip the Supreme Court from jurisdiction over
segregation in public schools, or before the 1960s when unelected,
lifetime-appointed activist Federal judges required Virginia to
recognize racially mixed marriages, overruling the will of the people
of Virginia.
If this bill ever became law, there would be no Federal law. Some
States would rule that DOMA is constitutional. Other States would rule
that DOMA is unconstitutional. States will adopt full faith and credit
principles in some areas and not in others. A Massachusetts or Vermont
couple moving to another State may have their relationship recognized
in some States, but not in others. If this bill passes, each State will
decide for itself what the Federal law is. Even if it passes, some
States will recognize same-sex marriages.
Mr. Speaker, simply because we anticipate that we may not like how
the Supreme Court will rule on an issue is no reason to prevent the
court from ruling. Today, some Members of Congress are afraid of how
courts may rule on issues pertaining to marriage. Tomorrow they may be
afraid of how the courts may rule on a different issue, such as
abortion or gun control. If we strip the jurisdiction of the Supreme
Court over the Defense of Marriage Act, what will we do next?
Mr. Speaker, this unprecedented and perilous legislation violates
constitutional principles, establishes dangerous procedure, and
undermines the credibility of our system of government. For these
reasons, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the bill.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.
Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from New York has just referenced the
Daschle provision in Public Law 107-206 and said it was not, ``court-
stripping.'' I just want to quote what the provision of law says:
``Any action authorized by this section shall not be subject to
judicial review by any court of the United States.''
That quote from the law speaks for itself.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr.
Bachus).
Mr. BACHUS. I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, I first want to agree with what the gentleman from
Maryland and the gentleman from Virginia said on the other side. They
said we are talking about fundamental rights here. They said what we
are talking about, this decision today, defines us as Americans, that
this is about who we are as Americans. I want to agree with that. This
is an important decision, one that defines us as a country.
Who should make that decision? The gentleman from Maryland said an
individual, every individual, ought to make that decision about
marriage. Is that so? A man and a woman? Or two men? Or two women? What
about a man and two women? What about a man and three women? What about
a man and his first cousin? What if a man chooses to marry his
daughter? Is that not an individual decision? Of course not. What if a
man decides to marry a 12-year-old young lady? We said, no, that is not
an individual decision. It is a decision of law. That is who makes it.
The people make it the law.
The gentleman from Maryland said we are a Nation of laws, not people;
and that is why it is up to the people to make the decision through
their elected Members, their elected representatives, not the courts.
What about letting the courts be the final arbiter of the
Constitution? Thomas Jefferson said on August 18, 1821 that it was a
very dangerous doctrine for the Supreme Court to be the final arbiter
of what the law is. He said in 1820, it would be an act of suicide for
the Supreme Court or a judge to make the law. An act of suicide. He
said letting the Supreme Court fix the law would be for the people to
give up their own ability to rule themselves.
Mr. Speaker, as I close, I submit for printing in the Record quotes
from Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson all saying that it is the
legislature who makes the law as representatives of the people.
America's greatest leaders have long been concerned about
limiting federal judges' abuse of their authority.
Deep concern that federal judges might abuse their power
has long been noted by America's most gifted observers,
including Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln.
Thomas Jefferson lamented that ``the germ of dissolution of
our federal government is in the constitution of the federal
judiciary; . . . working like gravity by night and by day,
gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing
its noiseless step like a thief, over the field of
jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped . . .'' In
Jefferson's view, leaving the protection of individuals'
rights to federal judges employed for life was a serious
error. Responding to the argument that federal judges are the
final interpreters of the Constitution, Jefferson wrote:
``You seem . . . to consider the [federal] judges as the
ultimate arbiters of all constitutional questions, a very
dangerous doctrine indeed and one which would place us under
the despotism of an oligarchy. Our judges are as honest as
other men and not more so. They have with others the same
passions for party, for power, and the privilege of their
corps . . . [T]heir power [is] the more dangerous as they are
in office for life and not responsible, as the other
functionaries are, to the elective control. The constitution
has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that, to
whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time and
party its members would become despots.''
Jefferson strongly denounced the notion that the judiciary
should always have the final say on constitutional issues:
``If [such] opinion be sound, then indeed is our
Constitution a complete felo de se [act of suicide]. For
intending to establish three departments, coordinate and
independent, that they might check and balance one another,
it has given according to this opinion, to one of them alone,
the right to prescribe rules for the government of the
others, and to that one too, which is unelected by, and
independent of the nation . . . The constitution, on this
hypothesis, is a mere thing of wax in the hands of the
judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they
please.''
Abraham Lincoln said in his first inaugural address in
1861, ``The candid citizen must confess that if the policy of
the government, upon vital questions, affecting the whole
people, is to be irrevocably fixed by decisions of the
Supreme Court . . . the people will have ceased to be their
own rulers having, to that extent, practically resigned their
government into the hands of that eminent tribunal.''
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the dean of the
House.
(Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, this is an outrage. I do not know whether
you
[[Page H6587]]
are for or against gay marriage, and I do not think it makes a great
deal of difference. I happen to oppose the idea. But this is an
extraordinary piece of arrogance on the part of the House of
Representatives to consider a piece of legislation which would strip
American citizens of their right to access to court. Can you imagine
anything more shameful than telling an American citizen you cannot go
into court to have your concerns addressed, to have cases and
controversies, many of which will arise under the Constitution, heard
by the courts of your Nation?
The right to access to courts to decide questions of policy is as old
as the Magna Carta, and it is as important to us as anything else in
the Constitution. Here we calmly say, you cannot have access to the
courts, the Federal courts, the lower inferior courts, and the Supreme
Court. Shame. Shame, shame, shame.
It is a precedent which is going to live to curse us, and we are
going to live to regret this day's labor because other precedents will
be following this, wherein we will strip the rights from citizens to go
to schools, to have questions relative to their equal rights, to have
questions decided about whether they can properly be detained by courts
or others and whether or not the citizen can be detained under the
authority of the Attorney General; rights of citizens under the second
amendment, the first amendment, all of the important questions of the
Constitution. Rights under the 14th and the 15th and the 13th
amendments, those will also be precedents which could follow this.
The Congress has considered these kinds of questions before. It is to
be anticipated if this works, we can look to see this kind of abusive
legislation considered in this body again. And you can be almost
certain that somebody is sitting there now out there deciding, what new
rights can we strip of American citizens because we disagree with them.
I do not think the question is whether or not there should be gay
marriage. The question before this body today is, are we going to
protect all of the rights of American citizens, regardless of who they
might be or how they might be affected?
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren), a member of the committee.
Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, as the prior speaker, the dean of the
House, has indicated, however one feels on the issue of gay marriage,
the question before the House today really is quite a different one,
and it is about the fundamental nature of our democracy. Really, the
plan before us is a radical, extreme plan to overturn the system of
government that we as free Americans have enjoyed for over 200 years.
I have been a Member of this House for 10 years; and I must confess,
I have never been as disappointed as I am today in the level of legal
analysis that I have heard here. It is disappointing in the extreme. I
must also say that you know you are in trouble when you have to go back
and reread a case from 1803, Marbury v. Madison, because that is what
we are talking about overturning today, that seminal case that we all
read in law school, and I read it again this week and it was inspiring
me again to understand how fortunate we are that we have a written
Constitution and that we have a system of checks and balances that
makes sure that the rights in that Constitution cannot be taken away in
a flimsy or easy way.
{time} 1400
Court Justice Marshall 201 years ago said in his decision, ``It is
emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say
what the law is. If then the courts are to regard the Constitution, and
the Constitution is superior to any ordinary act of the legislature,
the Constitution and not such ordinary act must govern the case to
which they both apply.''
It is that principle of constitutional law that is threatened today,
and we should not fool ourselves into thinking that overturning our
democracy, our system of checks and balances, can be limited to just
the hot button issue of today. If this is constitutional, and many
scholars believe it is not, but if this measure passes and is
constitutional, we will end up not having the ability to rely on the
rights guaranteed to us and the generations before us in our
Constitution. We will in fact see any item that a majority of this
House and this Congress can muster enshrined as equal to the
Constitution itself. I think that that is a result that is disastrous
for the United States of America. It is not something I thought I would
see as a Member of the House of Representatives, as a member of the
House Committee on the Judiciary. It is a radical and extremist
position to take that, and I urge all Members of the House, whatever
their view is on gay marriage, to not destroy our checks and balance
system of America that we have been handed that we should treasure and
preserve and cherish instead of recklessly endanger in this way.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Indiana (Mr. Pence), a member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. PENCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Marriage
Protection Act. I commend the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hostettler)
for his principled leadership on this issue.
The Marriage Protection Act is a constitutional remedy to a looming
constitutional crisis. Let me say, despite what we have just heard on
this blue and gold carpet, nothing in this bill shuts access by
petitioners to any State court in the land. What brings us here today
is that activist judges in some States are poised to force a new
definition of marriage on States like Indiana, and the Marriage
Protection Act will stop that strategy in its tracks.
Let me say clearly not on my watch will I stand idly by while the
courts in Massachusetts redefine marriage in Indiana, and despite what
my colleagues have said on the other side of the aisle about high
principle and constitutional ideals and a history lesson, this is about
marriage. The Bible says ``If the foundations are destroyed, what can
the righteous do?'' And marriage is such a foundation in our society.
Marriage was ordained by God, established in the law. It is the glue of
the American family and the safest harbor to raise children. We must
preserve and defend this foundation in our society, and we begin by
defending the right of States like Indiana to define marriage as it has
ever been defined and will always be defined in the hearts of the
overwhelming majority of the American people.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Pelosi), distinguished minority leader.
Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I have been married for over 40 years, and I
cannot for the life of me think how this legislation that is on the
floor today, the so-called Marriage Protection Act, is any protection
for my marriage. In fact, I think it is not a protection of the rights
of Americans.
Every Member of this body has taken a solemn oath to protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States. That is our oath of
office. All Members should consider that this bill has far-reaching
consequences for the separation of powers that has been the hallmark of
our Constitution, our government, and our rights as American citizens.
We must today honor our oath of office and oppose this legislation.
This court-stripping bill is not about reaffirming the Defense of
Marriage Act or even about gay marriage. The fundamental issue in this
bill is whether we want to undermine the Supreme Court and the Federal
judiciary and our system of checks and balances. This bill will impact
the very foundation of our government. It impedes the uniformity of
Federal law. It sets a dangerous precedent, and it does grave damage to
the separation of powers.
When former Senator Barry Goldwater spoke against a court-stripping
bill in 1982, he warned his colleagues in the other body that it was a
frontal assault on the independence of the Federal courts and it is a
dangerous blow to the foundations of a free society. We must heed that
warning today.
This bill would prohibit Federal courts, including the Supreme Court
of the United States, from hearing cases related to the interpretation
and the validity under the Constitution of the full faith and credit
provision of the
[[Page H6588]]
Defense of Marriage Act as well as this court-stripping bill. If
passed, it would constitute the first time in the over 200 years of our
country's history that Congress has enacted legislation totally
eliminating any Federal court from considering the constitutionality of
Federal legislation. Only State courts would be able to decide
questions related to this provision of a Federal statute. The irony of
that is that if one's State passed a law that allowed gay marriages and
they wanted to challenge it in Federal court, they would only be
confined in challenging it in a State court in their State. So even
those who would oppose gay marriage would not have recourse to the
Federal courts.
I know that the gay marriage issue is a difficult issue for many
people, and I respect that. But do not let that bait take them down a
path that would have them dishonor their oath of office that they took
to become a Member of this House. Attempting by statute to remove the
Supreme Court's and the entire Federal judiciary's power to hear a
class of cases and to even determine the constitutional validity of a
statute is nothing more than a backdoor attempt to amend the
Constitution by simple majority.
It would effectively end the Supreme Court's role as a separate and
independent branch of government. It would eliminate all means of
reconciling conflicting State court interpretations of the
Constitution. Think about that. If passed, it would prevent the Supreme
Court from being the guardian of our rights.
It has been a settled principle since Chief Justice John Marshall's
opinion in Marbury v. Madison, which has been oft quoted here today.
Marbury v. Madison stated that ``It is emphatically the province and
the duty of the judicial department to say what the law is.''
Subsequent decisions and the Court's role as an equal branch strongly
suggest that Congress cannot prohibit the Court from determining the
validity of a law in the first place.
Indeed, the author of this legislation here today stated that he
believed that the part of Marbury v. Madison that established judicial
review was ``wrongly decided.'' Over 200 years of precedent was
``wrongly decided,'' a view that can only be characterized as radical.
Just 2 months ago we all celebrated the 50th anniversary of Brown v.
The Board of Education. If the precedent established by this bill had
been in force in 1954, there may have been no Brown decision. Imagine
what would have happened to all of the advances in civil rights without
that ruling. Imagine how little we would have had to celebrate.
Numerous legal experts, including from the other party, indicate that
this bill will likely be found unconstitutional. The court-stripping
issue is not a new one. Numerous proposals have been made since the
Civil War but have never been adopted because Congress wisely exercised
restraint and respected the separation of powers and our constitutional
framework.
More recently, in 1981 and 1982, more than 30 court-stripping
proposals were introduced, primarily by former Senator Jesse Helms, to
remove such issues as school prayer, reproductive rights, school busing
from Federal courts' jurisdiction. They all failed, thanks to the
principled opposition on a bipartisan basis, principally that of, as
quoted earlier, Senator Barry Goldwater and then Attorney General under
President Ronald Reagan, Attorney General William French Smith.
Mr. Speaker, now as then, full jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is
fundamental under our system of government for a uniform and consistent
interpretation of the law even when we do not agree with the Court's
decision. The impact of this legislation goes far beyond the subject
matter that the proponents claim to be concerned with. Our Founders
carefully constructed our system of checks and balances, which we
tamper with at our peril. It is unwise and politically motivated, I
believe. It is designed simply to distract attention from the real
issues that we should be dealing with.
Today, Mr. Speaker, millions of Americans are looking for work.
Millions more Americans do not have access to quality health care since
President Bush took office. Our children are not receiving the quality
of education that they deserve to have, the opportunity that is the
promise of our country. We are driving ourselves deeply in debt with
the irresponsible reckless economic policies of the Republicans here,
giving our children obligations instead of opportunity. We have our men
and women in uniform in harm's way without the proper equipment,
training, and intelligence to get the job done, and we want them to be
second to none, and we will make sure they have what they need, but we
must take the time to do that.
And instead, what are we doing? Instead, we are gathering here to
talk about discrimination, to talk about undermining the Constitution
of the United States, to talk about dishonoring the oath of office that
we take to protect and defend the Constitution.
I agree with those who say ``this bill is as wrong as wrong can be.''
In short, this bill is bad law, bad policy. That is why it will not
have my support.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I can understand the fervor of the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Pelosi), distinguished minority leader, in opposition
to this legislation. She did not support the Defense of Marriage Act
when it was passed in 1996 and signed by President Clinton. But to
insinuate that this bill is an attack on the foundations of our
government is just plain wrong.
The framers of the Constitution put in Article III, Section 2
relating to the jurisdiction of the Federal courts, inferior Federal
courts and the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to provide a
check by the legislative branch of government on the judicial branch of
government, and we have heard quotes from Thomas Jefferson and Abraham
Lincoln expressing their fears about judicial power being unchecked.
This bill is a check on judicial power, and the question is whether
we should have the elected representatives of the people, in this case
the Congress today and the State legislatures in the future,
determining Federal marriage policy, or whether we should have a
Federal judge stating that for a State to take a different position
than a divided court in Massachusetts is an unconstitutional
deprivation of rights.
Now, in the last 10 years or so Congress has restricted the
jurisdiction of the Federal courts on numerous occasions. Much has been
mentioned here about the provision that the minority leader in the
Senate, Senator Daschle, put into Public Law 107-206.
{time} 1415
The press comments about that action, which is public law today,
included headlines that said: ``Daschle seeks to exempt his State;
wants logging to prevent fires,'' and ``Plan to curb forest fires wins
support.''
Senator Daschle told the Congress and the country there was an
emergency in his State, that action needed to be taken, and we could
not have judicial review. The Congress agreed. And we did not hear the
hue and cry about the Constitution being undermined because of a
congressional determination that there had to be some logging to
prevent forest fires in South Dakota, and I think the Congress was
right in agreeing with Senator Daschle in this instance.
Now, there are a number of other instances in the past 10 years where
Congress has precluded Federal judicial review in cases. In 1996, the
Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 was
passed. That was Public Law 104-208. It precluded all judicial review
over specified discretionary decisions of the Immigration and
Naturalization Service. There you are involving the allegations of
rights by people who are subject to deportation or other actions by the
INS. Congress, when it passed that bill, and it was signed by President
Clinton, said no judicial review. Did we hear at the time that that
undermined the Constitution? No, we did not. It was a correct decision
by the Congress to preclude judicial review on this.
After September 11, 2001, Congress passed the Terrorism Risk
Insurance Act, Public Law 107-297, precluding judicial review of
certifications by the Secretary of the Treasury that a terrorist event
had occurred. Did anybody allege that that undermined the Constitution
at the time? No way.
The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization
Act,
[[Page H6589]]
also passed in the last Congress as Public Law 107-118, precludes
judicial review of hazardous waste cleanup programs.
So this has been going on all the time.
The Judiciary Act of 1789, one of the first bills passed by the first
Congress, recognized that the judicial power of the United States was
not unlimited and limited that judicial power. There have been
expansions and contractions in the area of diversity jurisdiction of
the Federal courts. Nobody has alleged that the Constitution is being
undermined; and, in fact, Federal judges have come to the Congress and
asked that the jurisdictional amount in diversity cases be raised so
they did not have as many cases to decide.
We have heard the Supreme Court say in asbestos that there should be
some way to prevent 600,000 cases from choking the Federal court
dockets. I would hope that we would be able to pass some kind of
asbestos litigation reform.
The fact of the matter remains that we could go on and on and on. It
does not violate the Constitution. There are over 200 years of
precedents in adjusting the jurisdiction of the Federal Court.
What this bill says is that if a State decides it does not want to
recognize a same-sex marriage license granted in another State, there
will not be Federal judicial review to do so. This is a States rights
bill, and the Supreme Court has repeatedly said that marriage and
family law is primarily a matter of the States, and this ensures that
it will be.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs.
Blackburn).
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me
time.
Mr. Speaker, I find it so interesting that some of our colleagues
today are trying to talk about all sorts of other issues, and some that
support same-sex marriage are just saying this is an election year ploy
to get votes.
I can tell you that for my constituents in Tennessee, they support
what we are doing here today, and they are not concerned about whether
or not it is an election year or not. They are concerned about
protecting marriage, because they know that marriage is an institution
that is at the very core of our existence, and that is why we are here
today, to protect marriage.
I think it is very sad, very sad, that some courts and some activist
judges have taken it upon themselves to usurp the will of the people.
Let me remind my colleagues who oppose this that we are acting in the
will of the people today.
Already there is a lawsuit that is being brought by same-sex couples
in Massachusetts to force other States, like my State of Tennessee, to
accept their Massachusetts marriage license, and it is contrary to the
Defense of Marriage Act, and it is contrary to the will of the people.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis).
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague,
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, for me, this is unreal. It is unbelievable. I thought
that as a Nation and as a people that we had moved much further down
the road. To pass this legislation would be a step backward.
There is a song, and some of you are old enough to know it: ``Mr. Big
stuff, who do you think you are?'' I would ask, well, Members of
Congress, who do you think we are?
We have not been called or chosen by the people to strip the courts
of their power. We have not been ordained by some force to say, ``Don't
come in here. Don't apply for justice.''
Those of us who came through the civil rights movement saw the
Federal courts as a sympathetic referee in the struggle for justice,
for fairness and for equality.
If it had not been for the Federal courts, where would we be? If it
had not been for the Supreme Court of 1964, there would still be
legalized segregation in America. If it had not been for the Federal
courts, we would still see signs saying ``White Men,'' ``Colored Men,''
``White Women,'' ``Colored Women,'' ``White Waiting,'' ``Colored
Waiting.''
If it had not been for the Federal courts, I would not be standing
here today and many Members of Congress who are people of color would
not be standing here either.
We do not want to go back. We want to go forward. To vote for this
legislation would be like Members of Congress trying to stand in the
courthouse door, just like George Wallace stood in the schoolhouse door
to stop integration of Alabama schools.
Today it is gay marriage. Tomorrow it will be something else. During
the 1960s, in 1963, in 1964, in 1965, we heard some of the same old
arguments. Have we learned anything?
Forget about the politics. Vote your conscience. Vote with your
heart, with your soul, with your gut. Do what is right and defeat this
bill.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Wexler).
Mr. WEXLER. Mr. Speaker, in spite of all this rhetoric about
protecting marriage and saving the country from rogue activist Federal
judges, the bill we are debating here today does not protect Americans
from gay marriage. We are not debating a gay marriage bill. We are
debating a court-stripping bill, and one that is more Draconian than
any such bill Congress has ever considered.
Every year, we teach elementary school students throughout America
about the wisdom of our Founding Fathers, about the precious rights we
have fought at home and abroad to protect, about our democracy that
considers all people as equals, and about the delicate system of checks
and balances upon which all of this is based.
It is a shame that Members of Congress appear to have forgotten these
most basic lessons. They have forgotten that our Founding Fathers
established three equal branches of government, no one more powerful
than the other; they have forgotten that this system has served us well
for over 200 years; and they have forgotten that this is a system that
cannot survive if one branch arbitrarily strips power from another.
This is not about gay marriage. This is not about respecting
marriage. For the record, my marriage is not threatened by gays and
lesbians in Massachusetts or California. What is the heinous crime that
gays and lesbians have committed? They want to live with the same
dignity that their fellow Americans live with every day.
Please vote this bill down.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from Iowa (Mr. King).
Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
time.
Mr. Speaker, I sit here and listen to this debate, and it is one of
many debates on this issue that we have had, and it is one of many we
will have into the future. And as I listened to the gentleman talk
about the civil rights, I harkened back to a time when I sat in the
Iowa Senate, where I heard a senator stand and say the next great civil
rights crusade is homosexual rights.
Something about how true that rang to me, it caused me to pay
attention and understand that was the message. There will always be
another civil rights crusade. We will never get this right. There will
always be people that see the glass of rights as half full, like us,
and some that will say it is half empty, like others.
I will tell you that this is not a civil right. You can look in title
VII of the Civil Rights Act, and there it says race, color, religion,
sex or national origin. Those things are all immutable characteristics,
with the exception of religion, which is constitutionally protected.
Immutable characteristics are characteristics that cannot be self-
identified, but can be independently verified, and cannot be changed.
That is not the case with homosexual marriage.
I hear other statements. The gentleman from Maryland, ``risk
undermining public faith in the courts.'' It is the courts that risk
undermining public faith in the courts. We are establishing public
faith in the process.
And the statement made by the gentlewoman from California, ``this is
nothing more than a back door attempt to amend the Constitution by
simple majority.'' No, the courts have been continually amending the
Constitution by the will of a bare majority
[[Page H6590]]
of appointed courts. The transfer of the will of four judges from
Massachusetts against the will of the people of the United States of
America is protected by the Constitution, and that responsibility lies
with us and we must step up to that responsibility.
So I would ask, and, as we heard from the minority witness in
hearings, the bottom line of that testimony was that the Congress can
grant authority to the courts, and we can create courts and that courts
can grasp authority by decisions that they make; but we can only limit
the courts by allowing the courts to limit themselves.
Now, how ridiculous is that? How far-reaching is the power of the
judicial branch if we will take this position that Congress cannot
limit the courts when it specifically is in the constitution? We are
charged not with just the right or the privilege, but the duty and
obligation, when we swore to uphold this Constitution, to defend the
separation of powers.
There is no civil right for marriage, there is a license for
marriage, and a license is by definition a permit to do something which
is otherwise illegal. We grant that to marriages for those reasons that
you have heard some of my colleagues speak to, because the family, the
father, the mother, the children and the home, is the essential
building block, not just of this culture and this society and this
civilization, but every civilization for the last 6,000 years.
That is what is at stake here, and it is our obligation; and I think
this is the most essential issue of our time. There is no issue more
important than defending marriage, because it is the essential building
block of this society, this civilization, and every civilization. We
have the duty and obligation.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from New York (Mr. Weiner).
Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, to vote in favor of H.R. 3313, I would say that the
supporters of the bill have to reach four conclusions:
One, they have to decide that Marbury v. Madison was wrongly decided.
Some people on the Committee on the Judiciary freely admitted that. You
have to agree that when John Marshall wrote, ``If the courts are to
regard the Constitution and the Constitution is superior to any
ordinary act of the legislature, the Constitution and not such act
shall govern the case to which they both apply.''
Secondly, you have to come to the conclusion that DOMA is going to be
struck down by this very conservative Supreme Court. Otherwise, why
would you be here? If you thought the court was going to uphold it, and
I have to tell you, I went back and I looked at some of the speeches. A
lot of the debate was whether or not DOMA was constitutional. And, one
by one, you stood up and said, oh, it absolutely is, it absolutely is,
it absolutely is.
So you have to conclude in order to support H.R. 3313 that the
Supreme Court is about to strike down DOMA, although I do not know
where you get that indication, unless you believe it was violative of
the Constitution.
Third, you have to believe that this clause is more important than
abortion, more important than gun control, more important than the Flag
amendment, more important than any other thing, because you are
including this provision in this bill and you have not done it to
protect abortion or to ban abortion or to protect gun rights. How come?
Do you not feel strongly about those things? Do you not want to keep
the Supreme Court out of those issues?
{time} 1430
And finally, in order to support this, you have to have utter and
complete contempt for individual rights and freedoms, something I
thought conservatives stood for.
What if you are the only person in your State that believes
something? What if you are the only person in your judicial area that
believes something? And what if you are right? What if you are
protected by the Constitution?
Time and time again I have heard people stand up and say this is
about doing the will of the people. That is not what the courts are
supposed to do. The courts are supposed to protect the minority to make
sure their rights are not trampled on, protect women when they want to
vote, protect blacks when they want to be considered citizens, protect
those that want to have the full rights of the Constitution. That is
what the Court is supposed to guarantee, because that is never what the
majority does. The majority looks out for the majority rule. That is
not the role of the legislature, that is the role of the courts.
If you draw those conclusions that you think DOMA is constitutionally
flawed, Marbury v. Madison was wrongly concluded, that this is a more
important issue than abortion, gun control, anything else, and that you
have contempt for individual rights, vote yes on H.R. 3313.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise
and extend her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished
gentleman from New York for yielding me this time, and I thank him for
his leadership.
I hope that this is viewed by the American people as a singular
discussion on whether or not, no matter what station in life one may
hold, whether or not one represents a voice of one or a voice of
thousands, the constitutional rights that have been protected by this
Constitution is given to you.
As I spoke to some of our very able young people that are serving us
as pages here in the United States Congress, and I am so very proud of
them because they are inquisitive without being biased or
discriminatory, but they are not our futures, they are our todays. In
trying to understand what we are doing today, this is not a
pronouncement of a constitutional amendment that requires two-thirds of
this body and three-fifths of our States, an elongated process that
would allow us to debate the question of whether or not we want to
preserve the rights of those who are not like us, some of us here, and
give them the same rights. This is not this debate.
This is, in fact, a way to sidewind itself around the idea of whether
or not whoever you are, whether you be a farmer, an environmentalist, a
parent, someone injured, a young military person fighting on the front
lines of Iraq, that you come back and the front doors of the courthouse
have been closed to you.
I am ashamed that my colleagues would misuse the constitutional
instruction for the understanding of the three branches of government,
because Article III does say this: ``The judicial power shall extend to
all cases in law and equity arising under the Constitution by the laws
of the United States of America.'' Can you tell me how we can argue
that we can eliminate someone's right to go into the Court to simply
ask for relief on their petition.
I do not want to debate one's religious faith. I cannot equate myself
to you. I know what I feel in my heart, that all of us are created
equal. The Declaration of Independence said that we all are created
equal with certain inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness. I want people to be able to practice their faith. God
bless them.
But this is a tragedy, for I stand here as an unequal person in this
Nation. If it had not been for the courts of this Nation, many of us,
no matter whether you look like me or have my history, would have the
doors closed to you.
So, Mr. Speaker, let me say to my colleagues that the reason why we
are voting against this, and I ask my colleagues to consider it,
because it would be damaging and devastating and detrimental to the
constitutional premise of the Founding Fathers who stood for 3 months
trying to establish a nation that could keep democracy for now some 200
years plus.
The crux of this is to do this: one, it does not provide for the
equal protection of the law. Two, when the legislature overreaches, you
have no place to go; you cannot go into courts and find relief. Three,
I would say that this denies you due process.
So this is not a question of one's personal determination, it is a
question of your rights as an American citizen. Might I say to you as
we look at the rights of American citizens, let me reemphasize, the
fact that the eliminating of the right to access the appellate courts
has never been done before.
[[Page H6591]]
To my good friends and colleagues who believe in the Constitution like
I do, let us own up to the American people, let us own up to them that
what we are doing is destroying justice as we know it. I would only say
to my colleagues that I love America, and I would only hope that when
we stand to vote that no one looks to see who is who, only to recognize
that each of us are equal under the law and should have our right of
access to our courts.
Mr. Speaker, marriage is important. Marriage is a concern of many
Americans, but so is equal protection, due process and the right of
judicial review for a contentious matter raising constitutional issues
and questions of law.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose this legislation. Everything from its
name to its provisions are in contravention of the principles on which
the original Framers of the Constitution created that respected
document.
We can see that this proposal purports to deceive our colleagues even
in its title. How can this legislation ``protect'' marriage when it
precludes access to Federal courts when married couples seek judgment
on the merits and validity of their union? A colleague of ours in the
Senate was cited, in the context of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)
that recently passed, as stating that same-sex marriages threaten a
5,000 year history of the man-woman union as the ``proper union.''
However, this argument, along with the bill before us today, fails to
constitutionally address the cause that its proponents intend. The bill
before us today, as well as DOMA, are overbroad in their scope.
Article III, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states that
``The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity,
arising under the Constitution, and the Laws of the United States . . .
(emphasis added).''
Today's debate concerns the question of whether we decide to strip
the Federal courts of their constitutionally-vested powers to even
decide whether it will hear a matter--justiceability. H.R. 3313 takes
the decision away from the Federal courts in the area of
justiceability.
First of all, the institution of marriage has roots that stem from
religion. Given that we have a great myriad of different religions and
creeds that have a wide spectrum of perspectives on marriage, it is
unrealistic to draft a single bill to mandate what character we will
accept for this union. Furthermore, man is not so omniscient that he
can, alone, determine what a legitimate union is.
If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle profess to have a
formula for the appearance of the ``traditional'' or ``acceptable''
marriage, I ask them whether the following types of family arrangements
fit their criteria: single parent, divorced, unmarried parents.
If our colleagues can summarily decide that a same-sex union does not
comport with our ideal of ``family'' or ``marriage'' because it is not
the union of a man and a woman, how do they characterize the above
unions?
On the aspect of overbreadth, this bill, while purporting to protect
our view of what an ``acceptable marriage'' is, strips the courts of
jurisdiction, strips our Federal judges on the discretion that they
have retained for years, and strips tax-paying Americans of their
legitimate right to have their causes heard by a Federal court.
As a threshold matter, we as lawmakers should enact legislation that
summarily abridges or curtails access to Federal courts only in extreme
cases or as a last resort. Furthermore, we should use the same
philosophy as it pertains to amending the U.S. Constitution. The bill
introduced in the Senate, as well as the bill before us today, amend
the document that was created by the original Framers and strip Federal
judges of their discretion on the issue of justiceability.
Lastly, I would have offered an amendment that would simply allow the
Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, to retain its
jurisdiction to hear these matters. It would be at the least, arrogant
of legislators to think that their judgment, experience, and expertise
would make them better arbiters on this issue than life-appointed
judicial officials whose job it is to make determinations concerning
our laws. The high court has made so many rulings that have changed the
lives of minorities, women, children, the disabled, and many other
aggrieved individuals and classes that stripping it of its ability to
continue this effort would be injurious to the entire Nation.
Mr. Speaker, for the above reasons, I strongly oppose this
legislation.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the distinguished former chairman
of the Committee on the Judiciary.
(Mr. HYDE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, I think this is a wonderful debate. It is
something that I have waited for years to listen to, because these are
very important questions and the Constitution is everybody's business.
It is certainly ours.
What we are really debating is what does Article III, Section 1,
clause 1 mean. The power to court strip, is it there, and if it is
there, why is it a mortal sin for Congress to exercise it? I do not
know.
The Court is not the only repository of wisdom, nor of due process.
We could have a seminar some day on the first amendment. Why does the
establishment clause dominate jurisprudence concerning the relationship
of religion and the State, but not the free exercise, which is ignored,
which withers on the vine? What about the 10th amendment, which says
all matters not enumerated to the Court are reserved to the people? It
is ignored. It has been ignored for generations.
So as we raise up the Court as the sole repository of wisdom and
justice and fair play, we are not very historical because they are
capable of abuses, too.
Now, democracy requires checks and balances. We know that. What is
the check and balance on the Supreme Court? Unelected, these are people
who are well connected and they get confirmed, and they are imperial in
their scope, and no check and balance whatsoever.
Now, I would rather have a check and balance on the Court, just as I
want one on the Congress, and the best check and balance is the people,
the people who do the electing. That is what Article III, Section 1,
clause 1 does. It reserves to the people the ultimate decision on a
given issue.
Well, I just want to say for a court of last resort, I think ``the
people'' is superior to these people who are nominated and confirmed
and unelected and sit for life. I have never heard of an imperial state
in this country, but I have heard of an imperial court.
This is not the end of the world; this is fulfilling the very
language that our Founding Fathers were wise enough to incorporate into
the Constitution, and all of the sky-is-falling-down rhetoric is
misconceived, in my judgment.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I disagree with my friend
from Illinois. This does not take the matter out of the courts; it
takes the matter of constitutionality away from the United States
Supreme Court and confers it on the 50 State supreme courts.
What this bill says is, no court created by act of Congress and the
Supreme Court shall have no jurisdiction to hear or decide any question
pertaining to, among other things, the validity under the Constitution
of Section 13, et cetera.
The State courts have, as has been acknowledged, also the right to
interpret the Federal Constitution. Frankly, from the standpoint of
there being more same-sex marriages under the Full Faith and Credit
Clause, I think there would be more if this bill became law. I do not
want the bill to become law because of its terrible precedential
consequences. But, frankly, the likelihood that this U.S. Supreme Court
will find that full faith and credit compels the nationwide recognition
of same-sex marriages is quite slight. It is likelier that there are
four, five or six State courts that will find that.
So what you are saying is not that the people will decide it as
opposed to the courts, the courts presumably made up of aliens that you
have appointed in many cases, but the fact is that it will be decided
by State supreme courts.
Now, this is the problem. The gentleman from Wisconsin says there is
precedent. He is wrong. All of the things he cited had to do with
administrative matters, with deportees who are by definition
noncitizens and who do not have the same rights. There is no case in
American history of this language: you cannot decide any question
pertaining to the validity under the Constitution. This is the first
time we have said, not that it will not be litigated, but it will not
be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. What you are doing here, you are
not repealing anything except the Constitution by going back to the
Articles of Confederation.
Here is the problem, and it is not just about same-sex marriage. As I
have
[[Page H6592]]
said, I think there will probably be more State courts that will find
full faith and credit than national. But we all know that we never in
this body do anything only once. The gentleman from New York (Mr.
Weiner) was right when he said, what about other issues. Once you
establish this as the way you show your fealty to a principle, it will
be demanded with regard to everything else. This will become
boilerplate. So on issue after issue we will pass legislation, and we
will say, but it cannot be questioned by the Supreme Court.
Now, I can tell you, on the Committee on Financial Services on which
I serve, the business community of the United States overwhelmingly
comes to us and says we need uniformity, we need uniformity. What you
are enacting here today does not say the courts do not have the final
say; it says that instead of there being one United States Supreme
Court binding interpretation on constitutional questions that are
controversial, there will be different State court interpretations, and
the impact will be much less on same-sex marriage than on economics, on
land-takings, on gun control and a whole range of other issues.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel).
Mr. EMANUEL. Mr. Speaker, at every critical juncture in American
history, each preceding generation has been asked to pick between
equality and inequality, justice and injustice. In that struggle, our
predecessors always tipped the scale in favor of equality and justice,
and always widening the circle of democracy. And in widening that
circle of democracy, America's character and her democratic values were
renewed.
Today we are taking a reactionary departure from constitutional
history. Our congressional predecessors never successfully attempted
such an extreme measure as this, because they knew it would violate
every principle that defines America, but this Congress and its
majority leaders, in its infinite wisdom, will take that radical step
today.
The majority leader asked for a debate known for its tolerance
concerning a piece of legislation that is neither tolerant nor
respectful of debate. The proponents of this legislation say, this is
an effort to protect the institution of marriage. Half of all marriages
end in divorce. Divorce threatens marriage. So why do we not deny
access to the Federal courts to divorcees?
If you are worried about your marriage, read your vows and leave our
Constitution alone.
Today we are not defending marriage; we are defeating the
Constitution. Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence
that all men are created equal, but maybe George Orwell is more
appropriate today: all are equal, but some are more equal than others.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey).
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, this bill, H.R. 3313, is not about gay
marriage, it is about taking away access to the Federal judiciary while
manipulating our Constitution by using a wedge issue. It is about
degrading the role that Federal courts have played in the enforcement
of civil rights law. It is about preventing challenges by individuals
and groups of Americans who are needy and deserving of their day in
court. Most of all, this bill is about ignoring the Constitution.
We must protect the system of checks and balances that our Founding
Fathers created. We must refuse to create this dangerous precedent.
This legislation would be precedence for removal of Federal court
jurisdiction for other contentious constitutional civil rights issues
such as gun rights, religious protections, civil rights.
Mr. Speaker, this is just plain bad policy. Do not support this bill.
Know what the proponents are after and do not let them bully you into
eroding our judicial protections.
{time} 1445
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from Missouri (Mr. Akin).
(Mr. AKIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. AKIN. Mr. Speaker, I have heard a number of people saying today
that this is not about the institution of marriage. It most certainly
is about the institution of marriage. It is also how marriage is going
to be defined. I somehow cannot get my mind around the concept that the
Founders' idea was that a bare majority in one State court and a bare
majority in the Supreme Court can redefine the word of marriage and
shove that down the throats of 49 other States. Somehow that does not
seem to make sense. The Democrats here have been suggesting that the
Supreme Court should be totally sovereign in every decision, and that
one also I find rather puzzling, because the first foray of activist
judges on the Supreme Court was that brilliant decision of Dred Scott,
which said that African Americans are not actually people.
Now, if every decision of the Supreme Court is gold, how about this
one? And what was the result of this little act of activism? Well, they
are the wonderful folks who gave us the Civil War. I just cannot
understand the logic of saying and talking about the idea of separation
of powers and checks and balances and at the same time say, anything
the Supreme Court says goes. That is what I am hearing argued today.
The question is when the Supreme Court gets really goofy, and my
friends, we can pick how goofy is goofy, but when they really start
legislating from the bench, at what point and what is the mechanism to
hold them in check? Well, whose job is it? Well, it has been made
reference to here. We take an oath of office to uphold the
Constitution. It is our job, my friends, as legislators, and it is the
job of the President, who also seeks to uphold the Constitution.
Now, there is one other thing that has been stated that some staffers
probably should be let go, because they have not done their homework.
Because if we take a look in the 107th Congress alone, we can take a
look and see that the expedite, the construction of the World War II
memorial has article III, section 2, the American Service Members
Protection Act. Article III, section 2 language, Aviation Security Act.
This is all 107th Congress alone. PATRIOT Act, article III, section 2
language. Intelligence Authorization Act, article III, section 2.
Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, and also the Department of Justice
Authorization Act, that is not to mention a particular elected
representative from South Dakota who said no court can have anything to
say about his clearing the undergrowth from his forest.
The question before us is a question of whether or not a redefinition
of marriage is going to be imposed on all of our States by a few
activist judges. Believe me, the answer should be no.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Washington for
purposes of a unanimous consent request.
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise against this amendment.
(Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, what the Republicans are doing today is a
``needless, futile and utterly dangerous abandonment of constitutional
principle . . . without precedent or justification.'' These were the
very words used by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1937 when they
opposed President Roosevelt's court packing scheme. it was exactly 67
years ago today that the U.S. Senate voted down that dangerous plan.
Mr. Speaker, the legislation that you are asking this August body to
consider is no less dangerous. This legislation, the so-called Marriage
Protection Act, is championed by the Republican leadership. It aims to
manipulate, to indeed disrobe the Third Branch of our government, The
Judiciary.
Any why, Mr. Speaker? Because the Republican Party and this
Republican Congress wishes to deny a particular class of people their
right to come before the federal courts and defend their unalienable
rights. What a horrible precedent.
Mr. Speaker, Alexander Hamilton--the man on our ten dollar bill--in
Federalist 78 said that the courts of justice are the bulwarks of a
limited constitution against legislative encroachments, and are there
to safeguard the private rights of particular classes of citizens
against unjust and partial laws. What the Republican bill does is
attack the very foundation upon which our Founding Fathers built this
great republic.
The Republican party says that we ``need to protect marriage from
activist judges.'' Maybe
[[Page H6593]]
there are a few activist judges out there, but this bill strips all
federal courts--even the Supreme Court--from considering the
constitutionality of a federal law that attacks the rights of a
particular class of people.
The Defense of Marriage Act is clearly a legislative encroachment
upon the Constitutional rights of Homosexuals. Why else would you bring
a bill out here that denies judicial review over that unjust and
partial law?
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Wynn).
Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Marriage
Protection Act. I took an oath when I came here to protect and defend
the Constitution. This bill obliterates the Constitution.
Let me first make an observation. I am married, and many of my
colleagues are married. I do not think my marriage or my colleagues'
marriages are threatened because two gay people in Massachusetts want
to get married. Maybe it is threatened by meddling in-laws, but
certainly not by some legislation that passed in Massachusetts.
But I make that observation as an aside. This bill really is not
about marriage, gay or otherwise. This bill is about the Constitution.
This legislation sets a very dangerous precedent. It says that we are
going to set aside our very cherished separation of powers that is
provided in the Constitution that enables the courts to check us, to
say, wait a minute, Congress, you have gone too far. My colleague says,
well, we have the right to make laws. We do. If we do not like it, we
can amend the Constitution; but my Republican colleagues are not trying
to amend the Constitution. They are trying to change the Constitution
by stripping the courts. We need the separation of powers. We need the
courts to independently review the things that we do here in Congress.
Think about it. If we can strip the court's jurisdiction, the Supreme
Court's jurisdiction over this matter, what about civil rights laws?
Could not some Congress come down here and say, well, we do not need
the Federal courts or the Supreme Court ruling on civil rights laws?
What does that mean? It means that a State court in Arkansas can say
one has this right, while another State court in Nevada could say, oh,
no, you do not. That is not what the Founders envisioned. This is a
very dangerous vision of America in which the courts do not play a
critical role. Let us retain the Constitution as we know it.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Lee).
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time
and for his leadership.
This is really a sad day. By stripping away the jurisdiction of the
Federal courts and the Supreme Court to hear challenges to the Defense
of Marriage Act, this bill opens the door to further court-stripping of
additional rights. What is next, the right to vote, the right to
assemble, the right to a trial, the right to privacy? Congress would
undo over 200 years of history and could potentially rewrite the Bill
of Rights, gutting Federal protections against discrimination that are
enshrined within the 14th amendment. Where would we be today without a
way to redress our grievances against ill-conceived or discriminatory
legislation passed by earlier Congresses?
Would interstate travel still be segregated? Would the separate but
equal doctrine still exist? Where would we have been without Brown v.
Board of Education, Roe v. Wade, or other sufficient landmark court
decisions?
From now on will we seek to limit the ability of the Federal courts
to hear challenges to any law just because one side or the other
opposed it? What does an approach like this bode for the future of our
democracy? So why are we doing this? Why are we doing this? I think we
are undermining our Constitution today, quite frankly, about trying to
get more votes in November. That is why we are doing this. Vote ``no''
on this dangerous bill.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa
for purposes of a unanimous consent request.
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill.
(Mr. LEACH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, America is divided on many issues, perhaps
none more emotive than that which surrounds family values and the
institution of marriage.
For many Americans definitions are critical. Traditionalists believe
the term marriage can only properly be applied to a union between a man
and a woman. Non-traditionalists, particularly in the gay community,
believe that qualification under law for marriage or other forms of
civil unions should be provided to same sex couples and that without
changes in law to allow such to occur some citizens will have less
personal security and legal protection than other elements of the
American community.
Historically, issues of marriage come under the primary jurisdiction
of State law, but because States may have different approaches and
because there is under our Constitution a recognition that legal
arrangements made in one State are generally to be respected in others,
the Congress chose several years back (1996) to pass a law called the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to allow States not to recognize the
validity of same-sex marriages performed in other States.
The measure before Congress today is H.R. 3313, an act which would
deny Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, the right to review
the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act.
The arguments on the floor today have largely swirled around the
issue of marriage. My view is that the bigger issue is process. In
America, process is our most important product. Our constitutional
system was established with checks and balances. To curb the prospect
of concentration of power our Founders created three branches of
government--executive, legislative, and judicial--and then
quadruplicated these balancing arrangements by creating executive,
legislative, and judicial entities at the state, county and city
levels.
At any moment in time there will be conflict among various branches
and between various levels of government. This discord is sorted out
through time tested processes involving compromises, give and take, and
at critical moments, definitive decision-making.
In this case, whether one supports or opposes expanding marriage
definitions or favors compromise approaches such as sanctioning civil
unions, it is a dubious precedent to deny a key component of the
American governmental system--federal courts--the power to exercise its
constitutional responsibilities.
Although the Constitution gives Congress broad authority to define
the jurisdiction of courts, Congress has historically been cautious in
limiting the power of courts to review substantive law. to do so would
wreak havoc with the separation-of-power doctrine and our legal system.
If one of the objectives in the bill before us is to rein in a
runaway judiciary, we might be equally concerned about creating runaway
legislative precedents. Barry Goldwater, who was no friend of activist
judges, noted a decade ago when referring to previous court stripping
attempts: ``frontal assault on the independence of the Federal courts
is a dangerous blow to the foundations of a free society.'' It opens up
a can of worms, making all controversial issues vulnerable to similar
``court stripping'' legislation.
It is this court stripping precedent which is primarily at issue
today. But it is not the only process problem on the table. One
consequence of passage of H.R. 3313 is that it would allow each of the
50 State supreme courts to define DOMA's constitutionality but leave
the U.S. Supreme Court powerless to sort out the constitutional mess.
Confusion rather than legal clarity would be the likely result.
Judicial review is the heart of constitutional governance. To tamper
with the power of courts is a perilous undertaking.
The only oath Members of Congress take upon assuming office is to
uphold the Constitution. The founders, who had extensive experience
with political persecution, wrote a Constitution which did not put
exclusive power in the legislative and executive branches because they
wanted to place a check on popular will as well as capricious executive
governance. As Madison wrote in Federalist No. 48, ``an elective
despotism was not the government we fought for . . .''
Constitutionalism is not majoritarianism. The rights of minorities
must be respected and all citizens provided due process under the law.
Accordingly, I am convinced the constitutional obligation is to vote
``no.''
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer).
(Mr. NEUGEBAUER asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3313,
the Marriage Protection Act of 2004, and in defense of the institution
of marriage in America.
In 2003, the Texas State Legislature defined marriage as a union
between
[[Page H6594]]
one man and one woman. Texas joins 37 other States that have enacted
similar legislation defending traditional marriages.
With the Defense of Marriage Act, Congress declared that no State can
be forced to accept another State's definition of marriage.
Unfortunately, these actions are not enough. We have seen time and time
again the will of the people can be overturned by the actions of a few
judges.
Currently, Federal lawsuits attacking the institution of marriage are
underway in several States across the country. If these lawsuits are
successful, the voice of the people in Texas and the voice of the
overwhelming majority of Americans will be ignored.
Without the Marriage Protection Act, it is possible that Federal
judges in California can determine the definition of a marriage in
Texas or any other State which tries to protect marriage.
This attack against marriage goes against every value that I and the
vast majority of my constituents hold dear. For these reasons I
strongly urge the passage of H.R. 3313.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Bell).
Mr. BELL. Mr. Speaker, as the Democratic leader pointed out earlier,
this year marked the 50th anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board of
Education decision, and thinking about that decision in the context of
today's debate, I think we have to ask ourselves what if some of our
segregationist forefathers who felt every bit as strongly about the
issue of race as many people here today feel about the issue of gay
marriage, what if they had succeeded in passing some radical
legislation to prevent any Federal court challenge to the law of
separate but equal?
Well, obviously, the progress that we have witnessed in the area of
civil rights would have been at the very least stymied and most likely
prevented altogether. And the real question is they might have no
problem with the law that they seek to protect today, but they might
have very big problems with the law that they seek to protect tomorrow;
and ladies and gentlemen, we cannot cherry-pick. We cannot control what
might come forth in the future, because once this genie is out of the
bottle, it is out for good.
And the bottom line is, this is not. This is not how our country
works. Just how far are we going to let extremists go in tearing down
what makes this country great?
And, yes, open courts, open courts where free people can go in and
fight for what they believe is right are a part of what makes this
country great; and just because it is an election year, just because it
is an election year and some wish to fan the flames of an incredibly
controversial issue, let us not make the unforgivable mistake of
closing off our courts. It is un-American; it is wrong. Vote ``no.''
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez).
Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman
for yielding me the time.
I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 3313. I call it the
``Offense to the Constitution Act.'' Not only does this bill have
nothing to do with what it pretends to address, but it attacks one of
the fundamental principles of our American democratic system, the
separation of powers.
The Founding Fathers wisely separated the powers of the executive,
the legislative, and the judicial branches so as to avoid an abuse of
power by any one of the three. This administration was cemented and
codified in great historic American cases like Marbury v. Madison. H.R.
3313 is a direct attack on the separation of powers and the legacy of
those cases. It says: ``No court created by act of Congress shall have
any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate
jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the
interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, section
1738C or this section.''
Protect the Constitution. Vote down this bill. Vote ``no'' on H.R.
3313.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).
Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I am not a constitutional scholar,
obviously. I spent 40 years working with approximately 2,000 young
people. I actively recruited those young people to go to the University
of Nebraska. I visited annually 60 to 70 of them personally in their
homes and met their parents, and I saw firsthand the difference a
family makes, for better or for worse.
In my experience, the marriage findings of 12 leading family scholars
who summarized thousands of studies on child rearing are as follows:
children raised by both biological parents within a marriage are less
likely to become unmarried parents, live in poverty, drop out of
school, have poor grades, experience health problems, die as infants,
abuse alcohol and drugs, experience mental illness, commit suicide,
experience sexual and verbal abuse, engage in criminal behavior. And
then they concluded with this statement that I think is noteworthy:
``Marriage is more than a private emotional relationship. It is also a
social good. It is the bedrock of our culture.''
And so what I observed was that a father contributes something unique
to the welfare of a child. A mother also makes a unique contribution.
Several countries, notably in Scandinavia, have changed the traditional
definition of marriage. There has always been a decline of traditional
marriage and a surge of out-of-wedlock births in these countries, and
children born in such circumstances, on average, suffer significant
dysfunction.
So the question before us is this, as I see it: Do we allow a small
number of members of the judiciary to alter an institution which has
been the backbone of this Nation? Do we allow these same jurists to do
so with a great majority of our citizens and our States firmly in
opposition to a change? Forty-four of 50 States have laws defining
marriage in a traditional manner.
Again, Mr. Speaker, this is a matter that speaks directly to the
welfare of our children, the future of our country, and I urge support
of H.R. 3313.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Baird).
Mr. BAIRD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for
yielding me this time.
My friends, surrounding us here are profiles of the great law givers.
There are two Americans up there, Jefferson and Mason. Mason did not
sign the Constitution at the Convention. He did not, because it did not
have a Bill of Rights in it. Jefferson, on his epitaph, looked at as
one of his proudest accomplishments, was the establishment of the
clause providing for religious freedom in the State of Virginia.
{time} 1500
We have 900 dead Americans in Iraq, thousands more wounded, we have a
$600 billion deficit, we have 3 million Americans without jobs, 37
million kids are born in poverty in this country, and we are here today
proposing to try to take away one of the three pillars of a three-
legged stool that has made our country so strong for so many years.
Do not do this. A three-legged stool cannot stand. A society that
does not have a judiciary to protect the rights of the minority will
ultimately degenerate, and we must not let that happen.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley).
(Mr. CROWLEY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for
yielding me this time.
We will hear the word ``distraction'' a great deal in the next couple
of weeks because that is what is happening here today.
The 9/11 Commission came out with a report today and instead of
focusing on and discussing the issues pertaining to the 9/11
Commission's report, we are here today debating a bill that in essence
will change the Constitution without going through the formalities of
actually changing the Constitution.
We have 2 million people who are unemployed today in this country who
would like to work but do not have the opportunity to do so today. We
have 44 million Americans in this country today who do not have health
insurance coverage, and yet we are here today debating this bill on the
floor that will undermine the rights and privileges, not only of people
who are gay or lesbian in the country but all
[[Page H6595]]
Americans, if this bill were to become law.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my friends and colleagues to vote down this bill.
This bill is unfair and unjust. It will undermine the very premise of
our Constitution. I challenge my colleagues to please vote down this
bill.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Stearns).
(Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, first of all, most of the folks on that
side of the aisle keep talking about that we are mending and changing
the Constitution. But I think the argument has been shown to be
overwhelmingly wrong and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) will
have to agree, and he would now say clearly, it does not violate the
Constitution to pass this bill. And I think others will agree with
that.
So the people that come down here and say it violates the
Constitution are wrong, for your side of the aisle to say we are
violating the Constitution, amending and changing it, clearly we are
not.
The distinguished chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary has
given you nine examples, recent examples, of where we have used almost
the same clause or language to do the same thing we are doing today.
Did you know that to expedite construction for the World War II
Memorial we did this same thing. We did it for the Terrorist Risk
Insurance Act, the Department of Justice Authorization Act, which I am
sure the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler) voted for. The
Intelligence Act, the PATRIOT Act, even for campaign finance reform in
which the majority of the people on that side of the aisle voted for.
But now let us talk about the Daschle Act. Now that is more recent
and I think something we should mention. The distinguished chairman of
the Committee on the Judiciary mentioned it, but I just want to read to
you what Senator Daschle actually said on the Senate floor when he
said, Due to extraordinary circumstances, timber activities will be
exempt from the National Forest Management Act and National Environment
Policy Act. And these exemptions are such that they are not subject to
judicial review by any United States court. I'd say Senator Daschle
blanketed it completely.
Let us get to the real issue. The real issue is not whether the
language in this bill is exempting U.S. courts. The real issue is the
Defense of Marriage Act. But the Defense of Marriage Act was voted for
overwhelmingly by many folks, on that side of the aisle and of course
ours, but now you are claiming a technicality by saying we are
violating the Constitution. But we all know that we do not want a
handful of judges overturning the will of individual States and
millions of Americans.
DOMA relied on the principle of federalism, which is a defined
concept in our Constitution, to defend States rights and to preserve
the sanctity of marriage. It was a perfect match, at least we thought
it was, until we found out several events later that the Supreme Court
1997 decision in Roemer v. Evans overturned a popular referendum in
their ruling. Last year in Lawrence v. Texas the Supreme Court ignored
a States right to determine its own public policy standard and
overturned its previous court ruling, which in turn created a new right
out of thin air. For years the Federal Courts have been taking
jurisdiction away from Congress. It is only proper that we exercise our
constitutional right to limit their jurisdiction.
So I would say to my colleagues, if you are against the Defense of
Marriage Act, why do you not argue that and do not use the
technicalities of saying we are violating the Constitution because you
know that is not true. And I have given you at least nine examples here
of where you on that side of the aisle have voted for the same, almost
the same language.
Now the gentleman from Massachusetts indicated that in this bill
there is unique language we have never seen before. Now Mr. Speaker all
of us have heard songs before and lots of times those songs sound the
same way. But they do not have the same language or exact words. Those
songs may sound the same, but they do not have the same words.
Likewise, this bill does the same thing as the other bills I mentioned,
but the language may not be the same.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I place into the Record the case of Biodiversity
Associates v. Cables, which contrary to the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Stearns) ruled that the Daschle bill did not apply to preclude court of
appeals review as the legislation's constitutional validity.
Biodiversity Associates v. Cable
Biodiversity Associates and Brian Brademeyer, Plaintiffs-
Appellants, Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society,
Plaintiffs, v. Rick D. Cables, in his official capacity as
Regional Forester of the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S.
Forest Service; Dale N. Bosworth, in his official capacity as
Chief of the U.S. Forest Service; John C. Twiss, in his
official capacity as Supervisor of the Black Hills National
Forest; U.S. Forest Service, Defendants-Appellees, Larry
Gabriel, in his official capacity as Secretary of the South
Dakota Department of Agriculture; Black Hills Regional
Multiple Use Coalition; Black Hills Forest Resource
Association; Meade County, Lawrence County, and Pennington
County, all political subdivisions the State of South Dakota,
* Defendants-Intervenors-Appellees.
* Mr. Cables, Mr. Bosworth and Mr. Gabriel, who are the
successors in office of Lyle K. Laverty, Michael Dombeck and
Darrell Cruea, respectively, have been substituted as parties
pursuant to Fed. R. App. 34(c)(2).
no. 03-1002
united states court of appeals for the tenth circuit
357 F.3d 1152; 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 1702
(February 4, 2004, Filed)
Prior History: Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Colorado. (D.C. No. 99-N-2173).
Disposition: Affirmed.
Counsel: Ray Vaughn of WildLaw, Montgomery, Alabama (Steve
Novak of WildLaw, Asheville, North Carolina, with him on the
briefs), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.
Kevin Traskos, Assistant United States Attorney (John W.
Suthers, United States Attorney, with him on the brief),
Denver, Colorado, for Defendants-Appellees.
Diane Best, Assistant Attorney General (Lawrence E. Long,
Attorney General; Charles D. McGuigan, Assistant Attorney
General, with her on the brief), State of South Dakota,
Pierre, South Dakota, for Defendants-Intervenors-Appellees.
Judges: Before Murphy, Circuit Judge, Brorby, Senior
Circuit Judge, and McConnell, Circuit Judge.
Opinion By: McConnell.
For many years, Congress has been unable to come to
agreement on nationwide legislation to address the dangers of
insect infestation and fire in the national forests. In 2002,
however, in a rider to a supplemental appropriations act for
the war on terrorism, Congress passed legislation applicable
to selected sections of the Black Hills National Forest in
South Dakota and nowhere else, permitting logging and other
clearance measures as a means of averting forest fires. The
legislation specifies forest management techniques for these
lands in minute detail, overrides otherwise applicable
environmental laws and attendant administrative review
procedures, and explicitly supersedes a settlement agreement
between the Forest Service and various environmental groups
regarding management of these lands.
The question presented is whether the extraordinary
specificity of this legislation, coupled with its
displacement of a settlement agreement, amounts to
congressional violation of the Constitution's separation of
powers, by invading the province of the executive branch, the
judicial branch, or both. We hold that it does not. Article
IV, Sec. 3, cl. 2 expressly grants Congress ``Power to
dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations
respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the
United States.'' With respect to this power--like most of its
enumerated powers--Congress is permitted to be as specific as
it deems appropriate. Moreover, settlement agreements between
private litigants and the executive branch cannot divest
Congress of its constitutionally vested authority to
legislate.
background
The first law involved in this case is the law of
unintended consequences. Fire suppression efforts conducted
over more than a century in large parts of the West have had
the unintended effect of transforming forests from savannah-
like grasslands studded with well-spaced large, old, fire-
resistant trees, into thicker, denser forests. Prior to the
arrival of Europeans, these forests experienced frequent, but
relatively mild, forest fires caused primarily by lightning
and Native American activity. These fires would clear the
forest floor of undergrowth and saplings while leaving the
larger trees unscathed. The denser forests produced by fire
suppression accumulate more combustible fuel and are more
vulnerable to infestations, such as mountain pine beetles,
and to fires far more intense and devastating than those of
the pre-settlement era. Forestry experts are divided as to
the response to these conditions.
[[Page H6596]]
Some advocate a hands-off approach, allowing fire (outside
areas of human habitation) to reconstitute the forests in
their natural state; some advocate controlled burns; and some
advocate thinning and fuel removal. The role of commercial
logging as part of the last approach has been particularly
controversial.
From 1983 to 1997, the Beaver Park Roadless Area, a
relatively pristine portion of the Black Hills National
Forest, was free of logging activity, apparently because the
land management plan then in place did not allow it. In 1997,
however, the Forest Service approved a new Black Hills
National Forest plan revision (the ``1997 Revised Plan''),
which allowed logging in a significant portion of Beaver
Park's 5,109 acres. It subsequently began preparations for a
timber sale in an area called the ``Veteran/Boulder Project
Area,'' which included most of the Beaver Park land newly
authorized for logging. Especially in a part of the area
known as Forbes Gulch, a major purpose of the logging was to
counter an infestation of mountain pine beetles. The Forest
Service proceeded to clear various administrative hurdles in
preparation for the Veteran/Boulder timber sale, issuing a
final environmental impact statement on the proposed sale and
records of decision approving timber harvest both inside and
outside the Beaver Park Roadless Area.
Several environmental groups, including the Sierra Club,
the Wilderness Society, and Appellant Biodiversity
Conservation Alliance (BCA), objected strenuously to the
timber sale. The Beaver Park Roadless Area was one of the
last areas in the Black Hills National Forest still eligible
for designation as a wilderness, and logging activity would
likely disqualify it from being designated as such. The
environmental groups were also concerned about the effects
that the Veteran/Boulder timber sale would have on the
viability of the northern goshawk population in the Forest.
Accordingly, they brought administrative challenges to both
the particular project and the recently revised plan under
which it was approved.
The groups met with mixed success in their administrative
challenges. Their challenge to the Veteran/Boulder sale was
initially denied in its entirety, though the sale was stayed
pending review of the Revised Plan itself. Then, on October
12, 1999, the Chief of the Forest Service upheld the 1997
Revised Plan in most respects, but found that there was
inadequate support in the record for the conclusion that the
Revised Plan's proposed changes would not threaten the
viability of several species, including the northern goshawk.
He therefore ordered further research into that question. In
the meanwhile, the Forest Service did not stop all pending
projects, but instead provided interim directions that would
apply until the identified defects in the Revised Plan were
remedied. As a result, when the stay on the sale expired, the
Forest Service went forward and put the timber out for bid.
The Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, and BCA brought
suit challenging the sale in federal district court, claiming
that the Forest Service could not rely on an ``illegal'' plan
to justify project-level decisions under that plan.
Specifically, they argued that the final environmental impact
statement's conclusion that the Veteran/Boulder sale would
not affect the viability of the northern goshawk was based on
the very findings in the 1997 Revised Plan that had been
disapproved.
In the waning days of the Clinton Administration, in
September of 2000, the Forest Service signed a settlement
agreement with the plaintiff groups, under which it agreed
not to allow any tree cutting in the Beaver Park Roadless
Area, at least until the Service approved a new land and
resource management plan remedying the defects of the 1997
plan. The settlement was approved by the United States
District Court for the District of Colorado, which had
jurisdiction over the lawsuit because the relevant Forest
Service offices were in Colorado.
The process of approving a new plan took much longer than
anticipated. The record does not reveal whether the mountain
pine beetles of western South Dakota were aware of the
settlement agreement or participated in the plan revision
process, but it is clear that they did not wait for
authorization from Washington before undertaking an expanded
program of forest resource exploitation. Just two years after
the initial Veteran/Boulder environmental impact statement,
the mountain pine beetle infestation in this section of the
Black Hills had reached epidemic proportions. According to
Forest Service estimates, the pine beetles killed 114,000
trees in 2002, as compared to only 15,000 in 1999. This
convinced forest managers that immediate harvesting of
deadwood and infested trees, which the settlement agreement
prohibited, was necessary to guard against further spread of
the infestation and potentially disastrous forest fires.
Given that approval of a corrected resource management plan
was still a long way off, the Forest Service and the local
South Dakota interests that shared its concerns had a choice:
they could either attempt to obtain consent to the tree
cutting from the original parties to the agreement, or with
the help of South Dakota's congressional delegation, they
could attempt to overturn the settlement agreement's
prohibition by legislation. The Forest Service began by
trying the consensual approach. Perhaps spurred by the threat
of intervention from Congress, the signatories to the
settlement met with the Forest Service to discuss changing
the agreement in light of the mountain pine beetle problem.
The Forest Service reached agreement with the Sierra Club and
the Wilderness Society, but BCA and Brian Brademeyer, then
chair of the Black Hills Sierra Club, refused to agree to
proposed modifications in the settlement. Stymied, South
Dakota interests turned to Congress for a legislative
solution.
For some years, Congress had been considering national
legislation that would streamline the process of obtaining
environmental approval of logging and other clearance
projects in fire- and disease-threatened national forests;
but these efforts were caught up in the debate over the role
of commercial logging in forest restoration. By limiting
legislative action to a narrow geographical area, however,
and with the acquiescence of some influential environmental
groups and the active support of the state's congressional
delegation, Congress was able to reach agreement on a bill
that would permit logging and other measures in the Beaver
Park Roadless Area. In a rider to an unrelated appropriations
bill, Congress enacted into law essentially the terms of the
modified agreement negotiated between the Forest Service and
the Sierra Club and the Wilderness Society. See Supplemental
Appropriations Act for Further Recovery From and Response to
Terrorist Acts on the United States, Pub. L. No. 107-206,
Sec. 706, 116 Stat. 820, 864 (2002) (the ``706 Rider'' or
``Rider''). The Rider, which was signed into law on August 2,
2002, required the Forest Service to take a variety of
actions that violated the settlement agreement, see, e.g.,
id. Sec. 706(d)(5), 116 Stat. at 867, and prohibited judicial
review of those actions, id. Sec. 706(j), 116 Stat. at 868.
It also specifically referred to the settlement agreement,
and stated that the agreement should continue in effect to
the extent it was not preempted by the Rider. See id., 116
Stat. at 869.
After the Rider was passed, BCA and Mr. Brademeyer
(hereinafter referred to, jointly, as ``BCA'') went to the
federal district court in Colorado to obtain an order
requiring continued enforcement of the settlement agreement,
claiming that the 706 Rider unconstitutionally trenched on
both the executive and judicial branches. The district court
denied the motion, and BCA appealed.
DISCUSSION
As a preliminary matter, we must determine the scope of
this Court's jurisdiction over this case. Although we would
normally have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291, the 706
Rider limits that jurisdiction:
``Due to the extraordinary circumstances present here,
actions authorized by this section shall proceed immediately
and to completion notwithstanding any other provision of law
including, but not limited to, NEPA and the National Forest
Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). Such actions shall
not be subject to the notice, comment, and appeal
requirements of the Appeals Reform Act, (16 U.S.C. 1612
(note), Pub. Law No. 102-381 sec. 322). Any action authorized
by this section shall not be subject to judicial review by
any court of the United States.''
Rider 706(j), 116 Stat. at 868 (emphasis added). At oral
argument, BCA contended that the italicized language does not
preclude us from considering the constitutionality of the
Rider itself. The government disagrees, arguing that we have
jurisdiction at most to determine whether the denial of
jurisdiction, not the entire Rider, is constitutional.
In determining the extent of our jurisdiction, we must
start with the precise language of the Rider, keeping in mind
that such limitations of jurisdiction are to be construed
narrowly to avoid constitutional problems. See Johnson v.
Robison, 415 U.S. 361, 366-67, 39 L. Ed. 2d 389, 94 S. Ct.
1160 (1974). What is prohibited here is judicial review of
``any action authorized by'' the Rider. Rider Sec. 706(j),
116 Stat. at 868. BCA, however, does not seem to be seeking
judicial review of any specific actions already taken or soon
to be taken by the Forest Service. Rather, it has moved for
enforcement of the settlement agreement in the face of the
new Congressional legislation. Admittedly, the basis for the
lawsuit, and the alleged injury that gives BCA standing, is
the prospect of Forest Service action pursuant to the Rider
and in violation of the settlement agreement. Yet at this
point, no pastor prospective actions of the Forest Service
are directly at issue. The question before us is simply
whether the settlement agreement has continuing validity in
the face of Congress's intervening act.
The situation here is thus different from one in which the
court is asked to hold a party who has violated an injunction
in contempt. In such a case, the ``actions'' taken by a party
to the injunction are directly at issue. BCA's motion is more
analogous to a suit for declaratory judgment holding the
Rider itself to be unconstitutional. Because BCA seeks
judicial review of the congressional act mandating that the
settlement agreement be violated, rather than judicial review
of the Forest Service's acts authorized by the Rider, the
jurisdictional bar does not apply. See Nat'l Coalition to
Save Our Mall v. Norton, 348 U.S. App. D.C. 92, 269 F.3d
1092, 1095 (D.C. Cir. 2001). We therefore must reach the
question of whether the Rider is constitutional. Because
this question is purely legal, our review is de novo. See
United States v. Pompey, 264 F.3d 1176, 1179 (10th Cir.
2001).
BCA's chief argument is that the Rider trenches on the
Executive by giving the Forest Service marching orders so
detailed that
[[Page H6597]]
they go beyond merely ``passing new legislation'' to
interpreting the law, which is ``the very essence of
`execution' of the law.'' Bowsher v. Synar, 478 U.S. 714,
733, 92 L. Ed. 2d 583, 106 S. Ct. 3181 (1986). However, they
never clearly explain what, in their view, separates
permissible legislation from impermissible interpretation.
The main flaw they find in the Rider is its extreme
particularity, making it seem as if their theory is that
extreme particularity by itself infringes the Executive's
power to enforce and execute the law. At times, though, they
make a more limited claim: that while specificity is not per
se unconstitutional, at least in this case it is
``indicative'' of the fact that Congress has
unconstitutionally ``directed how law is to be implemented,''
rather than (constitutionally) changing the applicable law.
Appellants' Reply Br. 5. This more limited claim suggests
that it is particularity in combination with some other
feature that raises the constitutional problem. We consider
each theory in turn.
BCA bases its argument on a handful of cases in which the
Supreme Court has held that the legislative branch cannot
play a role in the interpretation and execution of the law.
See, e.g., Metro. Washington Airports Auth. v. Citizens for
the Abatement of Aircraft Noise, Inc., 501 U.S. 252, 271-72,
115 L. Ed. 2d 236, 111 S. Ct. 2298 (1991); Bowsher, 478 U.S.
at 725-26; INS v. Chadha, 462 U.S. 919, 951-52, 77 L. Ed. 2d
317, 103 S. Ct. 2764 (1983); Springer v. Philippine Islands,
277 U.S. 189, 201-02, 72 L. Ed. 845, 48 S. Ct. 480 (1928).
There is no basis, however, for BCA's assertion that the
sheer specificity of the 706 Rider takes it beyond the realm
of Congress's legislative powers. Certainly the cases cited
above do not support this position. In each of those cases,
Congress sought a role for itself in the execution of the
laws, beyond enactment of legislation, through mechanisms
such as a one-house legislative veto or the vesting of law-
executing powers in officers appointed by, or accountable to,
Congress. In Bowsher, the Court held that the Comptroller
General, who serves at the pleasure of Congress, could not be
the officer who determined what spending cuts would be made
in order to reduce the deficit under the Gramm-Rudman-
Hollings Act of 1985. 478 U.S. at 717-18, 736. Springer held
that it violated separation of powers for members of the
legislative branch to be directors of government-owned
businesses. 277 U.S. at 202-03. Similarly, Metropolitan
Washington Airports struck down an arrangement whereby a
board of review composed of members of Congress had authority
to veto key acts of the Metropolitan Washington Airport
Authority. 501 U.S. at 275-77. Chadha struck down a law that
delegated authority to the Attorney General to suspend
certain deportations, but allowed either house of Congress
acting alone to veto the Attorney General's decisions. 462
U.S. at 923, 944-59. None of these cases, or any others of
which we are aware, suggest that Congress is required to
speak with some minimum degree of generality, so as to leave
play for the Executive to exercise discretion in interpreting
the law. Rather, the Constitution expressly leaves it up to
Congress to determine how specific it may deem it ``necessary
and proper'' for the laws to be. U.S. Const. art. I, Sec. 8,
cl. 18. The cases cited above have simply forbidden Congress,
or its members or servants, from exerting legal authority
without observing the formalities for the passage of
legislation under the Constitution: ``bicameral passage
followed by presentment to the President.'' Bowsher, 478 U.S.
at 726 (quoting Chadha, 462 U.S. at 954-55). This is a
structural and institutional means of guaranteeing that
Congress stays within the bounds of legislating, and is far
superior to asking courts to police the shades of gray
between the poles of general and specific.
To be sure, the Constitution imposes certain specific
constraints on the power of Congress to legislate with
overmuch particularity. The Bill of Attainder Clause, U.S.
Const. art. I, Sec. 9, cl. 3, and the ``uniform Duties,
Imposts, and Excises'' Clause, id., are examples. See Sec. 8,
cl. 1 Nixon v. Adm'r of Gen. Servs., 433 U.S. 425, 468-73, 53
L. Ed. 2d 867, 97 S. Ct. 2777 (1977); United States v.
Ptasynski, 462 U.S. 74, 80-85, 76 L. Ed. 2d 427, 103 S. Ct.
2239 (1983). Due process and equal protection principles
similarly prevent Congress from acting with respect to
specific persons or groups in some contexts, and specificity
may be relevant to determining whether Congress has trenched
on the Executive's ability to carry out its specifically
enumerated executive powers. Nixon, 433 U.S. at 443. But when
Congress is exercising its own powers with respect to matters
of public right, the executive role of ``taking Care that the
Laws be faithfully executed,'' U.S. Const. art. II, Sec. 3,
is entirely derivative of the laws passed by Congress, and
Congress may be as specific in its instructions to the
Executive as it wishes. Indeed, as the Supreme Court has
noted, Congress may even pass legislation governing ``a
legitimate class of one.'' Nixon, 433 U.S. at 472.
In the instant case, none of the Constitution's explicit
restrictions on specificity apply. The Property Clause states
that ``Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all
needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or
other Property belonging to the United States.'' U.S. Const.
art. IV, Sec. 3, cl. 2. The Supreme Court has ``repeatedly
observed that the power over the public land thus entrusted
to Congress is without limitations.'' Kleppe v. New Mexico,
426 U.S. 529, 539, 49 L. Ed. 2d 34, 96 S. Ct. 2285 (1976)
(internal brackets and quotation marks omitted); see also
Wyoming v. United States, 279 F.3d 1214, 1227 (10th Cir.
2002). It would be difficult if not impossible to control the
use of federal lands without reference to specific actions
affecting specific tracts of land, and we see no reason why
Congress should be forced to avoid such directives. See Save
Our Mall, 269 F.3d at 1097 (noting that particularity is
especially unproblematic when addressing unique public
amenities). The Supreme Court's remark in Metropolitan
Washington Airports seems relevant here:
``Because National and Dulles are the property of the
Federal Government and their operations directly affect
interstate commerce, there is no doubt concerning the
ultimate power of Congress to enact legislation defining the
policies that govern those operations. Congress itself can
formulate the details, or it can enact general standards and
assign to the Executive Branch the responsibility for making
necessary managerial decisions in conformance with those
standards.''
501 U.S. at 271-72 (emphasis added).
Thus, BCA is mistaken when it argues that Congress has
arrogated power to itself at the expense of the executive
branch because it ``specifically ordered the Executive Branch
to carry out a duty which had been expressly delegated to the
Department of Agriculture, the management of the Black Hills
National Forest.'' Appellants' Br. 23. To give specific
orders by duly enacted legislation in an area where Congress
has previously delegated managerial authority is not an
unconstitutional encroachment on the prerogatives of the
Executive; it is merely to reclaim the formerly delegated
authority. Such delegations, which are accomplished by
statute, are always revocable in like manner; they cannot
extend the domain reserved by the Constitution to the
Executive alone. See Stop H-3 Ass'n v. Dole, 870 F.2d 1419,
1435 n.24 (9th Cir. 1989).
We now turn to consider the view that although the 706
Rider's specificity is unobjectionable in the abstract, it is
still unconstitutional because it attempts to mandate
specific results without changing the underlying
environmental laws. BCA relies for this view chiefly on
Robertson v. Seattle Audubon Society, where the Supreme
Court upheld a similar provision because it ``compelled
changes in law, not findings or results under old law.''
503 U.S. 429, 438, 118 L. Ed. 2d 73, 112 S. Ct. 1407
(1992); see also Apache Survival Coalition v. United
States, 21 F.3d 895, 904 (9th Cir. 1994); Stop H-3 Ass'n,
870 F.2d at 1434 (upholding a statute authorizing
construction of a highway despite an environmental
regulation because it ``does not interpret [the relevant
regulation's] requirements but rather exempts H-3 from
them''); Armuchee Alliance v. King, 922 F. Supp. 1541,
1550 (N.D. Ga. 1996).
Far from supporting BCA's position, however, Seattle
Audubon rejects an argument very much like its own. The case
concerned logging litigation to which Congress responded by
passing the Northwest Timber Compromise of 1990, applicable
only to timber sales entered before September 30, 1990, in
thirteen national forests in the Pacific Northwest. The key
section of that legislation stated that ``Congress determines
and directs that management of areas according to [new rules
set forth in the Northwest Timber Compromise] . . . meets the
statutory requirements that are the basis for [the
litigation].'' 503 U.S. at 434-35. The Ninth Circuit, below,
had held that this did not ``establish new law, but directed
the court to reach a specific result and make certain factual
findings under existing law in connection with two cases
pending in federal court,'' thus encroaching on the judicial
branch under United States v. Klein, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 128,
20 L. Ed. 519, 7 Ct. C1. 240 (1872). Seattle Audubon Soc'y v.
Robertson, 914 F.2d 1311, 1316 (9th Cir. 1990) (Seattle
Audubon 1). In reversing, the Supreme Court criticized the
Ninth Circuit's focus on the form of the enactment; instead,
it looked to the legal effect of the Seattle Audubon
provision:
``We conclude that subsection (b)(6)(A) compelled changes
in law, not findings or results under old law. Before
subsection (b)(6)(A) was enacted, the original claims would
fail only if the challenged harvesting violated none of five
old provisions. Under subsection (b)(6) (A), by contrast,
those same claims would fail if the harvesting violated
neither of two new provisions. Its operation, we think,
modified the old provisions.''
Seattle Audubon, 503 U.S. at 438.
This case follows a fortiori from Seattle Audubon. Just as
in Seattle Audubon, the 706 Rider has the practical effect of
changing the scope of the government's legal duties. Before
the Rider, the Forest Service was prohibited by law from
cutting trees without meeting various requirements of various
environmental laws; after the Rider, it is required to cut
trees in the Black Hills ``notwithstanding'' those laws.
Rider 706(j), 116 Stat. at 868. But the 706 Rider lacks the
problematic language--``the Congress determines and directs
that management of areas according to [new rules set forth in
the Northwest Timber Compromise] . . . meets the statutory
requirements that are the basis for [the litigation]''--which
the Ninth Circuit construed as interpreting rather than
amending the law. Seattle Audubon I, 914 F.2d at 1316. By
contrast, the 706 Rider orders that certain actions be taken
``notwithstanding'' the requirements of certain prior-enacted
laws, thus effectively replacing the old standards, in this
one case, with new ones. Similar statutes have been upheld as
constitutionally valid amendments of the underlying law. See
Save Our Mall, 269 F.3d at 1097; Apache Survival Coalition,
21 F.3d at 904; Stop H-3 Assn, 870 F.2d at 1434. Thus, we
[[Page H6598]]
need not decide whether directing specific actions without
changing the law would be an unconstitutional attempt by
Congress to usurp the Executive's role in interpreting the
law. In accordance with the counsel in Bowsher, Congress has
influenced the execution of the law here only ``indirectly--
by passing new legislation.'' 478 U.S. at 734 (citing Chadha,
462 U.S. at 958).
Next, BCA claims that the 706 Rider encroaches on the
Judiciary, in three ways: (1) by disturbing final
dispositions of cases in violation of Plaut v. Spendthrift
Farm, Inc., 514 U.S. 211, 131 L. Ed. 2d 328, 115 S. Ct. 1447
(1995); (2) by prescribing rules of decision to the Judiciary
in pending cases, in violation of United States v. Klein, 80
U.S. (13 Wall.) 128, 20 L. Ed. 519, 7 Ct. C1. 240 (1871); and
(3) by vesting review of judicial decisions in the executive
branch, in violation of the rule in Hayburn's Case, 2 U.S. (2
Dall.) 409, 1 L. Ed 436 (1792). We reject all three claims.
BCA's first contention, that the 706 Rider impermissibly
sets aside a final judicial disposition, depends on a crucial
but questionable premise: that the settlement agreement is
actually a judicial disposition rather than a mere private
agreement between the parties. Although the district court
did incorporate the settlement agreement by reference in its
order dismissing the suit, it nevertheless preferred the
latter characterization in addressing BCA's current request
for injunctive relief:
``This case doesn't even rise to the level where the Court
executed a consent decree. This is a case where the parties
sat down among themselves and settled the case. The more
proper analogy here is to an executory settlement contract.
It is true that the Court approved the settlement agreement,
but that is different from a consent decree.
. . .
. . . As far as I'm concerned, the Court's approval of the
settlement agreement is entitled to very, very little weight,
because it was negotiated among the parties.''
Tr. of Mot. Hr'g dated Dec. 26, 2002, at 12, App. 405.
Nevertheless, because the settlement agreement was a judicial
disposition in form if not in substance, we assume for
purposes of this appeal that it is entitled to the same
constitutional protection that it would have if the court had
decided its terms.
Within the scope of its enumerated powers, Congress has
authority to enact laws to govern matters of public right,
such as the management of the public lands, and authority to
change those laws. Even when the Judiciary has issued a legal
judgment enforcing a congressional act--for example, by a
writ of injunction--it is no violation of the judicial
power for Congress to change the terms of the underlying
substantive law. The purpose of an injunction is to define
and enforce legal obligations, not to freeze them into
place. Thus, when Congress changes the laws, it is those
amended laws--not the terms of past injunctions--that must
be given prospective legal effect. See, e.g., Miller v.
French, 530 U.S. 327, 347-50, 147 L. Ed. 2d 326, 120 S.
Ct. 2246 (2000); Hall v. Beals, 396 U.S. 45, 48, 24 L. Ed.
2d 214, 90 S. Ct. 200 (1969); System Fed'n No. 91 v.
Wright, 364 U.S. 642, 648-650, 5 L. Ed. 2d 349, 81 S. Ct.
368 (1961); Am. Steel Foundries v. Tri-City Cent. Trades
Council, 257 U.S. 184, 201-07, 66 L. Ed. 189, 42 S. Ct. 72
(1921).
The Supreme Court applied this principle to dispose of a
contention very similar to BCA's as long ago as 1855, in the
venerable case of Pennsylvania v. Wheeling & Belmont Bridge
Co., 59 U.S. (18 How.) 421, 15 L. Ed. 435 (1855). In that
case, Pennsylvania had previously brought suit to enjoin the
construction of a bridge over the Ohio River, which would
obstruct access to Pennsylvania's ports. The Supreme Court
eventually granted an injunction requiring the bridge to be
removed or raised. It reasoned that because Congress had
``regulated the navigation of the Ohio River, and had thereby
secured to the public, by virtue of its authority, the free
and unobstructed use of the same,'' the Virginia-authorized
bridge impeding travel on the Ohio River was ``in conflict
with the acts of congress, which were the paramount law.'' 59
U. S. (18 How.) at 430 (summarizing the earlier opinion).
Thereafter, Congress passed a new law authorizing the
construction of the bridge and stating that the bridge and
one other were ``lawful structures in their present positions
and elevations.'' Wheeling Bridge, 59 U.S. (18 How.) at 429.
Pennsylvania sued again, claiming that the intervening
enactment was an unconstitutional attempt to overturn a final
decision of the Judiciary. The Supreme Court disagreed:
``If the remedy in this case had been an action at law, and
a judgment rendered in favor of the plaintiff for damages,
the right to these would have passed beyond the reach of the
power of congress. It would have depended, not upon the
public right of the free navigation of the river, but upon
the judgment of the court. . . . But that part of the decree,
directing the abatement of the obstruction, is executory, a
continuing decree, which requires not only the removal of the
bridge, but enjoins the defendants against any reconstruction
or continuance. Now, whether it is a future existing or
continuing obstruction depends upon the question whether or
not it interferes with the right of navigation. If, in the
meantime, since the decree, this right has been modified by
the competent authority, so that the bridge is no longer an
unlawful obstruction, it is quite plain the decree of the
court cannot be enforced. There is no longer any interference
with the enjoyment of the public right inconsistent with the
law, no more than there would be where the plaintiff himself
had consented to it, after the rendition of the decree.''
Id. at 431-32. Central to the Court's analysis was the fact
that the right to unobstructed waterways was a ``public right
. . . under the regulation of congress.'' Id. at 431. In
other words, the plaintiff had no vested property right in an
unobstructed waterway. The core violation was against
Congress's right to control the waterways, and Pennsylvania's
right to an unobstructed waterway was only the derivative
right to enjoy whatever degree of navigation Congress saw fit
to allow. So long as the will of Congress was to leave the
river unimpeded, any impediment was a violation of the public
right thus defined. But once Congress changed its mind, the
contours of that right changed, and there was no more ground
for injunctive relief. If a landowner grants her neighbor a
revocable license to use a private road across her property,
the neighbor could conceivably obtain an injunction against
any third party who prevents him from using that road.
However, that does not affect the right of the landowner to
revoke the license at any time. Should the license be
revoked, the neighbor's right to use the private road ceases,
and enforcing the injunction is no longer appropriate.
Wheeling Bridge has remained a fixed star in the Supreme
Court's separation-of-powers jurisprudence, and numerous
subsequent cases have relied on it. See, e.g., The Clinton
Bridge, 77 U.S. 454, 463, 19 L. Ed. 969 (1870) (concluding,
on the basis of Wheeling Bridge, that in public rights cases,
Congress could not only modify injunctive relief already
granted, but also could ``give the rule of decision'' in
pending cases); Hodges v. Snyder, 261 U.S. 600, 603, 67 L.
Ed. 819, 43 S. Ct. 435 (1923) (noting that the normal rule
against disturbing final judgments ``does not apply to a suit
brought for the enforcement of a public right, which, even
after it has been established by the judgment of the court,
may be annulled by subsequent legislation and should not be
thereafter enforced''); Sys. Fed'n No. 91, 364 U.S. at 648-
650 (holding that it is an abuse of discretion for a district
court not to modify an injunction to reflect changes in
underlying law); Miller v. French, 530 U.S. at 347-48.
Even Plaut v. Spendthrift Farms, Inc., the principal case
on which BCA relies, is careful not to disturb the holding of
Wheeling Bridge. There the Supreme Court had previously
imputed a uniform nationwide statute of limitations on
actions brought under Sec. 10(b) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, Lampf, Pleva, Lipkind, Prupis & Petigrow v.
Gilbertson, 501 U.S. 350, 115 L. Ed. 2d 321, 111 S. Ct. 2773
(1991), and held that the newly established statute of
limitations applied to all pending cases in the federal
courts. James B. Beam Distilling Co. v. Georgia, 501 U. S.
529, 115 L. Ed. 2d 481, 111 S. Ct. 2439 (1991). Six months
later, Congress passed a law changing the statute of
limitations for those cases commenced before Lampf to what it
would have been had the Supreme Court not imposed a uniform
nationwide limitations period, and reinstating all actions
dismissed as time-barred if they would have been timely under
the limitations period of their local jurisdiction. See
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Act of 1991, Pub. L.
No. 102-242, sec. 476, Sec. 27A, 105 Stat. 2236 (codified at
15 U.S.C. Sec. 78aa-1 (1988 Supp. V)). The Supreme Court held
that this action violated the separation of powers by
requiring federal courts to reopen final judgments. Plaut,
514 U.S. at 240. It reasoned that once the judicial branch
has given its final word on a case, to allow Congress to
reopen the case by legislation would destroy the power of the
Judiciary to render final judgments. Id. at 219. Instead,
Congress would be in effect a court of last resort to which
one could appeal any ``final'' decision of the Judiciary.
In rejecting such an outcome, the Court in Plaut did no
more than follow the dicta of Wheeling Bridge itself:
``But it is urged, that the act of congress cannot have the
effect and operation to annul the judgment of the court
already rendered, or the rights determined thereby in favor
of the plaintiff. This, as a general proposition, is
certainly not to be denied, especially as it respects
adjudication upon the private rights of the parties. When
they have passed into judgment the right becomes absolute,
and it is the duty of the court to enforce it.
. . .
Now, we agree, if the remedy in this case had been an
action at law, and a judgment rendered in favor of the
Plaintiff for damages, the right to these would have passed
beyond the reach of the power of congress.''
Wheeling Bridge, 59 U.S. (18 How.) at 431 (emphasis added),
quoted in Plaut, 514 U.S. at 226. As Plaut itself insists, it
does not call the holding of Wheeling Bridge into question at
all. 514 U.S. at 232. The disturbed court decision in Plaut
definitively resolved a private claim to a certain amount of
money, leaving the defendants with an unconditional right to
the sum in question; the judgments in this case and in
Wheeling Bridge merely prohibited future interference with
the enjoyment of a public right that remained revocable at
Congress's pleasure. The Supreme Court has since reaffirmed
the continued vitality of Wheeling Bridge in Miller v.
French. In that case, the Prison Litigation Reform Act had
set new limits on the power of courts to give injunctive
relief to prisoners, requiring (among other things) that
[[Page H6599]]
any injunctive relief granted be both narrowly drawn to
correct the violation of federal rights and also the least
intrusive means of correcting the violation. 18 U.S.C.
3626(a)(1)(A). The provision at issue in Miller directed that
an action to modify or terminate injunctive relief pursuant
to the PLRA would act as an automatic stay of any existing
injunctive relief if a court did not find that the injunctive
relief remained appropriate under the new standards within 30
days. Id. 3626(b)(2).
In upholding the PLRA's automatic stay, the Supreme Court
found Wheeling Bridge controlling, distinguishing Plaut
because in that case Congress had disturbed final judgments
in actions for money damages. Miller, 530 U.S. at 344-45. The
Court held that when courts grant prospective injunctive
relief, they remain obligated to modify that relief to the
extent that ``subsequent changes in the law'' render it
illegal. Id. at 347.
This case falls squarely within the principle of Wheeling
Bridge. BCA's members' rights with respect to the national
forests is a ``public right . . . under the regulation of
congress,'' Wheeling Bridge, 59 U.S. (18 How.) at 431, in
exactly the same way that the right to unimpeded navigation
of the Ohio River was. Both rights are entirely contingent on
Congress's continuing will that the federal lands or
interstate waterways be managed in a particular way. The
settlement agreement in the Veteran/Boulder matter in no way
touched on vested private rights. To be sure, the private
interests of BCA's members are sufficiently affected to give
rise to standing, but the interest they represented in their
lawsuit was nothing other than the interest of the public in
seeing that Congress's environmental directives are observed
by the Forest Service.
BCA's attempts to distinguish Miller and Wheeling Bridge
are unavailing. It argues, first, that in those cases,
Congress simply changed the law, leaving it for the courts to
decide whether to modify their injunctions, whereas here
Congress is directly requiring the courts to modify the
settlement agreement. We see no such distinction. In those
cases, as here, Congress enacted rules in direct conflict
with existing legal obligations. In those cases, as here,
courts later had to decide whether those previous legal
obligations remained enforceable in light of Congress's act.
Second, BCA argues that the 706 Rider specifically refers
to a particular settlement agreement it means to supercede,
whereas the PLRA provision in Miller ``did not speak directly
to any pre-existing judicial ruling or issuance of relief.''
Appellants' Br. 27. The same was true in Wheeling Bridge.
There, legislation was targeted at two named bridges, one of
which was the subject of the injunction in the case. See 59
U.S. (18 How.) at 429. It is true that in Seattle Audubon,
the Court declined to address the question of whether such
targeting raised a constitutional problem. 503 U.S. at 441.
However, its silence ended four years later in Plaut. There,
a concurrence found a constitutional violation precisely
because the reopening of dismissed cases ``applied only to a
few individual instances.'' 514 U.S. at 243 (Breyer, J.,
concurring). A majority of the Court rejected that position,
describing it as ``wrong in law.'' Id. at 238. The majority
concluded that the infringement of the judicial power
consisted ``not of the Legislature's acting in a
particularized and thus (according to the concurrence)
nonlegislative fashion; but rather of the Legislature's
nullifying prior, authoritative judicial action. It makes no
difference whatever to that separation-of-powers violation
that it is in gross rather than particularized.'' Id. at 239
(emphasis in original; footnote omitted); see also id. at 239
n.9 (``While legislatures usually act through laws of general
applicability, that is by no means their only legitimate mode
of operation.'').
To avoid constant interbranch friction, the lines
separating the branches should be clear. As the Supreme Court
noted in Plaut, and as BCA's arguments illustrate, it only
``prolongs doubt and multiplies confrontation'' to make the
constitutional analysis hinge on the murky distinction
between generalized lawmaking and particularized application
of the law. 514 U.S. at 240.
It is true that the injunction BCA seeks to enforce differs
from the one in Wheeling Bridge in that it is the product of
a settlement agreement rather than a product of a judicial
declaration of right. Thus, Appellants' claimed right to keep
Beaver Park unmolested might be said to rest directly on the
terms of their contractual agreement, and only indirectly on
public rights provided by the environmental laws. We must
therefore consider whether the settlement agreement has
interposed a new set of contractual rights that adequately
support keeping the injunction in place, making changes to
the scope of the underlying public right irrelevant.
A negative answer to that question has been clear since at
least 1961, when the Supreme Court decided System Federation
No. 91 v. Wright, 364 U.S. 642, 648-650, 5 L. Ed. 2d 349, 81
S. Ct. 368 (1961). In that case, several nonunion railway
employees brought a class action against the railroad and
various unions for discrimination against them and other
nonunion workers. The district court eventually entered a
consent decree enjoining the defendants ``from discriminating
against the plaintiffs and the classes represented by them in
this action by reason of or on account of the refusal of said
employees to join or retain their membership in any of
defendant labor organizations, or any labor organization.''
System Fed'n No. 91, 364 U.S. at 644. At the time, labor law
did not allow collective bargaining agreements to require
union shops. 364 U.S. at 645-46.
Later, when the applicable law had changed to allow such
contracts, the unions sought modification of the decree to
make it clear that it would not prevent them from bargaining
for a union shop. Id. The district court refused to modify
the injunction; since nothing in the amended law made it
illegal for parties to agree not to have a union shop, the
court concluded that the parties were stuck with their
agreement. Id.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed, but the Supreme Court reversed,
holding that the district court's refusal to modify the
decree was an abuse of discretion. 364 U.S. at 646, 650-53.
The Court reasoned that, under Wheeling Bridge, the district
court would have had to modify the decree if it had been the
result of litigation instead of consent. 364 U.S. at 650-51.
It then concluded that the same principles applied to consent
decrees:
``The result is all one whether the decree has been entered
after litigation or by consent. . . . In either event, a
court does not abdicate its power to revoke or modify its
mandate, if satisfied that what it has been doing has been
turned through changing circumstances into an instrument of
wrong. We reject the argument . . . that a decree entered
upon consent is to be treated as a contract and not as a
judicial act. . . .'' 364 U.S. at 650-51 (quoting United
States v. Swift & Co., 286 U.S. 106, 114-15, 76 L. Ed.
999, 52 S. Ct. 460 (1932) (Cardozo, J.)) (some ellipses in
original). The Court's reasons are also applicable here:
``The parties cannot, by giving each other consideration,
purchase from a court of equity a continuing injunction. In a
case like this the District Court's authority to adopt a
consent decree comes only from the statute which the decree
is intended to enforce. Frequently of course the terms
arrived at by the parties are accepted without change by the
adopting court. But just as the adopting court is free to
reject agreed-upon terms as not in furtherance of statutory
objectives, so must it be free to modify the terms of a
consent decree when a change in law brings those terms in
conflict with statutory objectives. In short, it was the
Railway Labor Act, and only incidentally the parties, that
the District Court served in entering the consent decree now
before us. The court must be free to continue to further the
objectives of that Act when its provisions are amended. The
parties have no power to require of the court continuing
enforcement of rights the statute no longer gives.''
364 U.S. at 651. Put briefly, a settlement agreement or
consent decree designed to enforce statutory directives is
not merely a private contract. It implicates the courts, and
it is the statute--and ``only incidentally the parties''--to
which the courts owe their allegiance. The primary function
of a settlement agreement or consent decree, like that of a
litigated judgment, is to enforce the congressional will as
reflected in the statute. The court should modify or refuse
to enforce a settlement agreement or proposed decree unless
it is ``in furtherance of statutory objectives.'' The
agreement or consent decree is contractual only to the extent
that it represents an agreement by the parties regarding the
most efficient means of effectuating their rights under the
statute. It does not freeze the provisions of the statute
into place. If the statute changes, the parties' rights
change, and enforcement of their agreement must also change.
Any other conclusion would allow the parties, by exchange of
consideration, to bind not only themselves but Congress and
the courts as well.
This principle applies even more clearly here than it did
in System Federation itself. There, the original injunction
was not inconsistent with the new law; it merely ruled out an
option that Congress had since made permissible but not
mandatory. If that injunction had to change, then a fortiori
the injunction at issue here, which is inconsistent with the
706 Rider, must give way.
Having disposed of the claim that the 706 Rider disturbs
the district court's final judgment in violation of Plaut, we
turn to BCA's somewhat inconsistent claim that the Rider
violates United States v. Klein because it dictates ``rules
of decision'' to the district court in a pending case.
Klein involved one episode in a series of conflicts between
the Reconstruction Congress and the balking President Andrew
Johnson. Various presidential proclamations had offered a
``full pardon, with restoration of all rights of property,''
to certain broad classes, conditioned on taking an oath of
loyalty. Klein, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) at 139-40. In the
Abandoned and Captured Property Act, 12 Stat. 820 (Mar. 12,
1863), however, Congress provided that the owner of seized
property could sue in the Court of Claims to recover its
proceeds only on proof that the owner ``had never given aid
or comfort to the rebellion.'' 80 U.S. at 138-39. In United
States v. Padelford, 76 U.S. (9 Wall.) 531, 542-43, 19 L. Ed.
788, 7 Ct. C1. 144 (1869) (mem.), the Supreme Court held that
a presidential pardon renders the pardoned ``as innocent as
if he had never committed the offense,'' and concluded that
proof of pardon was equivalent to proof that the claimant had
not aided the rebellion. Congress responded to Padelford by
passing an appropriations proviso directing the Court of
Claims to take the fact of a pardon, with some narrow
exceptions, as conclusive proof that the claimant had ``given
aid or comfort to the rebellion,'' and
[[Page H6600]]
as grounds for dismissing the claimant's suit. Klein, 80 U.S.
(13 Wall.) at 142-43. The proviso also removed the Supreme
Court's authority to hear appeals of such suits. 80 U.S. at
144-45. In Klein, the administrator of the estate of V.F.
Wilson, who had taken the oath and qualified for the pardon,
sued to recover the proceeds of Wilson's seized property. Id.
at 136, 143. The Supreme Court found the proviso to be
unconstitutional, both because it attempted to impair the
effect of a presidential pardon and because it ``prescribed
rules of decision to the Judicial Department of the
government in cases pending before it.'' Id. at 146.
Klein is a notoriously difficult decision to interpret.
Read broadly, the ``rules of decision'' language of Klein
would seem to contradict the well-established principle that
courts must decide cases according to statutes enacted by
Congress. See United States v. Schooner Peggy, 5 U.S. (1
Cranch) 103, 109, 2 L. Ed. 49 (1801); Miller, 530 U.S. at
344, 346-47.
In any event, the 706 Rider is very different from the
unusual legislation found unconstitutional in Klein. Central
to the Court's analysis in Klein was its conclusion that the
government's seizure of the private property at issue did not
divest its owner of his property rights. See Klein, 80 U.S.
(13 Wall.) at 136-39. Thus, the basis of the Klein suit (at
least in the eyes of the Klein court) was a private right to
property vindicated by a presidential pardon, which Congress
was therefore powerless to extinguish. See 80 U.S. at 148.
Since Congress could not manipulate these private rights,
Klein merely refused to allow Congress to accomplish
indirectly (by manipulating the judiciary's interpretation of
those private rights) what it could not accomplish directly.
Thus understood, Klein is precisely in accord with Wheeling
Bridge, as Klein itself observes. See 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) at
146-47. When Congress does not control the substance of a
right, there are limits to its ability to influence the
judiciary's determination of that right, either by directing
the judiciary to decide a particular way, or by setting aside
judicial determinations after the fact. But when rights are
the creatures of Congress, as they were in Wheeling Bridge,
Congress is free to modify them at will, even though its
action may dictate results in pending cases and terminate
prospective relief in concluded ones. Thus, Klein's
prohibition on prescribing rules of decision in pending cases
has no application to public rights cases like this one.
The Supreme Court explicitly made this point in The Clinton
Bridge, a case decided only one year before Klein. That case
addressed facts almost identical to those in Wheeling Bridge.
The only difference was that Congress passed legislation
authorizing the bridge in question while the suit over its
legality was still pending, not after the injunction issued.
See 77 U.S. (10 Wall.) at 462-63. The Court noted that, in so
doing, Congress ``gave the rule of decision for the court''
in the pending case. 77 U.S. at 463. While it found that to
be unobjectionable under Wheeling Bridge, it warned that
``very different considerations would have arisen'' if
Congress had attempted to dictate the rule of decision in a
case concerning a ``private right of action.'' Id. Klein must
be read as the fulfillment of that narrow warning, not the
enunciation of any broader principle.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court has made it clear that Klein
does not apply to cases like this one: ``Whatever the precise
scope of Klein, . . . its prohibition does not take hold when
Congress amends applicable law.'' Plaut, 514 U.S. at 218,
quoted in Miller, 530 U.S. at 349 (internal quotation marks
and brackets omitted). Because, as we explained in Part II of
this opinion, the 706 Rider did ``amend[] applicable law,''
the Klein principle does not apply here.
Last, BCA claims that the 706 Rider violates the rule in
Hayburn's Case. Hayburn's Case has come to stand ``for the
principle that Congress cannot vest review of the decisions
of Article III courts in officials of the Executive Branch.''
Plaut, 514 U.S. at 218. BCA admits that the 706 Rider does
not literally authorize Forest Service officials to review
judicial determinations. Nevertheless, it maintains that the
706 Rider orders the Executive to ignore and violate judicial
orders, and that this is close enough to make out a claim
under Hayburn's Case. We disagree. As discussed above, it is
well-established that new law can modify old injunctive
decrees. Whenever that happens, the new law at least
implicitly orders the Executive to ignore the old decrees.
BCA maintains that in such circumstances, Congress's act
cannot constitutionally modify an injunction directly.
Instead, it claims, any modification must be made by the
court itself (though the court may be obliged to do it), and
until the court does so, the injunction remains in force.
Thus, because the 706 Rider directs the Forest Service to
proceed with its tree-cutting activities regardless of
whether the court modifies the settlement agreement, it
unconstitutionally directs the Executive to ignore an
injunction in force. But this is not the lesson of our cases.
Wheeling Bridge held, not merely that Congress's legislation
made modification of the injunction necessary, but that it
rendered the injunction unenforceable. 59 U.S. (18 How.) at
432; Miller, 530 U.S. at 346. Similarly, the provision upheld
in Miller v. French went beyond ordering judges to stay
prospective relief after 30 days; instead, it stated that a
motion to terminate injunctive relief ``shall operate as a
stay'' of that relief beginning 30 days after the motion--
thus staying the injunctive relief without any action by the
court. Miller, 530 U.S. at 331. When Congress is acting
within the boundaries set by Wheeling Bridge and Miller, the
parties to a modified injunction need not wait upon the court
to ratify the congressional change. Thus, we see no violation
of Hayburn's Case or any other constitutional principle here.
Viewed realistically, the 706 Rider intrudes on neither
executive nor judicial authority. The Rider comports with the
current view of executive branch officials regarding
management of the national forest. And while the Rider
overrides a settlement agreement entered by the district
court, that agreement was in fact a private agreement between
the parties, in which the Judiciary had little or no
independent involvement. To overturn the Rider would thus
serve not to vindicate the constitutionally entrusted
prerogatives of those two branches, but rather to keep in
place a private group's own preferences about forest
preservation policy in the face of contrary judgments by the
Executive and Congress. True principles of separation of
powers prevent settlement agreements negotiated by private
parties and officials of the executive branch from
encroaching either on the constitutionally vested authority
of Congress or on the statutorily vested authority of those
officials' successors in office. BCA's claim amounts to the
argument that an agreement forged by a private group with a
former administration, without serious judicial involvement,
can strip both Congress and the Executive of their
discretionary powers. The Constitution neither compels nor
permits such a result.
The executive branch does not have authority to contract
away the enumerated constitutional powers of Congress or its
own successors, and certainly neither does a private group.
Accordingly, the governance of the Black Hills National
Forest must be conducted according to the new rules set by
Congress, as Article IV of the Constitution provides.
For the foregoing reasons, the district court's denial of
BCA's motion is affirmed.
The Hostettler bill truly is a revolutionary assault on our
Bill of Rights. If Congress, for the first time in our
history, is able to prevent citizens from having their rights
under the constitution heard in federal court, then the Bill
of Rights will be little more than a puff of smoke.
Whatever you think of this legislation, or the Defense of
Marriage Act, Sen. Daschle's amendment is no precedent. The
Hostettler bill is truly unprecedented. For further
information, please visit the Committee website: (http://
www.house.gov/judiciary-democrats/
marriageprotectioninfo.html).
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.,
Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary.
Jerrold Nadler,
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on the Constitution.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I place into the Record a memo from the
Congressional Research Service that says that Congress has never passed
any legislation that denies to the Federal courts the jurisdiction to
adjudicate the constitutionality of an act of Congress.
Congressional Research Service
Memorandum
To: House Committee on the Judiciary, Attention: Perry
Apelbaum.
From: Johnny H. Killian, Senior Specialist, American
Constitutional Law, American Law Division.
Subject: Precedent for Congressional Bill.
This memorandum is in response to your query, respecting
H.R. 3313, now pending before the House of Representatives,
as to whether there is any precedent for enacted legislation
that would deny judicial review in any federal court of the
constitutionality of a law that Congress has enacted, whether
a law containing the jurisdictional provision or an earlier,
separate law. We are not aware of any precedent for a law
that would deny the inferior federal courts original
jurisdiction or the Supreme Court of appellate jurisdiction
to review the constitutionality of a law of Congress.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
Mr. BLUMENAUER. It is my intention, Mr. Speaker, to elaborate on the
point that was just made.
I have been listening to the debate. I have not heard my colleagues
here say that this is unconstitutional. The point is the legislation
the gentleman cited, the World War II Memorial, the timber legislation,
exempted from judicial review under the terms of the specific act. As
in Campaign Finance Reform it did not preclude challenges against the
constitutionality of the legislation in question. That is legitimate
use of congressional legislative authority.
What you are doing is not adjusting an act. You are saying we are not
going to be able to deal with whether or not the laws in question are
constitutional. That has never happened before.
[[Page H6601]]
I heard the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne) here a couple of
moments ago talk about his lifetime of working with young people. I
just left 50 young volunteers who are working in Washington, D.C.
neighborhoods. As we were leaving, one of the young women said she woke
up this morning listening to what we were going to be debating here
today. It made no sense to her and asked, is there any argument that
this is being done other than pure political motivation?
This was, I thought, a very perceptive young woman. Her question, I
think, answered itself, and I hope we are not to be guilty of
undermining these young people's confidence in our activities.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
I rise in opposition to this sham. What a shame it is when we have 41
million Americans without health insurance, more than 2 million jobs
lost, an additional $2 trillion in debt, that the leadership of this
Congress chooses to try again to divert attention to a divisive issue.
Having failed to even muster 50 votes in the other body to place in the
Constitution language setting one group of Americans aside as second
class citizens, this leadership now turns its attention to a full
assault on the Constitution itself.
If they cannot amend the Constitution, then attack the balance of
power. I keep hearing that activist judges should not change State
laws. Five activist judges denied all the voters of Florida the right
to have their votes counted, but this bill is far more cynical.
The other side knows it will be thrown out by the Supreme Court. That
means they can keep this issue alive for years and years.
Stop this assault. Vote no on H.R. 3313.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3313.
While I believe the institution of marriage should consist of one man
and one woman, and I voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, I
cannot support this bill. The Defense of Marriage Act has to my
knowledge not been challenged in the Federal court, and it seems like
we are putting the cart before the horse. We should allow our system of
checks and balances to work like our Founding Fathers designed it.
Whatever Massachusetts, Vermont and Hawaii does regarding their
marriage license does not change how Texas law does marriages.
In Texas we already have a law that states the institution of
marriage is one man, one woman. We also have a law that states that
Texas does not have to recognize marriages that are performed outside
the State of Texas. The Defense of Marriage Act supports our State law.
Marriage is a State issue and not a Federal issue. We do not seek
marriage licenses in the Federal courthouses.
What this bill is about is continued efforts of this administration
and Republicans in Congress to divide our country when we really need
unity.
Just today we heard that while our troops are fighting for our
country, they are short $12 billion in funding, even with all the
supplementals we voted for. Maybe this administration, the Republicans,
need to spend more time explaining why our troops waited months for
body armor and armor for their Humvees and we are still $12 billion
short.
Let us spend time protecting our country and not worry about ``my''
34 years of marriage. And once again, this administration has the wrong
priorities.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Wu).
(Mr. WU asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. WU. Mr. Speaker, I want to concede to my colleagues who argue for
the constitutionality of the subject legislation that it is
constitutional.
This Congress can strip the Supreme Court of much of its
jurisdiction, can abolish all appellate courts, and can abolish all
district courts, but just because we can do something does not mean
that we should do it.
We have heard much about arrogant activist judges. What have arrogant
activist judges done? In 1954 they revoked the reprehensible doctrine
of separate but equal in Brown v. Board of Education. In 1964 they
reestablished the principle of one-person/one-vote in Reynolds v. Sims.
In 1967 they respected the sanctity of all marriages, even those across
ethnic lines.
Because we can do something does not mean we should. Let us today not
hang out the sign on the Federal courthouse door, ``Some Americans Need
Not Apply.''
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Franks).
Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding
me time.
Daniel Webster said, Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to
the Republic for which it stands, for miracles do not cluster. And what
has happened once in 6,000 years may never happen again. So hold on to
the Constitution, for if it should fall, there will be anarchy
throughout the world.
Mr. Speaker, Daniel Webster is no longer with us, but if we could
just realize that we will soon no longer be here either and if we do
not uphold and defend the Constitution and the foundation of this
republic and society itself, which is marriage and the family,
generations will lose this beacon of freedom that we have.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Watt).
Mr. WATT. Mr. Speaker, on a number of occasions during the 12 years
that I have been in this body, I have risen on this floor to chide my
colleagues from the Committee on the Judiciary and my colleagues in the
House for the arrogant and irresponsible belief that we are somehow
smarter than the Founding Fathers, for the belief that process in the
system and the form of government that we operate in is less important
than the result that we seek on a particular issue.
I think today is the ultimate irresponsible, extreme act in that
direction. How arrogant and irresponsible is it to say to our American
people that the United States Supreme Court will not have jurisdiction
to decide the constitutionality of an issue?
{time} 1515
How extreme is that? It just blows my mind. I have trouble coming to
grips with the notion that anybody could believe that this is
responsible legislating, whether it is constitutional or not, that we
would deprive the United States Supreme Court the authority to
determine the constitutionality of an issue and disperse it to 50
different supreme courts of the States and not have one court that
would be the ultimate arbiter of constitutionality. How arrogant and
irresponsible can we be?
That is exactly what this legislation does today. It says to the
American people that the Supreme Court of the United States no longer
has the authority to determine constitutional issues. How arrogant, how
irresponsible can we be?
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished
gentleman from New York (Mr. Houghton).
(Mr. HOUGHTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. HOUGHTON. Mr. Speaker, I am not going to support this bill. I do
not believe it is right. I think court-stripping is wrong. I do not
think it is sound; and frankly, I do not think it is going to work. How
are we going to resolve the issue between States?
I used to be in business, and Congress could have passed a law in the
1950s when the civil rights issue was heating up that would have
prohibited any challenges to the segregated businesses that existed all
around me. There never would have been a civil rights law, never would
have been a Brown v. Board of Education.
I voted for the Defense of Marriage Act. It defines marriage for a
Federal purpose as a legal union between one man and one woman, and
that is good enough for me.
Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the
distinguished gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) to close on our
side.
(Ms. BALDWIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
[[Page H6602]]
Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, with this bill, we face no less than the
specter of a sign posted on the Federal courthouse door which reads,
``You may not defend your constitutional rights in this court; you may
not seek equal protection here; you may not petition your government
for redress here.'' Today, the ``you'' is gay and lesbian American
citizens, but who will be next?
Today, the House is considering legislation that were it to become
law would do grave damage to our Republic.
I strongly oppose H.R. 3313 and urge all Members to vote against this
legislation, and I urge the Members of the majority to reconsider this
extreme and radical approach to addressing the issue of same-sex
marriage and their concern about so-called judicial activism. Enacting
court-stripping legislation would seriously undermine the faith of the
American people in this Congress, in the courts, and in the principles
of separation of powers.
When writing the Constitution, our Founders wisely decided that the
best way to secure our freedoms and liberties was to establish three
coequal branches of government: the Congress, the executive, the
Supreme Court; and these three branches of government would have
different, but overlapping, authorities to ensure that each branch is
subject to the checks and balances. Not only will there be times that
they will be in disagreement about a particular issue or law; the
structure of the Constitution makes these conflicts inevitable.
It is a terrible mistake to strip one branch of government from its
involvement in evaluating particular laws, and this is so particularly
true when considering the courts whose constitutional and historic role
has been to defend our liberties.
Once court-stripping, this door becomes open, where will it stop?
Will this language be added to legislation on issues of abortion, guns,
prayer, school choice, affirmative action? How about the USA PATRIOT
Act? I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg.
The late Senator Barry Goldwater, a stalwart conservative, said about
previous court-stripping attempts in this Congress that it is a frontal
assault on the independence of Federal courts and a dangerous blow to
the foundations of a free society. I urge my colleagues to reject this
unnecessary, unconstitutional and unwise legislation.
Mr. Speaker, today the House is considering legislation that, if it
were to become law, would do grave damage to our Republic. I strongly
oppose H.R. 3313 and urge all members to vote against this legislation.
I urge the members in the majority to reconsider this extreme and
radical approach to addressing the issue of same sex marriage and their
concerns about so-called judicial activism. In fact, ``court
stripping'' is a bad idea in any form. The consequences of enacting
H.R. 3313 far exceed the stated objective of the majority and would
seriously undermine the faith of the American people in this Congress,
in the courts, in the principle of separation of powers, and in the
notion of checks and balances.
When writing the Constitution, the founders wisely decided that the
best way to secure our freedom and liberties was to establish 3 co-
equal branches of government--the Congress, the Executive and the
Supreme Court. These 3 branches of government have different but
overlapping authorities to ensure that each branch is subject to checks
and balances. Not only will there be times that they will be in
disagreement about a particular issue or law, the structure of the
Constitution makes these conflicts inevitable.
In my home State of Wisconsin, our State university, the University
of Wisconsin, dedicates itself to the proposition that through
``continual and fearless sifting and winnowing'' . . . ``the truth can
be found.'' In the context of our laws, this sifting and winnowing
occurs at many points in the process. In Congress, we hold hearings,
markups, and floor votes and we offer amendments, we hold conference
committees and we issue reports. The Executive proposes legislation,
engages in public debate, signs and vetoes legislation. The Court then
interprets, evaluates, settles disputes and invalidates laws based on
bedrock principles enshrined in our Constitution. Yes, this process
can be slow, frustrating, and messy at times. But, it is through the
process, which includes the court, that we sift and winnow our laws to
improve them and ensure they are fair and just for all Americans.
It is a terrible mistake to try to strip one branch of government
from its involvement in evaluating particular laws. This is
particularly true when considering the courts, whose constitutional and
historic role is to defend our liberties.
Fortunately for our citizens, it is my belief that H.R. 3313 is
unconstitutional and, if it ever becomes law, will ultimately be
invalidated. However, we should defeat this bill today, no matter what.
Mr. Speaker, during the Judiciary subcommittee on the constitution's
hearing on this issue on June 24, the majority and minority each
invited legal scholars to address the questions: ``Can Congress do
this?'' and ``Should Congress do this?'' On the former question, the 2
witnesses disagreed, although even the majority witness, Professor
Martin H. Redish of Northwestern University, noted that ``Congress
quite clearly may not revoke or confine Federal jurisdiction in a
discriminatory manner.'' But on the latter question, ``Should Congress
do this?'' the legal scholars agreed that we should not.
Let me quote Professor Redish's testimony on this question because
it is compelling: ``I firmly believe that Congress should choose to
exercise this power virtually never.'' There has long existed a
delicate balance between the authority of the Federal judiciary and
Congress, and the exclusion of substantively selective authority from
all Federal courts seriously threatens that balance.''
Once the ``court stripping'' door is open, where will it stop? Will
this language be added to legislation on the issue of abortion, guns,
prayer, school choice, affirmative action? How about the USA PATRIOT
Act? I suspect that this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Like the FMA, the Marriage Protection Act is not needed. DOMA remains
the law of the land and its constitutionality has not been successfully
challenged in any United States court. Congress must tread lightly when
trying to modify the important doctrine of separation of powers that is
the basis for our government. The late Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-AZ), a
stalwart conservative, said about previous court stripping attempts
that ``frontal assault on the independence of the Federal courts is a
dangerous blow to the foundations of a free society.'' I urge you to
reject this unnecessary, unconstitutional and unwise legislation.
Mr. Speaker, with this bill, we face no less than the specter of a
sign posted on the Federal court house door which reads, ``you may not
defend your constitutional rights in this court, you may not seek equal
protection here, you may not petition your government for redress
here.'' Today, the ``you'' is gay and lesbian American citizens. Who
will it be next?
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, has the time for the minority
expired?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gillmor). The time has expired on the
minority side.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I believe that this debate has
fulfilled the majority leader's admonition that the debate be civil.
There are strongly held positions on both sides of this question, and I
think that both of them have been very well articulated during the
course of this debate.
I firmly believe that this bill is not only constitutional but it is
also wise and necessary to prevent court decisions from further tearing
apart the fabric of our society.
Forty-two years after the Supreme Court decided Marbury v. Madison,
the court in the case of Cary v. Curtis in 1845 upheld the regulation
of the judicial power by the Congress, and I would like to quote from
that decision: ``Dependent for its distribution and organization, and
for the modes of its exercise, entirely upon the action of Congress. To
deny this position would be to elevate the judicial over the
legislative branch of the government, and to give to the Federal
judiciary powers limited by its own discretion merely.''
This bill attempts to limit the power of the Federal judiciary to
export the decision of a divided court in Massachusetts to the other 49
States which do not have laws granting marriage licenses to same-sex
individuals.
The people who have been arguing against this bill, Mr. Speaker, seem
to think that the State courts are second-class courts, but we believe
that they are equally capable of deciding Federal constitutional
questions. Nothing in H.R. 3313 denies the right of a same-sex couple
married in Massachusetts to file a petition in State court to have that
license and that marriage recognized within that State, and the State
courts are perfectly capable of making that determination.
Somehow my colleague from Wisconsin says that this bill slams the
[[Page H6603]]
door of the Federal courthouse to people who wish to exercise their
constitutional rights. Well, I spent a lot of time in Madison as a law
student and as a State legislator, and the current Federal courthouse
is just a few blocks away from the Dane County Courthouse, and there
are judges there that will have all the jurisdiction they need to
adjudicate the claims that the gentlewoman from Wisconsin was talking
about, and those judges I think are perfectly capable of adjudicating
those claims, notwithstanding the lack of confidence on the part of
some of the people who have been arguing against this bill.
The real issue is the issue of marriage, and marriage is the
foundation upon which any civilized society has been based, long before
the United States of America was established and the Constitution was
ratified in 1789.
Marriage is under attack as a result of the 4 to 3 decision of the
supreme judicial court of Massachusetts. This bill does not affect what
Massachusetts does with that decision.
Under this bill, it will be the legislature and the voters and the
judges in Massachusetts, should they change their mind, that will
determine whether that 4 to 3 decision stands; but what this bill will
do is to prevent the export of that Massachusetts decision to the other
49 States that do not allow marriage licenses to be issued to same-sex
couples.
I sincerely doubt that when James Madison wrote the Constitution and
when the legislatures of the 13 States at that time ratified the
Constitution that they ever dreamed that the Federal judiciary would be
used to have a decision that has been made in a single State become
national policy.
The way we prevent that from becoming national policy is by passing
this bill. I urge an ``aye'' vote.
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, this morning's papers carry,
among others, the following stories:
--The New York Times reports that ``The 9/11 Commission is Said to
Sharply Fault Role of Congress''.
--The L.A. Times has a story titled, ``The State Department Seeks
Shift in Iraq Effort''.
--The Sun Sentinel reports that the American death toll in Iraq has
reached 900.
--The Washington Post covers military recruitment, concluding that
the pool of future recruits has dwindled to its lowest level in three
years.
--And, all these papers and others have stories on the poor shape of
the economy and the hardships that the American people are facing.
So, I ask: don't we have better things to deal with two days before
going into recess. Is there any sense of responsibility in this
Republican Congress?
This bill, more than anything else, is about the politics of a
national election. The White House political machine is in full gear,
playing to the lowest denominator to reinvigorate the xenophobic and
intolerant wing of the Republican Party.
Recognizing that they lack the votes to pass the discriminatory
Federal Marriage Amendment, the Republican House leadership is now
focusing on slamming shut federal courthouse doors to gay and lesbian
Americans.
This bill is at its core a bar on redress for violations of
fundamental rights. If Congress by statute can end run the Bill of
Rights, no rights to liberty, due process, or equality under the law
are safe. Further, it would set the terrible precedent of barring
citizens from challenging government infringement of fundamental rights
in federal court.
For more than 200 years the federal judiciary has been a check on
legislative and executive action. By eliminating an entire subject from
the courts' jurisdiction, this legislation threatens to upset the
delicate balance between the branches of the federal government that
has served our nation well. Indeed, passage of this legislation would
represent one of the broadest attacks on the separation of powers in
American history.
Once again, it's proven that the most unpopular and vulnerable
members of society are all too often the first targets of government
repression. But once the federal courthouse door has been slammed shut
to one group, it won't be long before others are similarly excluded.
I am reminded of an incisive quote by Holocaust survivor Ellie
Wiesel. He said,
``They came first for the communists, and I didn't speak up
because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came
for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a protestant. Then they
came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.''
I am here to strongly oppose this legislation.
I can remember of one other group in America that had to wander every
county courthouse in the country to try to vindicate their rights under
the Federal Constitution.
Blacks have experienced the injustice, abuse, and disgrace that the
Republican Party is promoting with this bill. For example, after the
Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision that school
segregation violated the Constitution, racist lawmakers furiously
sought to exempt federal courts from ruling on public education laws.
I became a public servant with the express mission of preventing one
of the worst chapters of American history from repeating itself.
Therefore, I oppose this rule and the underlying bill, and ask--beg--
my colleagues to act responsibly and protect the constitution by voting
no.
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 3313,
the so-called Marriage Protection Act. This bill would expressly forbid
the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, from hearing cases on
a Constitutional matter. That not only sounds absurd to me, but I'm
sure it confuses American Government students across the country who
are learning every day about our system of checks and balances and the
role of the courts in our country.
But this bill not only violates the principle of separation of
powers, it also grossly violates our equal protection and due process
rights. This bill singles out a group of people who simply want to live
in peace with the person they love and denies them access to the courts
in order to fight for equal rights. If we pass this bill, then I wonder
who is next--what group of people is next on the target list for being
singled out and denied rights?
It strikes me that this bill is yet another example of how the
Republican leadership in this country simply changes the rules when
things aren't going their way so that the outcome will shift in their
favor, regardless of the effects on our civil rights. We've seen votes
held open for hours and funding cut off for popular and critical
programs just so the Republican leadership can have their way. And, in
this case, the Republican leadership is willing to go so far as to
change the Constitutional rules and principles that we have lived by
for centuries--the guarantee that any group or individual who feels
their rights have been violated can go to court to seek redress--in
order to protect a law that we passed eight years ago. This is simply
unacceptable, and I urge my colleagues to vote no on H.R. 3313.
Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3313, the so-
called ``Marriage Protection Act.''
I was really tempted to offer an amendment mandating that every
Member of Congress watch ``School House Rock'' before they are allowed
to cast another vote. If you have kids, you are probably familiar with
School House Rock. It is the old, ever-popular kids show that explains
how American government works. It imparts information on basic civics
in fun and easy to understand terms, for example, how there are three
branches of government that provide the check and balances that are the
bedrock of our country.
But then I decided that, although more of my colleagues than I ever
believed possible desperately need this sort of basic primer on
government, it didn't seem fair to waste Members' time, like our time
is being wasted today as we are forced to debate and vote on this
utterly absurd piece of legislation.
Our Founding Fathers established clear separation of powers between
the three branches of government. Rep. Hostettler and the Republican
leadership are trying to dictate to our formerly independent judiciary
what cases it can or cannot consider. This is a court-stripping measure
that could lead to Congress's removal of the courts' jurisdiction any
time a controversial measure might come before the federal bench.
The Hostettler bill would ban any federal court, including the
Supreme Court, from having jurisdiction over challenges to the Defense
of Marriage Act. This would mark a nearly unprecedented effort by one
independent branch of the federal government, the Congress, to limit
the jurisdiction of the judiciary branch.
This is the Republican leadership's last ditch effort to get a vote
on gay marriage in the House to effect the election this fall. We are
considering legislation to pre-empt an action that has not taken place.
The Defense of Marriage Act, which passed in 1996, is not being
challenged. This is a cop out, not a compromise. They know they don't
have the votes on the Federal Marriage Amendment so they are grasping
at straws.
In Federalist Paper 78, Alexander Hamilton defended the need for an
independent judiciary. As the only branch of the federal government not
swayed by campaigning, Hamilton asserted that it was the branch best
able to protect the Constitution from political meddling by the
Congress or the President. He also foresaw just the type of action
being attempted by Republicans in Congress today,
[[Page H6604]]
warning ``. . . there is no liberty, if the power of judging be not
separated from the legislative and executive powers.
If this bill, by some miracle were actually to be signed into law,
and by an even bigger miracle, was not immediately overturned because
of its blatant unconstitutionality, it would be a horrible precedent in
preventing the most basic redress available to the American people.
Imagine bill after bill being passed in Congress, with the same
language tacked on at the end saying that once this law passes it can
never be challenged in the federal courts, including the Supreme Court.
Today the issue is gay marriage, but tomorrow the issue could be
anything.
This bill is incredibly short-sighted and it goes against the very
principles that so many of its supporters purport to honor as public
servants. It really would be laughable if it weren't so scary.
I urge a ``no'' vote on this ridiculous, unconstitutional and frankly
un-American bill.
Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member voted for the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA), P.L. 104-199, which defines marriage as ``a legal
union between one man and one woman as husband and wife'' and a spouse
as ``a person of the opposite sex that is a husband or a wife.'' It
allows each state to determine if it will recognize the same sex
marriages sanctioned by other states. Also, it is this Member's view
that the legal approval of same-sex marriages is not in the public
interest--as contrasted with legislation authorizing civil unions
between two people of the same sex. In short, that means this Member
opposes same-sex marriages and believes that the Massachusetts Supreme
Judicial Court's decision was both ill-advised and harmful.
However, I believe that attempting to strip the jurisdiction of the
U.S. Supreme Court to possibly consider this issue is a rather
extraordinary step that is an unfortunate and even dangerous precedent
for future attempts to justify stripping the jurisdiction of the U.S.
Supreme Court on other controversial societal issues. Therefore, this
Member voted ``no'' on H.R. 3313. The rights of the minority must be
protected from inappropriate use of power by a majority, and the
Supreme Court sometimes is the final protector of the minority;
stripping the court of jurisdiction gradually by legislative action
will disturb the necessary checks and balances established in the U.S.
Constitution.
This Member makes this statement fully acknowledging that judicial
activists in both the Federal Government and state governments
sometimes badly abuse their position as was the case with the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R.
3313, the Marriage Protection Act. This dangerous bill would severely
undermine our constitutional checks and balances and set a precedent
that undermines the independence of the federal judiciary.
Republicans in Congress and the Bush Administration know their
domestic and foreign policies are failing--so they are changing the
subject. The war in Iraq is a quagmire. Our schools under funded. Our
seniors are without the prescription drugs they need and millions of
Americans are without jobs.
Despite the many challenges facing our nation, the Republicans have
chosen to ignore the real needs of the American people. In the process,
they are hijacking our constitutional checks and balances and advancing
an extreme right-wing agenda.
For years, key decisions by the courts on the social issues of the
day, including school prayer, busing, abortion and the Ten
Commandments, have been followed by Republican court-stripping bills to
remove the court's authority to hear challenges to such important
cases. The Marriage Protection Act is just another example of a power
grab that extends Republican control from the White House to Congress
to the federal judiciary.
This attack on the Judicial Branch's authority to hear cases based on
Legislative and Executive actions is in fundamental contrast to the
spirit of our democracy and the U.S. Constitution. Appropriately, most
legal scholars have agreed that even if this bill was to become law, it
would be unconstitutional. The fact that this legislation has advanced
far enough to warrant a vote in the full U.S. House should raise alarm
to the extent the Republican Majority will go to advance their right
wing agenda.
This legislation should be defeated. The House must send a strong
message that we reaffirm our constitutional system of checks and
balances between the three branches of government, and we support the
basic, civil rights of all Americans--regardless of age, gender, race
or sexual orientation. We have a responsibility to protect the
Constitution, not render it unnecessary.
Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, I rise against H.R. 3313, the Marriage
Protection Act, not because I seek to promote gay marriage but because
I believe this bill fails to pass constitutional muster.
Perhaps it is for this reason that Congress has never enacted
legislation to prohibit all federal courts, including the Supreme
Court, from hearing cases on constitutional matters. It is not within
the interest of this institution to begin this practice now. This path
can only lead us towards a slippery slope with no clear end in sight.
I understand there are strong feelings on the issue of gay marriage
on either side of the debate. I, for one, strongly believe in the
sanctity of marriage and that marriage is between one man and one
woman. But what this bill does is preclude even the ultimate arbiter of
the United States legal system, the Supreme Court, from reviewing a
constitutional matter. In fact, under this bill, even those who would
seek to overturn a state's gay marriage law would not be able to appeal
to the Supreme Court.
Certainly, Congress has stripped statutory questions, like tree
cutting, from federal courts. But none of these issues have fallen upon
constitutional grounds. Even the non-partisan Congressional Research
Service maintains that ``We are not aware of any precedent for a law
that would deny the inferior federal courts original jurisdiction or
the Supreme Court of appellate jurisdiction to review the
constitutionality of a law of Congress.''
However, I strongly believe in the concept of ``checks and
balances.'' Rest assured, should a federal court begin to exercise
judicial activism that hijacks the powers of the other two branches, it
is up to those branches of government to check the judicial branch and
bring it back into balance. But this isn't the case here. In fact, one
could question whether or not Congress, with this bill, would encroach
upon the powers of the Supreme Court in having the final say.
As of today, our system of ``checks and balances'' is working. Until
this environment changes or breaks down, the most positive action
Congress can take is to let the system work.
Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I oppose H.R. 3313, legislation which would
prevent our courts from ruling on the constitutionality of the Defense
of Marriage Act.
I value our justice system and place great faith in the ability of
our courts to ensure the laws we pass are constitutional. The bottom
line is, taking the federal courts out of the process by specific
legislation is not an appropriate remedy for any issue.
I am sensitive to my colleagues and constituents who oppose gay
marriage. But we cannot deny Americans the constitutional rights to
which they are entitled and ignore two centuries of judicial precedent,
in order to address an issue that should be decided by the states.
I strongly oppose H.R. 3313 and urge my colleagues to do the same.
Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, in July of 1996, I stood on the House Floor
and spoke in opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act. Eight years
later, here I am again, standing in opposition to another attempt to
divide this nation in an election year and ostracize some of our
citizens. Only this time, we're going even further. This time, we are
considering legislation that would, for the first time in our Nation's
history, seek to exclude a specific group of people from access to the
federal court system.
The fact that we are having this debate at this time is as shameful
as the debate itself. Our Nation faces many pressing and critical
problems: the size of the Federal deficit and its effect on our
international competitiveness; threats from rogue nations and
terrorists; and an intelligence system that is in desperate need of
repair, to name a few. Yet, rather than focusing our energy on
protecting our citizens, Congress is debating of a resolution that
would take away the rights of some Americans.
There are three really good reasons to vote against H.R. 3313. It's
unconstitutional, it discriminates against some Americans, and, for
those of you who supported DOMA, it will muddle the definition of
marriage and undermine the stated intent of DOMA.
Eight years ago, I warned that the Defense of Marriage Act was an
unconstitutional solution in search of a problem. With the measure we
are considering today, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
have out-done themselves. H.R. 3313 is the mother of all
unconstitutional legislation.
The bill strips the U.S. Supreme Court's original jurisdiction over
cases where a state is a party in a DOMA dispute. Original jurisdiction
is conferred on the Supreme Court by the Constitution, not by Congress.
Second, this bill is overtly discriminatory. If it were enacted into
law, Congress would, for the first time in U.S. history, block a
specific group of Americans--same-sex couples and their children--from
having full access to the federal court system. It is unconscionable
that we would even consider legislation to deny ANY American the right
to seek justice through our federal court system.
[[Page H6605]]
Finally, we were told that the intent of DOMA was to preserve the
traditional definition of marriage. Now we are considering legislation
that would make each of the 50 state supreme courts the final authority
on the constitutionality of DOMA. This will create a patchwork of state
laws on the recognition of marriage, and muddle its definition. Those
who support this bill can no longer hide behind the states' rights or
the marriage preservation argument. This measure reveals the clear
intent of its drafters--to deny certain individuals equal treatment
under the law.
I urge my colleagues to stand up and reject this divisive, untimely,
and likely unconstitutional bill.
Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the so-
called Marriage Protection Act (H.R. 3313). This bill, contrary to its
title, has nothing to do with protecting the institution of marriage.
This bill is, in fact, an all-out assault on the U.S. Constitution and
our entire system of government. H.R. 3313 has monumentally perilous
implications for three basic principles of our democracy--equal
protection, due process, and the separation of power between the three
branches of government.
This bill discriminates against one class of people, homosexuals, by
saying they cannot challenge a law in federal court to determine
whether their fundamental rights have been violated. This bill would
enable any future majority in Congress to draft laws that would
discriminate against any class of people or minority group, and which
would then be insulated from a challenge in federal court.
As delineated in the Constitution, the separation of powers doctrine
represents the fundamental principle that our federal government
consists of three basic and distinct functions, each of which must be
exercised by a different branch of government, so as to avoid the
arbitrary or excessive exercise of power by any single ruling body.
Through this structure, the Framers of the Constitution sought to
create an effective, interdependent governmental system which would
limit the power vested in any one branch. H.R. 3313, if enacted, would
undermine our system of checks and balances, which was carefully
crafted by our Founding Fathers to ensure that none of the three arms
of government could encroach upon another, or impose its will
unilaterally upon the public.
One element of the checks and balances system is the principle of
judicial independence, which is so crucial to maintaining our unique
democratic system. The Supreme Court's role (under the 1803 case of
Marbury v. Madison) is as the final authority on the constitutionality
of federal laws. By passing H.R. 3313, Congress would arbitrarily usurp
the Supreme Court's power and rightful purpose by appointing itself as
both maker and arbiter of the law.
In 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sent to Congress a bill
to reorganize the federal judiciary, which was motivated by the
consistent opposition that his New Deal legislation had been
encountering in the lower federal courts and the Supreme Court. By
increasing the number of judges on the Supreme Court, President
Roosevelt hoped to change the balance of opinion of the court.
President Roosevelt's proposal met with fiery opposition in Congress--
even by those who supported his New Deal policies. Simply put, whether
the underlying intent of a legislative initiative is good or bad, if it
subverts the Constitution and destroys the independence of the
judiciary, it should be defeated.
Over the years, notable conservatives have spoken out against similar
court stripping proposals. For example, in 1985, Senator Barry
Goldwater stated, ``What particularly troubles me about [court
stripping proposals] is that I see no limit to the practice. There is
no clear or coherent standard to define why we shall control the Court
in one area but not another. The only criterion seems to be that
whenever a momentary majority can be brought together in disagreement
with a judicial action, it is fitting to control the federal courts.''
Goldwater also said ``those who seek absolute power . . . are simply
demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth,
and let me remind you they are the very ones who always create the most
hellish tyranny. Absolute power does corrupt and those who seek it must
be suspect and must be stopped.''
During the debates on the adoption of the Constitution, its opponents
repeatedly charged that the Constitution as drafted would open the way
to tyranny by the central government, and they demanded a ``bill of
rights'' that would spell out the immunities of individual citizens.
The ten amendments to the Constitution, which were enumerated in 1789,
have since been expanded to include other democratic principles.
The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment prohibits states
from denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of
the laws. The question of whether the equal protection clause has been
violated arises when a state grants a particular class of individuals
the right to engage in activity yet denies other individuals the same
right.
Another fundamental principle which is mentioned in the 5th and 14th
amendments, due process, requires that the procedures by which laws are
applied must be evenhanded, so that individuals are not subjected to
the arbitrary exercise of government power. In his 1961 dissenting
opinion in Poe v. Ullman, Justice Harlan stated, ``[t]he guaranties of
due process, though having their roots in Magna Carta's `per legem
terrae' and considered as procedural safeguards `against executive
usurpation and tyranny,' have in this country `become bulwarks also
against arbitrary legislation.' ''
Indeed, this bill, if enacted, has implications that will haunt this
body and our entire nation for years to come. Our Founding Fathers, by
setting up our government with checks and balances, sought to protect
the future of our democracy from the tyranny of the majority. Thomas
Paine, in ``The Rights of Man'' said ``every age and generation must be
as free to act for itself in all cases as the age and generations which
proceeded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave
is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies. . . . That which
may be thought right and found convenient in one age may be thought
wrong and found inconvenient in another. In such cases, who is to
decide, the living or the dead?''
In earlier days, narrow-minded legislators have advocated court-
stripping to fight policies they opposed, such as desegregation, but
those efforts have always been defeated by sensible, rational
lawmakers. No other Congress has passed a law that totally eliminates
the federal courts' ability to review the constitutionality of a
federal law. I pray that this 108th Congress will not be the first.
Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I oppose this bill because it sets a
dangerous precedent and upsets the delicate balance of power that is
the heart of our Constitutional democracy. For more than 200 years,
America has flourished under the Constitution of 1789 because the
Framers successfully erected a system of checks and balances that
assigned to the courts the task of interpreting the laws. This bill
would upset that balance by intruding on that process and stripping
from the courts the powers set forth by our Founding Fathers.
The implications of this precedent are very serious and go well
beyond the boundaries of the current debate. If Congress passes H.R.
3313, what is to stop this Congress or a future Congress from stripping
the courts of the duty to hear cases involving gun ownership, the death
penalty, property rights, or any other controversial issue? Nothing.
And this dangerous precedent would only encourage Congress to undertake
such meddling. The notion that this Congress, which cannot even pass a
budget or the appropriation bills needed to keep the government
running, has better judgment on Constitutional matters than Thomas
Jefferson, James Madison and John Marshall, is ludicrous.
Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in outraged opposition to H.R. 3313,
the So-Called ``Marriage Protection Act.'' This blatantly
unconstitutional piece of legislation speaks volumes about the
uncontrollable homophobia of the Republican Party and its desperation
to change the subject from the quagmire in Iraq.
The Republicans' fear of the Federal courts is somewhat surprising.
The Supreme Court, after all, despite occasionally tempering the
Republicans' hatred of minorities, immigrants, the accused, and others
who have the gall to insist on their Constitutional rights, has been
pretty good to the Republican Party. It gave them the President they
wanted and has given them great leeway to run roughshod over the
environment and the disabled in the name of States' rights.
Most legal experts agree that this Court would likely uphold the
Defense of Marriage Act, and yet the Republicans would rather set a
new, frightening precedent of letting 50 different State courts be the
final arbiters of our laws. They prefer that State judges, rather than
Federal judges confirmed by the Senate, make Constitutional law.
Thankfully, the right wing wasn't in control of the Republican Party
back when desegregation and Miranda warnings were before the courts, as
there were court-stripping proposals on those subjects, too. They would
never think of passing a bill today barring African Americans from
seeking the protection of Federal courts, but sadly, gay and lesbian
Americans incur their wrath over everything from the breakdown of the
family to the continued inability of the Red Sox to win the World
Series. Their delusion would be funny if it weren't so reckless and
harmful.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is all about re-directing blame. Everyone here
realizes that if Congress could just pass whatever laws it wanted and
throw in a line to keep them from being held unconstitutional, our
Constitution and our Separation of Powers would be rendered
meaningless. So let's just admit what this is really about: changing
the subject from Iraq and attacking defenseless Americans.
[[Page H6606]]
Shame on any Member of this body who will trample on our Constitution
just to score a few political points. If the Oath we all took to
``support and defend the Constitution of the United States'' means
anything to you, you will ``No'' on this election-year ploy.
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, it is a cliche to say that there
is no perfect legislation. But, to use another cliche, this bill seems
to be an exception that proves that rule--because it is not only
perfectly unnecessary but also a perfectly bad idea.
The bill seeks to prevent any Federal court--including the U.S.
Supreme Court--from deciding ``any question pertaining to the
interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution'' of the part
of the ``Defense of Marriage Act'' (DOMA) that says no State is
required to give legal recognition to a same-sex relationship that is
treated as a marriage under the laws of any other State. It also is
intended to prevent any Federal court review of the constitutionality
of this bill itself.
That would mean that the State courts alone would have the power and
responsibility for interpreting two Federal laws. I cannot support
that.
My opposition does not mean I think State court judges are not
qualified to decide such questions. I have very high regard for their
ability and for the vital role that the States and their courts play in
our Federal system.
But I have an even higher regard for the fact that each State is a
part of a greater whole--of the United States--which make up one
nation, based on the principles of ``liberty and justice for all,'' in
the words of the Pledge of Allegiance.
And this bill directly attacks that national unity, seeking to
replace it with a system in which each of the 50 State supreme courts
would be the final authority on important questions involving relations
between the States and between the Legislative and Judicial branches of
the Federal Government.
This is not only unnecessary--no court, State or Federal, has ruled
on DOMA--but both possibly unconstitutional and definitely dangerous.
I say possibly unconstitutional because the Judiciary Committee's
report and today's debate show there are strong disagreements about the
constitutionality of the bill, even among Members with much greater
legal expertise than I can claim.
But while its constitutionality seems doubtful at best, I have no
doubt about the bill's dangers and I am convinced that whether or not
it is constitutional, it should be rejected.
In reaching that conclusion, I find myself in agreement with our
former colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, Bob Barr.
In a letter of July 19th, Mr. Barr notes the potential for the
``chaotic result'' of ``50 different interpretations reached by State
supreme courts, with no possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court reversing
any incorrect interpretation'' of the Federal laws involved.
But he then goes on to say that the ``principal problem'' with the
bill is even worse: ``H.R. 3313 will needlessly set a dangerous
precedent for future Congresses that might want to protect
unconstitutional legislation from judicial review. . . . The
fundamental protections afforded by the Constitution would be rendered
meaningless if others follow the path set by H.R. 3313.''
I completely agree with than analysis. And Mr. Barr and I are not
alone in that view. In more or less the same terms, it is echoed by
many others, including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the
Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Legal Momentum,
and the Human Rights Campaign.
Of course, this bill does have its supporters, and in fact may
attract a majority when we vote today. But if today there is a majority
for putting DOMA beyond Federal judicial review, tomorrow there may be
a different majority with a different idea of what legislation should
be given such status.
Will tomorrow's majority want to protect future gun-control laws from
the judges who struck down the Gun-Free School Zones Act? Or will they
want to prohibit the Federal courts from ruling on such matters as
State immunity from certain lawsuits? Or might they seek to reverse Roe
v. Wade or some other Supreme Court decision by passing a new law and
prohibiting the courts from reviewing it?
None of us can know the answers to those questions, because nobody
knows what the future holds. But I am convinced that what we do today
could shape the future in ways that could undermine the checks of the
balances of the constitution and thus weaken the restraints on
legislative power that protect the liberties of all Americans.
And because I think it would be profoundly unwise to risk so much on
such a radical experiment, I will vote against this bill.
Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, marriage goes to the
heart of our families and our society. My home State of South Carolina
is one of at least 42 States that have laws on the books defining
marriage as the union of a man and a woman. These laws were passed by
the State legislature; those elected to represent the views of their
constituents. My constituents contact me on a daily basis about this
one issue more than any other issue. They want me to ensure marriage
between a man and a woman is preserved.
Yet some in this country, elected by no one, believe they have the
right to supercede the wishes of my constituents and the constituents
of other members here today.
I respectfully disagree. I believe the only way to ensure court
action does not override State law is for the House and Senate to take
action. I thank Mr. Hostettler for bringing this legislation to the
floor of the people's house for debate, it is time we, as elected
officials, have an opportunity to give a voice to our constituents'
concerns.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in the House to vote in favor of
H.R. 3313, the Marriage Protection Act and protect the sanctity of
marriage.
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong opposition to H.R.
3313, the so-called ``Marriage Protection Act,'' a misnomer that would
make George Orwell smile. The fact is, just like the Federal Marriage
Amendment, this Court Stripping bill is unnecessary, unwise, and serves
as little more than a distraction from the many urgent matters facing
our Nation.
Like the Federal Marriage Amendment, the Court Stripping bill is not
needed. The Defense of Marriage Act remains the law of the land and its
Constitutionality has not been overturned in any United States court.
Furthermore, H.R. 3313 is a grave threat to the protection and
enforcement of civil rights laws, and will erase decades of social
progress all in the name of ``marriage protection.''
Historically, the judicial branch has often been the sole protector
of the rights of minority groups against the will of the popular
majority. Cases such as Brown v. Board of Education come to mind. The
Court Stripping bill would deny the courts the ability to hear
challenges to a legislation by a specific minority group, in this case
gays and lesbians, thus creating a slippery slope where any law could
be subject to ``courtstripping.''
This is a serious challenge to our fundamental system of checks and
balances. The Court Stripping bill is the first, and undoubtably NOT
the last, effort by the Republican Congress to hamstring an independent
Federal judiciary. This reckless bill would take away even the Supreme
Court's authority to decide on a Federal law.
Those who are advocating the Court Stripping bill today use the
argument of ``judicial activism'' in Massachusetts and other States as
a justification. Make no mistake about it, these same arguments were
also advanced by defenders of segregation in the South in response to
the Brown v. Board of Education decision and other decisions such as
Loving v. Virginia that invalidated State anti-miscegenation law.
There are so many issues that this Republican-controlled Congress has
failed to address. We don't have a budget. We haven't passed all of our
appropriations bills we are engaged in, with no end in sight, and our
economy has failed to generate the jobs necessary to keep the GDP
growing. Meanwhile, this Republican Congress is taking up a divisive,
discriminatory, and completely unnecessary legislation just to appeal
to their far right base and to drive a wedge into this upcoming
election. It is cynical and simply dead wrong.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in rejecting this
hateful, unconstitutional, and discriminatory legislation.
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3313, the
Marriage Protection Act, introduced by my good friend and fellow
Hoosier Mr. Hostettler.
In recent years, judicial activism has continued to attack the
traditions that have defined this Nation--our pledge of allegiance
declared unconstitutional--and now it seems that marriage is its next
target.
In 1996, Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act by a wide margin
in this Chamber and in the other body. I cosponsored the Defense of
Marrige Act. It was necessary to pass the Defense of Marrige Act to
preserve the States their ability to decide for themselves how marriage
is to be constituted within their respective borders. To remind this
body of the definition of federalism seems elementary, but I fear that
a lesson may be needed for those who do not support this legislation.
The Defense of Marrige Act provides that for Fedreal law, marrige
shall mean the union of one man and one woman. It further provides that
the States do not have to recognize alternative unions established in
other States. Since that time, 44 States of our Union have passed laws
that provide that marriage shall consist only of the union of one man
and one woman. My State of Indiana has done so.
Now, traditional marriage is under attack and the ability of States
to protect traditional marriage within their borders is threatened . .
. threatened by the judicial branch.
The Marriage Protection Act, H.R. 3313, is a further step to insure
that States maintain
[[Page H6607]]
the ability to define marriage within their borders and that States are
not forced, against the will of their citizens acting through their
elected State legislatures, to accept the contortions of marriage
legalized in other States. H.R. 3313 would prohibit the lower Federal
courts and the Supreme Court from hearing cases that arise under the
Defense of Marrige Act.
Congress has clear Constitutional authority to establish the
jurisdiction of the lower Federal courts. In Article III, Congress is
given the authority to establish the lower courts and to define the
appellate jurisdiction under the regulation of Congress. This is part
of the checks and balances that our Founding Fathers wove into the
Constitution, to ensure that one branch does not exercise power beyond
its bounds.
It is unfortunate that circumstances have arisen that have created
the need for H.R. 3313. One State in the Nation has declared that
``marriage'' can be applied to relationships other than one man and one
woman; and our fear is that the Federal courts will take the action of
one State court and apply it to all 50 States. H.R. 3313 is insurance
that the action of this State in expanding the definition of marriage
does not have to be recognized in other States unless the people of
that State agree to do so.
I commend the gentleman from Indiana's 8th district for introducing
this legislation and I strongly urge its adoption.
Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to urge my
colleagues to vote against this bill. The Marriage Protection Act would
strip the jurisdiction of Federal courts to hear cases interpreting the
Defense of Marriage Act or the Federal Marriage Statute.
First, this bill is wrong because it will strip Federal courts,
including the Supreme Court, of their ability to hear and review
Constitutional cases, something that Congress has never done in our
history. The courts are an equal branch of our government. Any attempt
to weaken their authority undermines a 200-year precedent and severely
endangers the separation of powers that our government is based on. The
fact that this kind of action has never been undertaken in the history
of this great nation speaks to the absurdity of the bill.
Second, this bill is discriminatory. It singles out one group of
people and tells them their interests won't be heard by the highest
courts in the land This sends a chilling message, not only to the
citizens of this country, but to people all over the world that the
United States is moving backward, not forward on issues of civil
rights.
Mr. Speaker, no legal crisis exists. This bill is all about politics
. . . driving a wedge between people on the eve of party conventions
and a national election. It's not only cynical, it's a disservice to
the people we represent. What we do with this issue will be forever
remembered. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill. by casting a no
vote, we say no to discrimination and state our unwillingness to upset
the balance of the equal branches of government.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3313, the so-
called Marriage Protection Act. I believe Congress should be focused on
supporting American troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, helping
the eight million Americans who are looking for jobs, and passing a
budget laying out our priorities for fiscal year 2005. Instead, we are
debating a bill that fails to address the issues that are of the most
importance to our citizens and that is blatantly unconstitutional.
H.R. 3313 would strip the Federal courts, including the Supreme
Court, of jurisdiction over any cases dealing with the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA). This would lead to a patch-work of different
decisions from various States which would prove to be unmanageable.
Furthermore, it would establish a ridiculous precedent. Whenever
Congress passes a law, it could merely insert comparable language
prohibiting Federal courts from ever reviewing that legislation to
ensure it complies with the United States Constitution. In effect, this
bill places the actions of Congress above the law. Clearly, this is not
what our Founders intended when they established the separation of
powers that has worked well for over 200 years.
This bill is unconstitutional in three ways: it violates the
principle of equal protection by depriving a group of people of their
right to their day in court; it is inconsistent with the due process
clause which demands an independent judicial forum capable of
determining Federal constitutional rights; and it violates the concept
of separation of powers, so crucial to our system of governance.
Grammar school students in my home state of Wisconsin could tell you
that the American system of government finds its strength from our
system of checks and balances, a concept that was bold and
revolutionary when the Constitution was written over 200 years ago and
is now embraced by countries around the world. It is this system that
keeps the presidency from becoming a dictatorship, the court from
becoming an oligarchy, and members of Congress from becoming despots.
If we strip the Federal courts of their seminal role in our process of
law, we will have rejected the work of James Madison and the other
Founding Fathers who wrote the document that is the oldest written
constitution in the world still in effect. Furthermore, it jeopardizes
all the rights guaranteed in our Constitution, especially the Bill of
Rights. It would also allow a future Congress, that may not like gun
ownership in our country, to prohibit gun ownership and then strip
Federal courts from the ability to review the law to see if it complies
with the Second Amendment.
I cannot vote for a bill that would blatantly reject the
Constitution, a document which I swore to uphold upon entering
Congress. Regardless of our views on particular issues, I believe that
each of us in the House of Representatives should respect the Federal
courts as an equal branch of government, and I urge my colleagues to
reject this bill.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the drastic
and shortsighted measure to strip courts of their authority to review
the Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. This is a very
clear and easy vote for me, but in no way does that make it
insignificant. To the contrary, this is the most important civil rights
vote of the year. Congress has not passed a federal court stripping
measure since 1868, though it has been attempted on nearly every hot
button issue in the past 50 years (prompted by Brown v. Board, Roe v.
Wade, Loving v. Virginia, and others), always with the premise of the
need to ``limit activist judges.''
Republicans are trying to undermine the legitimacy of these justices
because they are not elected. The founders deliberately created an
unelected body that would not have to make the political calculations
that the President and Members of Congress need to consider in our
controversial decisions. Justices are, by design, removed from the
political or electoral process to serve lifetime appointments where
they can make independent decisions. Naturally, these decisions often
come before the public is quite ready for them. Such was the case with
the prohibition of interracial marriage. In 1967, the Supreme Court
stated that such a prohibition would ``deprive . . . liberty without
due process of law in violation of the Due Process Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment. The freedom to marry has long been recognized as
one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of
happiness by free men.'' We now look back on the prohibition of
interracial marriage as abhorrent and appreciate the court's decision
in Loving v. Virginia in helping us reach this realization.
This bill is not about marriage, as the title claims. This bill is
about denying a day in court for an entire class of Americans. This is
a question of fairness, equality, and social justice. We cannot, in the
interest of fairness to all, exclude selected groups of Americans from
enjoying equal protection under the law. Furthermore, court stripping
is blatantly unconstitutional. It violates the separation of powers,
due process, and equal protection clauses in our Constitution.
If you think this is an easy vote because it will never pass
constitutional muster to become law, I remind you of the oath we all
took the day we were sworn into office. Every single one of us has
sworn to ``protect and defend the Constitution of the United States
against all enemies, foreign and domestic.'' A vote in favor of this
bill is an attack on the very document that we have sworn to defend.
This body is not at liberty to pick and choose which of the laws we
pass should be subject to judicial review. The founders created three
equal branches of government, a true system of checks and balances that
has served us well for over 200 years. The power of one should not
outweigh the other or the system will be fundamentally undermined.
I urge my colleagues to vote against this measure to condone
discrimination, undermine the Constitution, and disrupt the democratic
process.
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to strongly oppose
H.R. 3313, the so-called ``Marriage Protection Act.'' There is nothing
in this bill that will provide protection to us or to the institution
of marriage. On the contrary, this bill will create an extremely
dangerous precedent in our legislative system and could cause
inculculable harm.
When I was sworn in as a member of this House, I promised to uphold
the Constitution of the United States. Every member of this body made
the same promise. The Majority's push for passage of this bill sadly
signals a step back from that promise and further calls into question
the true motivations of the bill's supporters.
The unconstitutionality of this bill is quite clear. The 14th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, ``No state shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person
of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.''
By
[[Page H6608]]
denying Americans who wish to challenge the Defense of Marriage Act
their day in federal court, H.R. 3313 blatantly violates this equal
protection clause. The bill singles out a specific group of Americans
and tells them that they cannot have their day in court, thereby
denying them due process.
Moreover, this bill violates the separation of powers. Our democracy
is reliant upon an independent judiciary, and judicial review is a
crucial part of our system of checks and balances. By adding a clause
to a bill stipulating that cases against it must not be heard by
federal courts as H.R. 3313 does, we are overreaching our powers to
legislate.
If this bill passes the House today, I ask the leaders in the
Majority: What's next? If we enact a bill into law saying that Defense
of Marriage Act cases cannot be heard in federal courts, where do we
stop? School prayer, gun control, abortion, obscenity--shall we say
that none of these issues may be heard in federal court? What issue or
group of people will be next?
Broad opposition to this bill from my constituents and colleagues
gives me hope that this bill may not make its way to the President's
desk. Those opposed include the Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights
Under Law, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, the
Alliance for Justice, and even former Representative Bob Barr, the
original sponsor of the Defense of Marriage Act. These groups represent
only a small portion of those firmly opposed to this bill.
The fact is, this debate is not about supporting or opposing gay
marriage. Rather, it is about the cost of passing a bill that would
result in the revocation of constitutional rights for certain
Americans. This bill is a drastic, misguided piece of legislation with
strictly political aims, and if this bill passes, it will be a tragic
day for democracy. I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle to vote against this bill, and to preserve the constitutional
rights of all Americans.
Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the so-called
Marriage Protection Act, which has nothing to do with protecting
marriage.
This bill is nothing more than the latest Republican attempt to
divide Americans and distract us from issues that people care about. It
is about singling out one group of Americans for unequal justice under
law.
Constitutionally, this bill is a non-starter. The Constitution
established an independent judiciary to protect every citizen's rights
and to check the power of Congress and the executive. Courts exist to
protect the rights of all Americans, even those who are often
disenfranchised and marginalized.
Unable to amend the Constitution to their liking, the Republican
majority is now waging an unprecedented assault on the independence of
the judiciary and the separation of powers in our government. If
Congress strips the courts of jurisdiction over the Defense of Marriage
Act, there is no telling what other issues will be subject to court
stripping.
All of us in Congress took an oath to defend the Constitution. This
bill is an attack on our most basic constitutional principles--and just
as important, a mean-spirited attack on our country's values of
fairness, tolerance, and equality.
Earlier this week, the Speaker asserted that Congress doesn't have
time this year to implement the recommendations of the 9/11
Commission--urgent measures to protect our security. So why are we here
today using our time to divide people for political reasons? Let's
reject this cynical political ploy and move on to the real business of
the American people.
Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, in July of 1996, I stood on the House Floor
and spoke in opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act. Eight years
later, here I am again, standing in opposition to another attempt to
divide this nation in an election year and ostracize some of our
citizens. Only this time, we're going even further. This time, we are
considering legislation that would, for the first time in our Nation's
history, seek to exclude a specific group of people from access to the
federal court system.
The fact that we are having this debate at this time is as shameful
as the debate itself. Our Nation faces many pressing and critical
problems: the size of the Federal deficit and its effect on our
international competitiveness; threats from rogue nations and
terrorists; and an intelligence system that is in desperate need of
repair, to name a few. Yet, rather than focusing our energy on
protecting our citizens, Congress is debating of a resolution that
would take away the rights of some Americans.
There are three really good reasons to vote against H.R. 3313. It's
unconstitutional, it discriminates against some Americans, and, for
those of you who supported DOMA, it will muddle the definition of
marriage and undermine the stated intent of DOMA.
Eight years ago, I warned that the Defense of Marriage Act was an
unconstitutional solution in search of a problem. With the measure we
are considering today, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
have out-done themselves. H.R. 3313 is the mother of all
unconstitutional legislation.
The bill strips the U.S. Supreme Court's original jurisdiction over
cases where a state is a party in a DOMA dispute. Original jurisdiction
is conferred on the Supreme Court by the Constitution, not by Congress.
Second, this bill is overtly discriminatory. If it were enacted into
law, Congress would, for the first time in U.S. history, block a
specific group of Americans--same sex couples and their children--from
having full access to the federal court system. It is unconscionable
that we would even consider legislation to deny ANY American the right
to seek justice through our federal court system.
Finally, we were told that the intent of DOMA was to preserve the
traditional definition of marriage. Now we are considering legislation
that would make each of the 50 state supreme courts the final authority
on the constitutionality of DOMA. This will create a patchwork of state
laws on the recognition of marriage, and muddle its definition. Those
who support this bill can no longer hide behind the states' rights or
the marriage preservation arguments. This measure reveals the clear
intent of its drafters--to deny certain individuals equal treatment
under the law.
I urge my colleagues to stand up and reject this divisive, untimely,
and likely unconstitutional bill.
Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
H.R. 3313, the Marriage Protection Act. You know it's sad that we're
even having this debate. However we are being forced to. Marriage and
the American family are under attack by activist groups and they're
using wayward judges to chip away at this sacred institution. For the
sake of our country, Congress must respond.
This bill would prevent federal courts from forcing states like
Texas to recognize same-sex marriages licensed in another state.
Well in Texas, the people have spoken. We have a Defense of Marriage
Act on the books. The lone star state only recognizes marriage between
a man and a woman, regardless of what other states might do.
However, in light of recent events in Massachusetts and elsewhere,
it has become necessary to ensure that the will of the people of Texas
isn't circumvented by some unelected judge. And one of the remedies to
abuses by federal judges lies in Congress' authority to limit federal
court jurisdiction.
Congress shouldn't be afraid to properly exercise checks and
balances provided for in the Constitution. It is our responsibility to
prevent overreaching by the courts. We've got to reign in these zealous
judges who think they can legislate.
Back home we have a popular slogan, ``Don't mess with Texas.'' Well
I've got one for this debate, ``Don't mess with marriage!''
Mr. MORAN of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the
so-called ``Marriage Protection Act.''
How marriage is being protected by keeping committed gay and lesbian
couples from getting married does not make sense to me. Will it
strengthen heterosexual relationships? Reduce promiscuity and unwed
pregnancy? Instruct people on the importance of communication to a
successful relationship?
No, it would do none of these things.
What it would do is take away Americans right to Due Process and
represent a radical departure from our Constitutional and legal
tradition in an effort to single out a specific group of American
citizens for discrimination. This bill would strip our federal court
system of its independence, setting a dangerous precedent and
threatening the underpinnings of our free and democratic society.
The Marriage Protection Act precludes federal courts from reviewing
the constitutionality of the cross-state recognition section of ``the
Defense of Marriage Act.''
The result of this legislation would be that if DOMA is challenged,
the 50 State Supreme Courts would each issue a separate and final
ruling on the cross-state recognition section of DOMA. The Supreme
Court, whose job is to settle conflicting or contradictory state and
federal court rulings, would have its hands tied, thus thwarting their
ability to resolve the ensuing confusion. What a mess.
If we decide to wall off the federal courts ability to rule on this
issue, where will such actions stop? One can easily foresee a number of
other hot button social issues with which this country is clearly
divided being blocked in a similar fashion from consideration at the
federal level.
Furthermore, we already have sufficient legislation to allow
individual states the ability to retain and structure marriage laws the
way they see fit. While I opposed and continue to oppose the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA) which passed the House back in 1996, this law is
still fully functional and in effect. Since then, it has not been
invalidated by any court anywhere in the country.
[[Page H6609]]
Mr. Speaker, I am troubled that we are wasting floor time to discuss
this issue today. At a time when there are many more pressing matters
needing to be discussed and deserving of debate, we are considering
``The Marriage Protection Act,'' a classic example of an election year
wedge issue designed for maximum political impact. I implore the House
to consider the full implications of this legislation and urge its
defeat.
Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition of the
measure before us, H.R. 3313.
Many of my colleagues on this side of the aisle are lawyers by
training and they have given us an excellent analysis of the legal
problems with this bill.
They have pointed out that by denying the Supreme Court its role as
the final authority on the constitutionality of federal laws, the bill
unnecessarily and unconstitutionally usurps the Supreme Court's power.
Mr. Speaker, I am not a lawyer. I am a teacher by training and even
without the benefit of legal training, I can see the unfairness of this
court stripping bill.
What this bill is trying to do is change the rules of the game, only
in this case the rules we are talking about are fundamental principles
imbedded in our Constitution.
If I were to ask a class of elementary school kids whether they
thought it was fair to change the rules so that a federal law, passed
by Congress and signed by the President did not have to face the
scrutiny of our federal courts--they would all be scratching their
heads. They would ask me, ``what about the idea of checks and
balances?''
If I mentioned this scenario to some Junior High students they would
simply say, ``we see what you are doing, you're rigging the system.''
Teens can be a lot more cynical.
Mr. Speaker, this is not a matter of protecting marriage, it's about
protecting the sanctity of separation of powers--and you don't have to
be a lawyer to see that.
Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I take very seriously my oath of office to
the U.S. House of Representatives.
In it, I swear to ``always protect and defend the Constitution of the
United States . . . so help me God.''
I will be doing just that when I vote against H.R. 3313. This bill,
which strips the courts of their right--and obligation--to hear
challenges to federal law, is a direct attack on our U.S. Constitution.
I have long been a supporter of the Defense of Marriage Act that
Congress passed in 1996.-I believe that marriage should be defined as a
union between a man and woman.
Despite my support for DOMA--we cannot as Members of Congress,
knowingly vote for legislation that undermines the clearly stated
separation of powers between the three branches of government as
outlined in the Constitution. This separation of power between the
legislative, executive and judicial branches serves as the foundation
of our democracy and our system of government.
If we fail today to ``support and defend'' the Constitution, what's
next? This legislation sets a terrible precedent!
Will Congress prevent the federal courts, including the Supreme
Court, from interpreting civil rights, worker or religious rights laws?
Will the courts next be blocked from reviewing actions of the executive
branch?
Do we really want to head in a direction where the Constitution and
courts reflect only on the political views of the political party that
controls the U.S. House, Senate and the Presidency?
I will not use my constituents' vote in the U.S. House of
Representatives to undermine our Constitution for blatant election-year
politics. And election-year politics is the only reason why this
misguided legislation is on the floor. It is truly shameful, as this
legislation undermines the integrity and the moral authority of this
legislative body to the American people.
Vote ``no'' on H.R. 3313.
Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 3313, The Marriage
Protection Act. This bill prevents unelected, lifetime-appointed
federal judges from striking down the provision of the Defense of
Marriage Act. The Defense of Marriage Act overwhelmingly passed in the
House and the Senate and was signed into law by President Clinton in
1996.
H.R. 3313 simply provides that cases involving the section of Defense
of Marriage Act--that protects states' rights--must be brought in state
court. This brings valuable protection to the states and ensures that
one state does not have to recognize a same sex marriage granted by
another state.
It also keeps federal courts from forcing states to recognize same-
sex marriages that other states, such as Massachusetts, have legalized.
This bill is a good first step, but what is ultimately needed in
order to protect time-honored, traditional marriage is an Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to pass this
amendment last week. That vote was 48 to 50, with Senators John Kerry
and John Edwards failing to vote. It fell short of the number needed to
ensure passage so that the American people could consider a
Constitutional Amendment.
My constituents in Florida, and the majority of the American people,
do not agree with a hand full of activist judges and courts that are
redefining marriage in America. They do not agree with the demands of
four unelected members of Massachusetts State Supreme Court who have
overturned the laws of the State of Massachusetts and sanctioned same
sex marriages.
A family headed by a mother and a father has been a basic building
block of society for thousands of years, and it is imperative that its
integrity be successfully protected from those who wish to re-define
marriage by trying to equate other relationships to that of traditional
marriage between one man and one woman.
Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 3313.
Mr. PAUL. Mr. Speaker, as an original cosponsor of the Marriage
Protection Act (H.R. 3313), I urge all my colleagues to support this
bill. H.R. 3313 ensures federal courts will not undermine any state's
laws regulating marriage by forcing a state to recognize same-sex
marriage licenses issued in another state. The Marriage Protection Act
thus ensures that the authority to regulate marriage remains with
individual states and communities, which is what the drafters of the
Constitution intended.
The practice of judicial activism--legislating from the bench--is now
standard procedure for many federal judges. They dismiss the doctrine
of strict construction as outdated and, instead, treat the Constitution
as fluid and malleable to create a desired outcome in any given case.
For judges who see themselves as social activists, their vision of
justice is more important than the letter of the law they are sworn to
interpret and uphold. With the federal judiciary focused more on
promoting a social agenda than on upholding the rule of law, Americans
find themselves increasingly governed by judges they did not elect and
cannot remove from office.
Consider the Lawrence case decided by the Supreme Court last June.
The Court determined that Texas has no right to establish its own
standards for private sexual conduct, because these laws violated the
court's interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Regardless of the
advisability of such laws, the Constitution does not give the federal
government the authority to overturn these laws. Under the Tenth
Amendment, the State of Texas has the authority to pass laws concerning
social matters, using its own local standards, without federal
interference. But, rather than adhering to the Constitution and
declining jurisdiction over a state matter, the Court decided to
stretch the ``right to privacy'' to justify imposing the justices'
vision on the people of Texas.
Since the Lawrence decision, many Americans have expressed their
concern that the Court may next ``discover'' that state laws defining
marriage violate the Court's wrongheaded interpretation of the
Constitution. After all, some judges may simply view this result as
taking the Lawrence decision to its logical conclusion.
One way federal courts may impose a redefinition of marriage on the
states is by interpreting the full faith and credit clause to require
all states, even those which do not grant legal standing to same-sex
marriages, to treat as valid a same-sex marriage licenses from the few
states which give legal status to such unions as valid. This would have
the practical effect of nullifying state laws defining marriage as
solely between a man and a woman, thus allowing a few states and a
handful of federal judges to create marriage policy for the entire
nation.
In 1996, Congress, exercised its authority under the full faith and
credit clause of Article IV of the United States Constitution by
passing the Defense of Marriage Act that ensured each state could set
its own policy regarding marriage and not be forced to adopt the
marriage policies of another state. Since the full faith and credit
clause grants Congress the clear authority to ``prescribe the effects''
that state documents such as marriage licenses have on other states,
the Defense of Marriage Act is unquestionably constitutional. However,
the lack of respect federal judges show for the plain language of the
Constitution necessitates congressional action to ensure state
officials are not forced to recognize another state's same-sex marriage
licenses because of a flawed judicial interpretation of the full faith
and credit clause. The drafters of the Constitution gave Congress the
power to limit federal jurisdiction to provide a check on out-of-
control federal judges. It is long past time we begin using our
legitimate authority to protect the states and the people from
``judicial tyranny.''
Since the Marriage Protection Act only requires a majority vote in
both houses of Congress and the President's signature to become law, it
is a more practical way to deal with this issue than the time-consuming
process of passing a constitutional amendment. In fact, since the
Defense of Marriage Act overwhelmingly passed both houses, and the
President
[[Page H6610]]
supports protecting state marriage laws from judicial tyranny, there is
no reason why the Marriage Protection Act cannot become law this year.
Some may argue that allowing federal judges to rewrite the definition
of marriage can result in a victory for individual liberty. This claim
is flawed. The best guarantor of true liberty is decentralized
political institutions, while the greatest threat to liberty is
concentrated power. This is why the Constitution carefully limits the
power of the federal government over the states. Allowing federal
judges unfettered discretion to strike down state laws, or force a
state to conform to the laws of another state, in the name of liberty,
leads to centralization and loss of liberty.
While marriage is licensed and otherwise regulated by the states,
government did not create the institution of marriage. In fact, the
institution of marriage most likely pre-dates the institution of
government! Government regulation of marriage is based on state
recognition of the practices and customs formulated by private
individuals interacting in civil society. Many people associate their
wedding day with completing the rituals and other requirements of their
faith, thus being joined in the eyes of their church, not the day they
received their marriage license, thus being joined in the eyes of the
state. Having federal officials, whether judges, bureaucrats, or
congressmen, impose a new definition of marriage on the people is an
act of social engineering profoundly hostile to liberty.
Mr. Speaker, Congress has a constitutional responsibility to stop
rogue federal judges from using a flawed interpretation of the
Constitution to rewrite the laws and traditions governing marriage. I
urge my colleagues to stand against destructive judicial activism and
for marriage by voting for the Marriage Protection Act.
Mr. TERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3313, the
Marriage Protection Act. As a cosponsor of this important legislation,
I thank Chairman Sensenbrenner and the leadership for bringing it to
the House floor.
H.R. 3313 prohibits any federal court, including the Supreme Court,
from hearing challenges to a key provision of the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA), which will preserve the rights of states to not recognize
same-sex unions permitted in other states. I support this limitation of
federal court jurisdiction in this area.
I would like to point out, however, that H.R. 3313 does not address
the current situation in Nebraska.
In 2000, seventy percent (70 percent) of Nebraska voters approved a
state constitutional amendment defining marriage as ``one man, one
woman''--and barring civil unions or domestic partnerships. The ACLU is
currently challenging this amendment in federal district court. In a
preliminary ruling, the federal district judge (Judge Bataillon)
indicated sympathy with the ACLU's claim.
As I understand it, H.R. 3313 would not prevent federal courts from
striking down state provisions, such as the one approved by Nebraska
voters.
For that reason, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution may be
required to further protect state statutes and constitutional
amendments from challenge in the federal courts. While I will vote for
this legislation, it is becoming increasingly clear to me and many of
my colleagues that further action may be required by the Congress to
protect and defend traditional marriage in America.
Mr. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice strong
objections to H.R. 3313, the so called Marriage Protection Act. This
Act prohibits federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United
States, from hearing cases on the constitutionality of provisions of
the Defense of Marriage Act, including those relating to same-sex
marriage licenses.
This bill is phony, and it is a sham. The title of the bill itself is
false advertising. While claiming to ``protect'' marriage, all the bill
does is strip federal courts of jurisdiction so that they cannot even
consider whether laws on same-sex marriages are consistent with our
United States Constitution. For over 200 years, our Constitution has
defined our nation and protected our rights. It is a document of
empowerment, not limitation. But the Republican leadership wants to put
a fence around it and padlock the gate, and they are doing it for
purely political purposes.
The United States Congress should not be in the business of stripping
federal courts of their ability to hear particular cases. Such actions,
if imposed in the 1960's, could have been used to prevent federal
courts from hearing voting rights cases. To limit the power of the
courts like this for purely partisan purposes sets a dangerous
precedent and is simply intolerable. It would undermine the
independence of the judicial branch and run contrary to the vision set
forth by our founding fathers in the Constitution.
Even for people who, like myself, believe that marriage is between a
man and a woman, this measure does nothing to strengthen or protect
those bonds. It seems to me that if a threat exists to marriage, it is
that too many of them fail. For every two marriages that occurred in
the 1990s, one ended in divorce. The stresses on marriages today are
great, but they don't have to do with the jurisdiction of the federal
courts. This bill does nothing to deal with problems like affordable
housing, quality education and training, daycare for young children,
high costs of gasoline, electricity and food, high unemployment rates
and underemployment, and the lack of health care coverage and other
benefits that place severe strains on many families.
Today, the very nature of the typical American family is changing.
Just as families headed by only one adult were rare only a few decades
ago but are common today, non-traditional couples are now a widespread
fact of American society. Nearly 200 Fortune-500 companies and numerous
municipalities and organizations have already recognized this fact on
their own and provide benefits to same sex couples. In addition,
several municipalities have adopted local ordinances prohibiting
discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing and employment.
It is simply unfair to deny law-abiding American citizens the
protections of civil law with respect to taxation, inheritance,
hospital visits and the like, and it is wrong to shackle the federal
courts by preventing them from even considering court cases pertaining
to these matters.
For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to defeat this bill.
Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 3313, which would
prevent federal courts from hearing cases related to provisions of the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that allow states to refuse to recognize
same-sex marriage licenses issued in other jurisdictions.
The Constitution--perhaps the greatest invention in history--has been
the source of our freedom in this great country for more than two
centuries. The framework of government it established has allowed our
diverse people to live together, to balance our various interests, and
to thrive. It has provided each citizen with broad, basic rights.
The judiciary was designed to be the one branch of the federal
government that is not influenced or guided by political forces. This
independent nature enables the judiciary to thoughtfully and
objectively review laws enacted by the legislative branch to ensure
that Federal law is in line with the Constitution. Throughout the
development of our nation, this check has been vital to protecting the
rights of minorities.
The legislation that we are considering today is a political measure
that will threaten this precious system of checks and balances.
Although the Constitution gives Congress the power to limit the
jurisdiction of the Federal judiciary and the appellate jurisdiction of
the Supreme Court, I am certain that the founding fathers did not
intend for Congress to use this power to change the jurisdiction of the
courts over a political issue. This legislation will set a dangerous
precedent that Congress can deny the judicial branch the right to
review specific pieces of legislation simply because Congress is
concerned that the judiciary will find the legislation
unconstitutional. This is a clear misuse of Congressional authority and
it is a misguided attempt to legislate on a controversial social issue.
In addition to undermining the authority of the judiciary, H.R. 3313
would deprive a minority population--gay men and women--of basic
freedoms. This bill would limit their right to due process by barring
individuals from challenging the constitutionality of DOMA. Congress
should not limit an individual's ability to seek redress in the court
system simply because some Members object to the sexual orientation of
others.
And if that is not bad enough, H.R. 3313 would set a pattern that
would cause unimaginable harm. Today its gay men and women, tomorrow
laws dealing with any other area would be exempted for judicial review.
Altering the framework of our government and restricting access to
the courts is not the appropriate way to resolve a divisive political
issue. I urge my colleagues to vote against this legislation.
Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am here today with my
colleagues in support of H.R. 3315, the Marriage Protection Act. I
represent the people of the 3rd Congressional district of North
Carolina, a district that has asked me to support and protect the
sanctity of marriage between man and woman. Let me read just a small
part of a pastoral letter by Bishop Sheridan of Colorado as he explains
the history behind our tradition of marriage: ``Every civilization
known to mankind has understood marriage as the union of a man and a
woman . . . no one can simply redefine marriage to suit a political or
social agenda. Once again, we must be clear about this matter. The
future of our world depends upon the
[[Page H6611]]
strength of the family, the basic unit of our society. The future of
the family depends on the state of marriage.''
Mr. Hostettler's bill will give states their Constitutional right to
protect traditional marriage. No state should be forced to recognize a
same-sex marriage if that state's citizens do not believe in honoring
such a union. I stand with the majority of the people in the 3rd
district, the citizens of North Carolina and indeed the majority of all
Americans when I say that I strongly believe in protecting marriage as
an exclusive union between one man and one woman.
I believe the moral future of a our country is dependent upon the
Judeo-Christian values that make up the foundation of America, and if
America is to survive as a strong nation it must protect those values.
This bill is one way Congress can stands up for traditional American
values.
I close with a quote from Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his
dissent of the 5-4 case of Lawrence v. Texas: ``But persuading one's
fellow citizens is one thing, and imposing one's views in absence of
democratic majority will is something else . . . Today's opinion
dismantles the structure of constitutional law that has permitted a
distinction to be made between heterosexual and homosexual unions,
insofar as formal recognition in marriage is concerned.
Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I staunchly oppose H.R. 3313, the so-called
``Marriage Protection Act.'' This bill is an attack on our
Constitution, an insult to the fundamental freedoms of our society, and
a shameful election year stunt by the Republican party.
Sadly, although its hard to imagine, this bill is even worse than the
proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. While I also oppose that
legislation, and any effort to write discrimination based on sexual
orientation into our laws, this measure presents an even deeper
constitutional crisis. What this bill attempts to do is strip the
federal court system and the Supreme Court of the ability to decide the
constitutionality of a law. Regardless of the issue in question, this
bill is a flagrant attack on the basic separation of powers enumerated
in the constitution and the inherent right of each branch of government
to have full power over its sphere of jurisdiction.
Equally troubling is the purpose of the bill--to single out one
minority group and argue that they do not have the right to be heard in
court on an issue important to them. The idea that the gay and lesbian
community somehow doesn't deserve equal protection under the law is an
affront to the Bill of Rights and its guarantee that all Americans have
a right to due process.
It is no secret that the Bush Administration will stop at nothing to
appeal to its conservative base by discriminating against same-sex
couples. But it is an embarrassment to our democracy that the
Republican party would promote these initiatives as a ploy to distract
from the Administration's far-reaching policy failures. One recent e-
mail newsletter sent on June 7, 2004 by veteran right-wing conservative
Paul Weyrich openly suggested:
``The president has bet the farm on Iraq . . . Given what the
continued killing has done to the president's standing in the polls
this far, it is a lead-pipe cinch that as we lead up to the first days
of November 2004, violence is going to be horrific. . . The only one
alternative to this situation: change the subject. . . Ninety-nine
percent of the president's base will unite behind him if he pushed the
[Federal Marriage] Amendment.''
I opposed the Defense of Marriage Act when it was considered in the
House in 1994. Ten years later, I continue to believe that these
initiatives against gay marriage do nothing to preserve the institution
of marriage, but serve only to fan the flames of intolerance and
prejudice. I urge my colleagues to reject this woefully misguided bill
and its crude objectives.
Mr. CANNON. Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives is acting
well within its Constitutional authority in considering H.R. 3313.
Currently, many state courts including those in Massachusetts have
begun the process of defining marriage through judicial decree. Because
of the Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause, this judicial
activism may be forced upon all the remaining states, including Utah,
undermining the traditional definition of marriage and family.
These and other state and federal courts imperial judges are acting
in an extra-constitutional fashion and assuming the powers of
legislatures.
In Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled
on a 4-3 vote in Goodridge v. Massachusetts Dep't of Health, 798 N.E.
2d 941 (Mass. 2003) that the state's refusal to issue marriage licenses
to same-sex couples violated the state constitution. The court found
that the traditional definition of marriage, the same definition used
throughout history, was evidence of ``invidious'' discrimination. In a
follow-up opinion, these same judges stated the current definition of
marriage in Massachusetts was a ``stain'' on the state constitution and
needed to be ``eradicated''.
On May 17th of this year, the Goodridge decision went into effect and
the state of Massachusetts began issuing same-sex marriage licenses.
This new and expanded definition of marriage opens many more questions
than it answers. What happens if these individuals move to other states
after they are married? What benefits and rights must the new
jurisdiction accommodate and what other obligations will be thrust on a
jurisdiction that does not recognize such unions?
These are difficult and divisive questions, and this is why
representatives elected by the people and not the courts should decide
them. Those opposed to an open and deliberative debate and public votes
by elected legislators have preferred judicial activism instead.
The Defense of Marriage Act, which passed both Houses of Congress and
was signed into law by President Clinton, is central to our debate.
DOMA was passed to prevent one state from imposing its family law
policy on another state. Historically, family law has always been left
to the states. However, scholars on both sides of the ideological aisle
have stated their Constitutional concerns with the language of DOMA. If
DOMA challenges are successful, then one case in one court could
conceivably set social policy for the nation.
When the judicial branch loses its moral compass, it is the
responsibility of the Congress to exert its authority to keep the
judicial branch in check. In this particular circumstance, the Congress
has two options. The first is a Constitutional Amendment. The second is
assertion of its authority in the Constitution under Article III,
Section 2 clause 2 and ``regulate'' the jurisdiction of the federal
courts and make ``exceptions'' to their jurisdiction.
I have reservations about amending the U.S. Constitution. But that
may be our last resort. As President Bush stated, ``If judges insist on
forcing their arbitrary will upon the people, the only alternative left
to the people would be the constitutional process.'' I agree with
President Bush.
We are debating H.R. 3313, which limits the role of federal courts.
This legislation states, ``No court created by an act of Congress shall
have any jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court shall have no appellate
jurisdiction, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the
interpretation of, or the validity under the Constitution of, section
1738C.'' The referenced section relates to the DOMA language allowing
states to opt to not recognize the same-sex marriages of another state.
HR 3313 is simply Congress reaffirming its intent under DOMA and
disallowing judicial review.
Some argue that Congress should not limit the jurisdiction of the
federal courts. I would like to remind them of the provision Senator
Daschle inserted into a Defense Appropriations bill in the 107th
Congress that exempted all forest management projects in the Black
Hills National Forest from any further NEPA requirements, from
administrative appeals, from Endangered Species Act Section 7
consultation procedures, from review by any court, and from court
ordered injunctions. I agreed with Senator Daschle and supported this
legislation not only because it set a precedent for good forest policy,
but also because it is a precedent for Congress's authority to limit
the jurisdiction of the courts.
Chief Justice Marshall inferred in Marbury v. Madison that if the
Supreme Court identifies a conflict between a constitutional provision
and a congressional statute, the Court has the authority to declare the
state unconstitutional. It is clear that Congress has the duty and
responsibility to make sure that no act promulgated by it exceeds the
Constitution.
In this particular case, the Congress is exerting its explicit
authority to limit the jurisdiction of the Courts. This cannot be held
unconstitutional by the federal courts or the Supreme Court because
they cannot hear it. They have no jurisdiction because Congress
withholds jurisdiction. It is the natural check on the courts' power
that the founding fathers built into our system of checks and balances.
I say with all sincerity to those opposed to this legislation, the
spirit of the law is explicit. State family law is for the states to
decide. The Supreme Court in a 2004 decision, Elk Grove Unified School
District v. Newdow, 124 S. Ct. 2301, 2309 (2004) (citing and quoting In
re Burrus, 136 U.S. 586, 593-94 (1890)), reaffirmed this presumption by
stating, ``the whole subject of domestic relations . . . belongs to the
laws of the State and not to the laws of the United States.'' If the
opponents of this legislation deny this reaffirmation of the law, a
Constitutional Amendment to protect the definition of marriage is the
only alternative.
I urge a ``yes'' vote.
Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to House
consideration of H.R. 3313. My opposition to the bill is based on my
belief that when I took my congressional oath to uphold and protect the
United States Constitution
[[Page H6612]]
and the people of America, I pledged to represent and protect all three
branches of government.
H.R. 3313 purports to prohibit the Supreme Court from serving as the
ultimate and final arbiter on legal matters. The legislation is wrongly
inspired because it reflects the arrogance of its crafters who are
engaged in exercising excessive legislative authority. H.R. 3313 seeks
to establish legal precedent that will allow radical ideologues to
preclude the ability of the Supreme Court to hear cases and render
decisions, in an effort to limit the Court's judicial authority. The
consideration of this measure is the initial volley of a frontal
assault on the Constitution.
In my consideration of the bill I have continued to be mindful that I
subscribe to a personal belief that marriage is a sacred relationship
which is directly related to my strong belief in, and support of
children. I also believe that children must be protected and supported
so that they can thrive and replenish the earth. I worry about the
welfare of our children if the Court's authority is eviscerated. If
H.R. 3313 is passed, I am afraid that the Supreme Court will be
stripped of its judicial authority, and ultimately its ability to
fulfill its mandate to render justice.
It is against this backdrop that I oppose H.R. 3313. The legislation
is designed to derail the judicial process and the proponents of the
bill are trying to justify their efforts by contending that they are
trying to stop judicial activism. So I rise in strong opposition to
this bill and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the political
aisle to defeat this measure.
Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to
H.R. 3313. This unwise legislation would circumvent the checks and
balances guaranteed in our Constitution by irreparably altering the
role of the judicial branch of government. ``The Washington Post''
stated in their July 21 editorial: ``This is as wrong as wrong can
be.''
In addition to altering the very foundation of our system of
government, H.R. 3313 attempts to abridge the rights of gays and
lesbians. Federal courts have played an indispensable role in the
enforcement of civil rights laws, often being the sole protector of
minority groups, ensuring they are afforded the freedoms guaranteed to
all Americans. Enacting this bill would weaken the rights of
individuals seeking protection from government through the Federal
courts.
This bill would take away the right to judicial review established
in the landmark Marbury v. Madison case of 1803. The 200 year old legal
precedent set in that case established once and for all that the
Federal courts have authority over Federal laws.
The framers of the Constitution intended the balance of power
between the branches to protect the minority from the tyranny of the
majority. This legislation is not just about same sex marriage, it's
about who we are as a country. I urge my colleagues to oppose this
obstructionist legislation. As members of Congress it is our
responsibility to protect the Constitution that has served us well for
more than 200 years and is a model to the world of a government for and
by the people.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 734, the previous question is ordered on
the bill, as amended.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground
that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum
is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-minute vote on passage of
H.R. 3313 will be followed by 5-minute votes on suspending the rules
and passing H.R. 4056; and suspending the rules and adopting H. Res.
652.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 233,
nays 194, not voting 8, as follows:
[Roll No. 410]
YEAS--233
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Bachus
Baker
Ballenger
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Beauprez
Berry
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonner
Boozman
Boucher
Boyd
Bradley (NH)
Brady (TX)
Brown (SC)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Burgess
Burns
Burr
Burton (IN)
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Carson (OK)
Carter
Chabot
Chandler
Chocola
Coble
Cole
Costello
Cox
Cramer
Crane
Crenshaw
Cubin
Culberson
Cunningham
Davis (TN)
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal (GA)
DeLay
DeMint
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Doolittle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Emerson
Everett
Feeney
Ferguson
Flake
Forbes
Fossella
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gibbons
Gillmor
Gingrey
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Granger
Graves
Green (WI)
Gutknecht
Hall
Harris
Hart
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Hensarling
Herger
Herseth
Hobson
Hoekstra
Holden
Hostettler
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Isakson
Issa
Istook
Jenkins
John
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kline
Knollenberg
LaHood
Latham
LaTourette
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
LoBiondo
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Manzullo
Marshall
Matheson
McCotter
McCrery
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller, Gary
Moran (KS)
Murphy
Musgrave
Myrick
Nethercutt
Neugebauer
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nunes
Nussle
Osborne
Otter
Oxley
Pearce
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pombo
Porter
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Regula
Rehberg
Renzi
Reynolds
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ross
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sandlin
Saxton
Schrock
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Skelton
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Souder
Stearns
Stenholm
Sullivan
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Toomey
Turner (OH)
Turner (TX)
Upton
Vitter
Walden (OR)
Walsh
Wamp
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NAYS--194
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Allen
Andrews
Baca
Baird
Baldwin
Bass
Becerra
Bell
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Biggert
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Bono
Boswell
Brady (PA)
Brown (OH)
Brown, Corrine
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Cardoza
Case
Castle
Clay
Clyburn
Conyers
Cooper
Crowley
Cummings
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutsch
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Dooley (CA)
Doyle
Emanuel
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Foley
Ford
Frank (MA)
Frost
Gephardt
Gerlach
Gilchrest
Gonzalez
Green (TX)
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Hill
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hoeffel
Holt
Honda
Hooley (OR)
Houghton
Hoyer
Inslee
Israel
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, E. B.
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy (RI)
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind
Kleczka
Kolbe
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lipinski
Lofgren
Lynch
Majette
Maloney
Markey
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Michaud
Millender-McDonald
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (VA)
Murtha
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal (MA)
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Ose
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Pomeroy
Price (NC)
Rangel
Reyes
Rodriguez
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sabo
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sanders
Schakowsky
Schiff
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Shays
Sherman
Simmons
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Spratt
Stark
Strickland
Stupak
Tauscher
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Towns
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters
Watson
Watt
Waxman
Weiner
Wexler
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
NOT VOTING--8
Carson (IN)
Collins
Greenwood
Kirk
Kucinich
Lowey
Paul
Quinn
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gillmor) (during the vote). Members
[[Page H6613]]
are reminded that there are 2 minutes remaining in this vote.
{time} 1553
Mr. LEWIS of Georgia changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mr. SANDLIN changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________