March 19, 2010

LANSING - Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox today notified Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi that he has serious concerns about the constitutionality of the "deem & pass" scheme being used to approve controversial health care legislation currently pending before Congress.  Reports indicate that Pelosi will use the controversial parliamentary procedure, also called the Slaughter Rule, to allow Members of Congress to avoid a recorded roll call vote on the Senate version of health care reform.
 

"The foundations of democracy must be protected at all times, even when they appear inconvenient to some," said Cox.  "The use of this maneuver will invite a constitutional challenge, and we will work with Virginia and any other state to make such a challenge."      
 

"It's a disgusting and cynical move for Congress to attempt to hide a vote on such controversial legislation, especially during Sunshine Week," Cox continued.  "President Obama said this week that transparency will "ensure the public's trust in their government," but in this case transparency, and the public's faith in their government, is being tossed out the window."
 

In a letter to Speaker Pelosi today, Cox notes that the "deem and pass" process would invite a constitutional challenge because it violates Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution, which requires that a bill of identical language pass both the House and the Senate before being presented to the President.  This process was further explained in the Supreme Court opinion for Clinton v. City of New York, 524 U.S. 417, 448 (1998). 

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Click here to view letter to Speaker Pelosi