The Republican Debt Ceiling Gambit Is Unconstitutional
House Republicans are backing away from their threat to plunge the
United States into a catastrophic budget default and will instead pursue the somewhat less reckless strategy of passing a three-month increase in
the debt limit. According to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), the bill
will also contain a provision cutting off congressional pay unless both houses
meet a particular milestone: “If the Senate or House fails to pass a budget in
that time, members of Congress will not be paid by the American people for
failing to do their job. No budget, no pay.”
Before Cantor gets too excited about this plan, however, he may
want to familiarize himself with the Twenty-Seventh Amendment to the Constitution:
No law, varying the compensation for the
services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until
an election of Representatives shall have intervened.
There is no election between now and three-months from now, so no
law that would cut off congressional pay can take effect then. The Constitution
is very clear on this point. Indeed, Republicans should have discovered this
fact when House members read the Constitution aloud on the House floor last
Tuesday.
To be sure, it is good news that House Republicans appear to be
realizing that they can no longer hold the fate of the entire world economy
hostage to their narrow agenda. But they aren’t allowed to violate the
Constitution either.
No comments:
Post a Comment