Congress Has a Constitution Problem

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Each of them takes an oath to defend the Constitution, but many House lawmakers either don’t understand the founding document or don’t take its precepts seriously, according to an analysis by The Washington Times that studied the constitutional backing that representatives submitted for each of the more than 3,000 bills they introduced in 2011.

Under rules that the new Republican majority put into place, each House member introducing a bill must cite specific parts of the Constitution that they think grant Congress the authority to take the action they are proposing.

The first year’s worth of action was less than inspiring for adherents of the founding document: Many lawmakers ignored the rule, while others sliced and diced the clauses to justify what they were trying to do. One thumbed his nose at the exercise altogether, saying it’s up to the courts, not Congress, to determine what is constitutional.

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The Washington Times studied 3,764 bills introduced in the first year and found some patterns in the authority statements: The most commonly cited authority was Article I, Section 8, Clause 1, which establishes Congress‘ power to tax and spend “for the common defense and general welfare.” Close behind, however, was the commerce clause — Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 — which has come under fire by many conservatives for being stretched well beyond the Founding Founders’ intent.

Lawmakers cited 70 authorities, including 56 bills under the 10th Amendment, which reserves powers to the states rather than to Congress, and 12 under the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms.

“The thing that jumped out is how many parts of the Constitution members of Congress seem to think grant them legislative authority,” said Doug Kendall, founder of the Constitutional Accountability Center. “I wouldn’t have thought the 10th Amendment, which is about not legislating, or the First Amendment, which says ‘Congress shall make no law,’ would be fertile ground for legislative authority.”

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We have a bunch of people who are illiterate of the Constitution making laws. And we wonder why we are screwed as a country.

I don't think things can turn around until the people get educated.

Quote: steph wrote in post #2

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We have a bunch of people who are illiterate of the Constitution making laws. And we wonder why we are screwed as a country.

I don't think things can turn around until the people get educated.

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The ones who know better are perhaps more dangerous because they don't care about the boundaries of the Constitution. However, we do have some pretty dumb pols in congress.

Quote: steph wrote in post #4

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The ones who know better are perhaps more dangerous because they don't care about the boundaries of the Constitution. However, we do have some pretty dumb pols in congress.

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