Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Admits Senate-Passed Amnesty Bill Is UnConstitutional

Freedom Outpost ^ | July 12, 2013 | Tim Brown

[EXCH54FE]

Texas Congressman Steve Stockman announced on Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is now refusing to transmit to the House of Representatives the amnesty bill, which the Senate voted on and passed two weeks ago. According to Stockman he believes Reid fears it will be returned to the Senate on a “blue slip” resolution, which he threatened to use to kill the bill in the House.

“Even Harry Reid now admits the Senate’s amnesty bill is unconstitutional and cannot become law. Any bill that raises revenue must start in the House” said Stockman. “By creating their own amnesty taxes Senate Democrats broke the rules. Senate Democrats were so hell-bent on ramming through a gift to radical political activists they didn’t bother to check if it was even legal.”

“They got caught trying to sneak an illegal bill past the Constitution’s borders,” said Stockman.

A blue slip” is a resolution that automatically returns to the Senate any bill that violates the “origination clause” of the United States Constitution. The origination clause states “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.” The name comes from the blue paper the resolution is traditionally printed on.

Blue slip resolutions are immediately considered as a matter of constitutional privilege, are debatable for an hour and are not subject to amendment.

According to Stockman’s press release, “Section 2102 of the amnesty bill requires the payment of certain taxes and forgives the payment of other taxes as a condition of receiving amnesty and other benefits.

[EXCH54FE]

Was the Senate bill a test to see if they can get it through and to put more pressure on Republicans in the House to compromise America’s economy and security to appease Socialist Democrats? Time will tell.

[mosaicwolf]

Sounds like this strategy is what was needed for the OBAMACARE bill. I think this issue is before some court now. This is frankly encouraging news. Amazing what just a few Tea Party sponsored and elected Congressman can do to the entire system.

[Cyman]

What spooked Dirty Harry? He didn't bat an eyelash with a similar bill passed three years ago called Obamacare.

[drypowder]

every damned Senator that voted for this unconstitutional monstrosity needs to be removed. That includes the House critters working to pass this shamnisty bill in the Congress as well (Cantor, Ryan). We have enemies of freedom, liberty and of the American people controlling our government.

[tumblindice]

The house of cards starts to fall.
Let it die, then go after the equally ‘affordable’ Obamacare monster.
And then on to ousting Dingy Harry.

GOP-e: lead, follow or get the he11 out of the way.

[Baynative]

How would they know what's unconstitutional when they don't read what they vote on?

SHAME ON YOU, LAWYER MARCO RUBIO!

(You're all the same, aren't you?)

[Secret Agent Man]

Really, if Reid admits this is unconstitutional because of the revenue issue, Obamacare must be as well, as the senate created that bill and sent it over to the House.

We have SCOTUS ruling Obamacare is a tax. taxes are revenue.

Some may argue that the house took that and inserted it into their own blank bill that was already on the docket, but all the revenue/tax language came verbatim from the senate. Not debateable.

therefore that bill did not originate in the house. it was inserted into a bill that was created just for that purpose, to be gutted and filled with the senate bill’s language.

no matter how you slice it the House didn’t write that bill, the senate bill language was placed into the bill, it didn’t originate inthe House.

If the immigration/amnesty bill is known to be unconstitutional, Obamacare is as well.

I think the dems have just made an incredibly monstrous mistake and have not recognized it yet.

[Will88]

“Even Harry Reid now admits the Senate’s amnesty bill is unconstitutional and cannot become law. Any bill that raises revenue must start in the House” said Stockman."

The article says that Reid hasn't sent the amnesty bill to the House yet, and Stockman says Reid "admits that the bill is unconstitutional". But are there actual statements from Reid saying it's unconstitutional?

[ChildOfThe60s]

The Senate has been pulling this crap for years.

Why has it taken until now for the House to do this?

It wasn’t that long ago that Michelle Bachmann pointed this same thing out about a different Senate bill that screwed the hell out of us. The House leadership told her to shut up, sit down, and then passed the bill.

I am sick of both parties for this constant selective adherence to the law. Republicans are guilty of this also. Blue slip when it suits their purposes, the rest of the time, piss on the Constitution.

Again, this is really just another example of how there is no rule of law in this country. The fact that the House is going along with the illegal delays and manipulations of ObamaCare. And worse, they plan on legitimizing Obama’s illegal actions and add the individual mandate into the delay. Which is the same thing as saying Obama has the authority to do what he’s done.

[Rusty0604]

I had seen discussion of that point, but I didn’t know it had gone to court anywhere.

[Waryone]

I wonder if this is all a trick.

The best thing the House can do is say it will pass nothing on immigration until:

1. the American citizens are given relief from their problems and

2. the President can be trusted to enforce all the laws. Until those two things happen, there will be no new comprehensive immigration laws, no dream acts, nothing that is not designed specifically to help US citizens.

(Of course national defense includes securing the boarders and that does help American citizens.)

[freedomfiter2]

It doesn’t matter if it’s constitutional. No American citizen will have standing to challenge it.

[DustyMoment]

If this is true, it is outrageous!! Why are the American taxpayers forced to pay these shysters to “pass” show-n-tell legislation??

The Congress has done this before and if this is all they have to do is waste OUR money nd OUR time with JUNK legislation - GO HOME!!! Get REAL jobs and try to support your families in the mess you have created!!!!

[Political Junkie Too]

For Obamacare, the Senate took a bill that originated in the House and gutted it via amendment and then amended it again with Obamacare.

I think the original House bill was something about veterans, but I don't recall anymore.

-PJ

[phockthis]

sfl

[Liz]

It is an outrage that the Senate is attempting to foist an unconstitutional law on we, the people....proof-positive that they are prostrate----sucking-up to lawless tribal primitives who know nothing about our laws----and are willing to profit themselves at the expense of US taxpayers.

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Felonies were committed here---using our tax dollars and resources.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

The office where Obama aides were coordinating strategy w/ latino groups to undermine the US Constitution---supposedly "overhauling immigration laws."

Taxpayers demand to know the names and groups colluding and conspiting to undermine US Constitution---to establish slush funds and revenue streams without regard for Us laws. Taxpayers demand prosecutions for using our resources to conspire and to commit felonies.

=========================================================

REFERENCE--“Not only is the Senate amnesty bill an abuse of taxpayers and immigrants, it’s utterly unconstitutional. The Senate cannot invent its own amnesty taxes,” said Cong Stockman (R-TX). “I hope Speaker Boehner will immediately kill the amnesty bill through a constitutionally-required blue slip. As long as the amnesty bill sits in the House it poses a threat to taxpayers and immigrants.”

<><> Several provisions of the Senate amnesty bill create new taxes, a violation of the “origination clause,” Article I, Section 7, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, which states “All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.”

<><> Section 2102 of the amnesty bill requires the payment of certain taxes and forgives the payment of other taxes as a condition of receiving amnesty and other benefits. The Constitution prohibits the Senate from approving bills that raise revenue.

<><> Cong Stockman also points to the Congressional Budget Office, which flatly states “enacting S. 744 would have a wide range of effects on federal revenues, including changes in collections of income and payroll taxes, certain visa fees that are classified as revenues, and various fines and penalties. Taken together, those effects would increase revenues by $459 billion over the 2014-2023 period.” /////Just before the reform procedural vote, Judiciary Committee member Sen Grassley offered a simple amendment to the Judiciary Committee considering voting the immigration bill out of commmittee. "The secretary (of homeland security) may not grant registered provisional immigrant status to an alien under this section unless the alien fully discloses to the secretary all the names and Social Security account numbers that the alien has ever used to obtain employment in the United States," said Grassley's amendment.

Grassley's amendment would not have prohibited illegal aliens from being converted into legal aliens just because they had used names and Social Security numbers that did not belong to them. It would only have required that the illegal aliens make the names and numbers they used known to DHS before they could be granted the right to legally live in the United States.

Grassley said, "Congress should not thumb its nose at the millions of Americans who are victims of identity theft, often perpetrated by an undocumented person who steals Social Security numbers to get jobs, govt benefits, driver's licenses and more. This amendment will simply require the person applying for RPI status to disclose any previously used Social Security numbers," said Grassley. "It's the first step to helping clean up the mess that's been created for the victim of identity theft. The amendment also authorizes certain federal agencies, upon receipt of this information, to notify individuals who were the victims."

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ON RECORD AS AIDING AND AETTING FELONIES Ranking member Sen Schumer dismissed Grassley's proposal. "When people are living in undocumented status, there are times, I suppose, when they've made up identities, made up Social Security numbers," Schumer told his Judiciary Committee colleagues. "How are they going to remember all that, and are we going to delay RPI status? "(The) purpose of this bill is to bring people out of the shadows. We all know when they lived in the shadows, they had to forge documents, forge Social Security numbers, et cetera. I just don't see how, when you've lived here 10 years, and you've had many different identities, many different numbers, you're going to remember them all," said Schumer.

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The Senate Judiciary committee defeated Grassley's amendment 8 to 10 on a party-line vote.

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ACTION ALERT Freepers should mobolize locally--get grand juries to begin indicting these Senators for FAILING TO UPHOLD THE LAW AGAINST FELONIES. A few convictions and imprisonment oughta wake up the treasonous Congress. KEEP IN MIND---those elected to office are held to a higher standard of law than we peons....but have never been held to account.

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Majority members----Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing Room
226 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC:

Patrick Leahy, Dem-Vermont, Chairman
Dianne Feinstein, Dem-California
Chuck Schumer, Dem-New York, ranking member
Dick Durbin, Dem-Illinois
Sheldon Whitehouse, Dem-Rhode Island
Amy Klobuchar, Dem-Minnesota
Al Franken, Dem- Minnesota
Chris Coons,Dem- Delaware
Richard Blumenthal, Dem- Connecticut
Mazie Hirono, Dm-Hawaii

Source: 2013 Congressional Record, Vol. 159, Page S296 to 297

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks EXCH54FE.

A "blue slip" is a resolution that automatically returns to the Senate any bill that violates the "origination clause" of the United States Constitution. The origination clause states "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." The name comes from the blue paper the resolution is traditionally printed on.

[kaehurowing]

Obamacare has the same problem and is being challenged in federal court for this reason by Pacific Legal Foundation.

[Kickass Conservative]

What is this “Constitution” of which they speak?

Haven’t heard of it since January of 2009.