In 2011, Republican lawmakers in the House passed a rule requiring any member submitting new legislation to cite specific portions of the U.S. Constitution that authorize Congress to take the action the bill proposes. This was done as part of a promised effort by Republicans to restore and preserve adherence to the Constitution, following several years of inter-party skirmishes over the separation of powers and their limits at the congressional and executive level.
They even implemented the very first reading of the entire Constitution at the opening of the 112th Congress, setting a benchmark for lawmakers and hoping to bring increasing familiarity to the founding document. That exercise was repeated again at the opening of the 113th Congress.
Members of the House, Senate and the President and Vice President are all required to take an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution when being sworn into office. The Constitution and Bill of Rights ARE our nation, enshrining the principles, powers, freedoms, rights and responsibilities that bind us together as a country. People and ideas come and go in America, but this is the only constant that cements us as a nation. So when elected officials take a vow to preserve and protect the integrity of the Constitution, it is incumbent upon them to be familiar with its content and premises, and further still, to subordinate themselves to it….To Read More…..
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