A More Perfect Union: What We the People Can Do to Reclaim Our Constitutional Liberties by Ben Carson MD, Candy Carson Page A
Authors: Ben Carson MD, Candy Carson
Tags: nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Retail, Political Science, Politics, Civics & Citizenship, American Government, National, Constitutions
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to document the activities of congressional members as they carry out their sworn duties. Many people are familiar with the
Congressional Record
, which records the activities of Congress so that they can be studied by the public. Additionally, the Senate has the
Senate Journal
, and the House has the
House Journal
. These records can be obtained online.
In order to protect the freedom of the legislators, the Constitution declares that they may not be tried for anythingthey say—barring treason, felony, or breach of peace. This kind of freedom allows them to openly express their opinions without fear of arrest or litigation. Of course, if they are guilty of egregious acts, they will not be protected.
Our legislators also are to be paid, since they must refrain from holding other government jobs while in office. This requirement ensures that senators and representatives will not be distracted by other government jobs. It further prevents them from creating highly paid jobs for themselves at the expense of the taxpayers.
PASSING BILLS
While the rules for legislative procedures set out in section 7 of Article 1 are not many, they are extremely important, and when they are violated, the people suffer. As an example, the only people with the ability to introduce tax bills are members of the House of Representatives. Fortunately, they are elected every other year, which means that the people have an opportunity to monitor their taxing activities and reelect or reject them accordingly. The people would not have the same kind of control if taxation originated in the Senate, where representatives have six years between elections instead of two.
Harry Reid violated this clause when he introduced Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act was defined by the Supreme Court as a tax bill, but it appears to have originated in the Senate. If only our leaders had followed the letter of the Constitution, we might have been spared the frustrations of this ill-advised legislation.
Fortunately, the Constitution provides checks andbalances to Congress’s power of legislation in case of such abuses. For a bill to be passed by either house of Congress, a simple majority of affirmative votes is needed. A bill that is passed by both houses of Congress becomes law only after it has been reviewed and accepted by the president. This provision of our Constitution dramatically demonstrates the enormous power vested in the office of the president of the United States. With a stroke of the pen, the president can affirm or derail the efforts of hundreds of legislators who represent the will of the people. If that will is strong enough, though, Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.
The veto provision exists to preclude the hasty passage of unwise laws, and our founders did not anticipate that its use would be necessary often. 2 But today if a president has an agenda that to him is more important than the will of the people, he is likely to use the veto pen (or at least threaten to use it) on a regular basis. This should serve as a warning to the people that they must carefully watch the actions of such a president and his supporters in Congress. They must be willing to vote out of office all such people who have agendas that are not consistent with the will of the people.
This system of checks and balances works well when the president and the legislators love their country and have its best interests at heart. It works less well when a majority of the officials are more concerned about their own power or that of their political party than they are about the general welfare of the nation. A wise and vigilant electorate will be able to discern which of their representatives are simply political hacks and which ones are truly concerned about the welfare of all of the people.
TAXES
Having learned their lesson from inability of the federal government to raise funds under the Articles of Confederation, the founders
Congressional Record
, which records the activities of Congress so that they can be studied by the public. Additionally, the Senate has the
Senate Journal
, and the House has the
House Journal
. These records can be obtained online.
In order to protect the freedom of the legislators, the Constitution declares that they may not be tried for anythingthey say—barring treason, felony, or breach of peace. This kind of freedom allows them to openly express their opinions without fear of arrest or litigation. Of course, if they are guilty of egregious acts, they will not be protected.
Our legislators also are to be paid, since they must refrain from holding other government jobs while in office. This requirement ensures that senators and representatives will not be distracted by other government jobs. It further prevents them from creating highly paid jobs for themselves at the expense of the taxpayers.
PASSING BILLS
While the rules for legislative procedures set out in section 7 of Article 1 are not many, they are extremely important, and when they are violated, the people suffer. As an example, the only people with the ability to introduce tax bills are members of the House of Representatives. Fortunately, they are elected every other year, which means that the people have an opportunity to monitor their taxing activities and reelect or reject them accordingly. The people would not have the same kind of control if taxation originated in the Senate, where representatives have six years between elections instead of two.
Harry Reid violated this clause when he introduced Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act was defined by the Supreme Court as a tax bill, but it appears to have originated in the Senate. If only our leaders had followed the letter of the Constitution, we might have been spared the frustrations of this ill-advised legislation.
Fortunately, the Constitution provides checks andbalances to Congress’s power of legislation in case of such abuses. For a bill to be passed by either house of Congress, a simple majority of affirmative votes is needed. A bill that is passed by both houses of Congress becomes law only after it has been reviewed and accepted by the president. This provision of our Constitution dramatically demonstrates the enormous power vested in the office of the president of the United States. With a stroke of the pen, the president can affirm or derail the efforts of hundreds of legislators who represent the will of the people. If that will is strong enough, though, Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.
The veto provision exists to preclude the hasty passage of unwise laws, and our founders did not anticipate that its use would be necessary often. 2 But today if a president has an agenda that to him is more important than the will of the people, he is likely to use the veto pen (or at least threaten to use it) on a regular basis. This should serve as a warning to the people that they must carefully watch the actions of such a president and his supporters in Congress. They must be willing to vote out of office all such people who have agendas that are not consistent with the will of the people.
This system of checks and balances works well when the president and the legislators love their country and have its best interests at heart. It works less well when a majority of the officials are more concerned about their own power or that of their political party than they are about the general welfare of the nation. A wise and vigilant electorate will be able to discern which of their representatives are simply political hacks and which ones are truly concerned about the welfare of all of the people.
TAXES
Having learned their lesson from inability of the federal government to raise funds under the Articles of Confederation, the founders
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