We are not going to make it through the next four years losing our minds every time a new and horrible piece of legislation or regulation comes out. I say this as a person who worked for a conservative group in D.C. during the Obama Administration.
Any member of Congress can introduce a bill with a few caveats (i.e. parliamentarian allows it, etc.) When you see a headline warning about another Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee bill to grab guns, here’s what you need to do.
Take a deep breath and look the bill up.
(GovTrack.us)
Who is the bill’s sponsor? It matters whether the sponsor is someone in leadership versus a member who always files bill but has yet to see any of them get passed.
Has the bill been introduced before? Most bills are introduced multiple times over the years before a few of them complete the process (Think School House Rock.) and actually become a law.
How many co-sponsors does the bill have (i.e. how many members are publicly supporting it)?
Does the bill have a companion bill in the opposite chamber? Basically, is there a House/Senate version?
Take stock of the bill’s chance of becoming law.
It all comes down to whether they have the votes or not. Currently, we are in the minority but the Democrat’s margins are fairly slim so they can’t have many (House) or any (Senate) defections on votes. Just like Republicans are always have to check on the unreliable moderates like Senators Collins, Murkowski, etc., Democrats have to worry about Senators Manchin and Sinema in particular.
At this point, House Democrats can pretty much pass anything even though they have to go through the motions and deal with the procedural obstacles (hearings, committee votes, etc.). The battle is in the Senate where they have get 60 votes to proceed to consideration of a bill (with a few exceptions like the budget reconciliation process which allows them to bypass this requirement) and 51 votes for final passage.
Once it makes it through, President Biden will sign it unless the Administration has issued a statement of administrative policy (SAP) saying he won’t but usually once it makes it to his desk it’s a done deal.
You can view all their SAP’s here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/statements-of-administration-policy/.
Take it to the courts.
If the bill or portions of it are truly unconstituional, we need to take it to the courts. #checksandbalances During Republican administrations, attorneys general from liberal states are constantly suing them to stop policies and groups, particulary Planned Parenthood, the ACLU and immigration groups, seek legal injunctions thwart attempts to block funding to their programs or quash rules related to enforcing immigration law.
We have to be willing to do the same whether that is using groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, the Beckett Fund or the ACLJ to push back on encroachments on our religious freedom and civil liberties.
Respect the office but resist.
The Cerebral Conservative 