>> Continued From the Previous Page <<
As stated in the news release from that time:
Since President Biden and officials of his administration illegally signed and carried out the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023—the most recent omnibus funding bill—Attorney General Paxton is suing them.
In order for the lower house of Congress to convene and do business, a quorum of the House of Representatives must be present, as stipulated by the U.S. Constitution. Less than half of the House’s members were present when the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 was enacted in December 2022, and more than half of them voted by proxy.
A quorum-free House may only “adjourn from day to day” or “compel the attendance of absent members,” according to the U.S. Constitution. Voting by proxy is not permitted to create a quorum under the U.S. Constitution since “attendance” refers to bodily presence. Furthermore, the omnibus budget package should be prevented from being implemented by the federal government since it was never properly approved, is unconstitutional, and was not passed by a quorum of the House.
ALERT! Major Water Restrictions In Effect!
In his 120-page judgment, Judge Hendrix addressed each issue separately and methodically undermined the Justice Department’s defense of the funding package. Citing Supreme Court precedent, he pointedly rejected the notion that federal courts lack power to examine the legislative process. According to this precedent, the enrolled bill doctrine cannot be applied before objections to a quorum rule have been resolved.
In his verdict, Hendrix wrote:
“For over 235 years, Congress understood the Constitution’s Quorum Clause to require a majority of members of the House or Senate to be physically present to constitute the necessary quorum to pass legislation. This rule prevents a minority of members from passing legislation that affects the entire nation. But despite the Constitution’s text and centuries of consistent practice, the House in 2020 created a rule that permitted non-present members to be included in the quorum count and vote by proxy. Pursuant to that novel rule, the House passed a new law included within the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, and that particular provision affects Texas. Like many constitutional challenges, Texas asserts that this provision is unenforceable against it because Congress violated the Constitution in passing the law.
[…]
And because the House only had a quorum due to this unconstitutional provision of its proxy rule, the House violated the Quorum Clause when it passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Finally, the Court finds that Texas has carried its burden to show its entitlement to a permanent injunction of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. In light of these conclusions, the Court enjoins the defendants from enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act against the State of Texas.”
The complete verdict is available for reading.
“Congress acted egregiously by passing the largest spending bill in U.S. history with fewer than half the members of the House bothering to do their jobs, show up, and vote in person,” Attorney General Paxton stated.
“Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi abused proxy voting under the pretext of COVID-19 to pass this law, then Biden signed it, knowing they violated the Constitution. This was a stunning violation of the rule of law. I am relieved the Court upheld the Constitution.”
Co-counsel was the Texas Public Policy Foundation. “This meticulous, 120-page opinion was written after a full trial on the merits,” said Matt Miller, a senior attorney with TPPF. “The Court correctly concluded that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 violated the Quorum Clause of the U.S. Constitution because a majority of House members was not physically present when the $1.7 trillion spending bill was passed. Proxy voting is unconstitutional.”
In reaction to Judge James Hendrix’s decision, Representative Chip Roy (TX-21) released the following statement:
It has always been stated in Article I of the Constitution that members of the House and Senate must be present in person while specific legislative work is being conducted. Our constitutional system needs to be adhered to in order to function.
I saw there was not a physical quorum when Pelosi’s $1.7 trillion lame duck FY 2023 omnibus was being passed in December 2022. In fact, 226 Members chose to vote by proxy in favor of the bill’s ultimate approval.
With this decision, a significant first step toward creating court precedent opposing unlawful proxy voting has been taken. Thank you for your efforts in court, Texas AG Ken Paxton, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the Mountain States Legal Foundation. We are grateful to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy for his cooperation in opposing the constitutionality of proxy voting, which is consistent with the ruling from yesterday.
