Representative accuses Bush of signing bill not passed by Congress

Thursday, March 23, 2006

On March 15, Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) sent a letter to President Bush's White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, accusing Bush of signing a law that did not pass the House of Representatives.

The bill in question is called the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005. Before a bill is passed into law the same version needs to be approved by both the House and the Senate.

Waxman cited a $2 billion spending difference over the next 5 years between the conflicting versions of the bill.

Waxman also stated his understanding that either the Speaker of the House or his staff called the White House to inform President Bush of the situation before signing the bill. Another letter was written March 22 by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Waxman asking the White House to respond.

The full text of the letter can be found in the sources section below.

Sources

Representative Waxman and Representative Pelosi. "Letter to President Bush" — United States House of Representatives, March 22, 2006

The Raw Story. "Congressman writes White House: Did President knowingly sign law that didn't pass?" — The Raw Story, March 15, 2006

John Dean. "The Broken Branch: An Unusual Lawsuit Takes Congress to Task For Shoddy and Partisan Lawmaking, In Which A Bill Is Unconstitutionally Being Treated as Law" — FindLaw, March 10, 2006

Representative Waxman. "Letter to Andrew Card" — United States House of Representatives, March 15, 2006

Representative Waxman. "Letter to Nancy Pelosi" — United States House of Representatives, February 14, 2006

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