by Karl Denninger, Market Ticker:
How soon everyone forgets….
If they didn’t there’d already be a pitchfork parade outside the US House.
After Obamacare passed and the GOP subsequently took control of the chamber it voted more than fifty times to repeal the law. During all of those times the Senate and/or White House was under Democrat control — specifically, Obama in the latter case. They knew damn well they had neither the votes to override his inevitable veto and the bill would likely never reach his desk in the first place.
Then Trump showed up. On January 12th, 2017, with a House, Senate and GOP President the bill was voted down. Three times in the Senate votes failed, with a Republican President (who would have signed it, of course.)
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
You can blame whatever you’d like for that, but the facts are that the GOP has never actually meant it otherwise it would not have taken 50 knowing-will-fail votes, all of which did nothing but give them something to solicit you for money upon. When the tables were turned and in fact the GOP held both majorities and the Presidency the fact that they had solicited said money under false pretense was laid bare on the table.
Now we are back with the same claims that the GOP is going to “save America.”
Don’t get me wrong; I like the House rule changes, such as they are. But exactly none of them are going to turn into the sort of thing that the House can actually do, irrespective of what the Senate or White House wants. You see, if the House really means it when it comes to a specific legislative thing it has the absolute power to force it to be enacted. This is the design of the US House and intended by the Founders.
How?
It’s quite simply really: All spending power comes from the House.
Article 1 Section 7 says:
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
All spending must of course come from revenue and thus the House must originate all such bills. Just in case you think they can get cute with this by attempting to deficit spend without a bill that raises any taxes the Founders considered this threat and foreclosed it in Article 1 Section 9:
No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.
No appropriation, no capacity to spend.
At all.
Therefore, since the House must introduce said bill, and the House and Senate must both pass said bill, even if the Senate demands something or the President does the US House can absolutely stop not just that spending but all spending unless it gets what it wants.
Yeah, that’s a nuclear-level threat — but its real, and it can’t be overridden.
So the next time you’re told that Congress “can’t” do something, or that your specific Representative could not band together with others to do something, whatever it might be, they’re lying.
Yes, they can.
They’re refusing, not unable.
Never forget that no matter what the subject of debate is.
