March 18, 2010 10:52 PM UTC

Who Are They Trying to Kid? Deem and Pass Was Never Meant for This.

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• by: Middle of the Road

Donny Shaw of OpenCongress takes a hard look at what Deem and Pass has been used for with an in depth look at six specific examples.

Warning–spoiler alert–Health care reform isn’t in the same hemisphere.

Five of the six examples he lists were made by the GOP when they controlled both the House and the Senate. The sixth example occurred in 1990 while both chambers were controlled by Democrats.

1. Resolution containing self-executing rule:

101-H.Res. 221 – Waiving certain points of order against consideration of the bill (H.R. 3015) making appropriations for the Department of Transportation and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1990, and for other purposes.

Legislation that was deemed passed under the rule: Made in order for consideration a provision that prohibited smoking on domestic airline flights.

Vote to pass the rule: Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 259 – 169 (Roll no. 204)

2. Resolution containing self-executing rule: 104-H.Res. 384 – Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2202) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to improve deterrence of illegal immigration to the United States by increasing border patrol and investigative personnel, by increasing penalties for alien smuggling and for document fraud, by reforming exclusion and deportation law and procedures, by improving the verification system for eligibility for employment, and through other measures, to reform the legal immigration system and facilitate legal entries into the United States, and for other purposes.

Legislation that was deemed passed under the rule: incorporated a voluntary employee verification program, addressing the employment of illegal immigrants.

Vote to pass the rule: Agreed to unanimously by voice vote.

3. Resolution containing self-executing rule: 105-H.Res. 239 – Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2267) making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other purposes.

Legislation that was deemed passed under the rule: Incorporated a provision to block the use of statistical sampling for the 2000 census until federal courts had an opportunity to rule on its constitutionality.

Vote to pass the rule: Agreed to unanimously by voice vote.:

4. Resolution containing self-executing rule: 105-H.Res. 303 – Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2676) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restructure and reform the Internal Revenue Service, and for other purposes.

Legislation that was deemed passed under the rule: Provided for automatic adoption of four amendments to the committee substitute made in order as original text.

Vote to pass the rule: Agreed to unanimously by voice vote.

5. Resolution containing self-executing rule: 105-H.Res. 420 – Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3694) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1999 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes.

Legislation that was deemed passed under the rule: Dropped a section from the intelligence measure that would have permitted the CIA to offer their employees an early-out retirement program.

Vote to pass the rule: Agreed to unanimously by voice vote.

6. Resolution containing self-executing rule: 109-H.Res. 75 – Providing for further consideration of the bill (H.R. 418) to establish and rapidly implement regulations for State driver’s license and identification document security standards, to prevent terrorists from abusing the asylum laws of the United States, to unify terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility and removal, and to ensure expeditious construction of the San Diego border fence.

Legislation that was deemed passed under the rule: Changes related to asylum law.

Vote to pass the rule: Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 228 – 198 (Roll no. 27)

I’m a fan of Nancy Pelosi’s. She has, time and again, delivered on bills such as HCR and Cap&Trade, unlike her sad little shadow in the Senate. But when I see her admit this:

It is one of three options that Pelosi said she is considering for a late-week House vote, but she added that she prefers it because it would politically protect lawmakers who are reluctant to publicly support the measure.

“It’s more insider and process-oriented than most people want to know,” the speaker said in a roundtable discussion with bloggers Monday. “But I like it,” she said, “because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.”

I cringe for the future of the Democratic Party primarily because the slippery slope never looks all that slick, until you’re on the other side. The average voter is going to view this as the Democrats pulling the ultimate sneak move to get something passed that they may or may not have the votes for in the House.

And the Democratic Party, if they engage in this tactic, is going to rue the day when the Republicans do the same thing down the road. We leave ourselves without a leg to stand on if we choose this course.