While the Democrats of Congress jumped immediately into the fray their first full day in office, Republicans – now officially the resistance party – held off until after Joe Biden's inauguration to launch their bevy of bills. Knowing the odds of success to be slim, the GOP nevertheless came out swinging.
What's Good for the Goose …
In his recent analysis of what he calls the "congressional weaponization of impeachment," Liberty Nation's Graham J. Noble pointed out that the normal rules don't seem to matter anymore. He also foretold this might just come back to bite Biden's bottom. He was right – and it didn't take long. Newly minted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) promised during President Trump's second impeachment vote that she would file articles of impeachment against Joe Biden the day after he was inaugurated. Well, she kept her word. On Jan. 21, Rep. Greene introduced H.Res.57 – "Impeaching Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States, for abuse of power by enabling bribery and other high crimes and misdemeanors."
"President Joe Biden is unfit to hold the office of the Presidency," Greene said in a press release. "His pattern of abuse of power as President Obama's Vice President is lengthy and disturbing. President Biden has demonstrated that he will do whatever it takes to bail out his son, Hunter, and line his family's pockets with cash from corrupt foreign energy companies." With a Democrat majority in the House, the resolution was effectively born dead. However, the Democrats would be wise to consider this a harbinger of the doom to come should Republicans take the House and Senate in 2022.
The Boebert Blitz
Rep. Greene isn't the only newly-elected congresswoman to hit the ground running. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) introduced a trio of bills, specifically targeting some of Biden's first actions as president.
Shortly after his inauguration, Biden signed an order reversing President Trump's decision to leave the World Health Organization (WHO). A day later, Rep. Boebert introduced H.R.374 – The World Health Organization Accountability Act. "The WHO is China-centric and panders to Beijing at every turn," Boebert explained. She aims to hold the WHO and China accountable for their role in the global COVID-19 pandemic.
In keeping with exactly what one might expect from Joe Biden, the new president signed a federal mask mandate, requiring everyone to wear a face-covering anytime they're on U.S. government property – inside or out. Naturally, he was shortly after seen with his family at the Lincoln Memorial – federal property – and, of course, the required masks were MIA. Boebert's H.R.375 – the No Mask Mandates Act states, simply, "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person may be required to wear a face covering on Federal property or while traveling in interstate commerce."
H.R.376 – the Paris Agreement Constitutional Treaty Act blocks all actions and funding for the Paris Agreement until a treaty is passed by the U.S. Senate. Boebert cites Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution, which gives the president "power by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur." This was timed one day after Biden signed an order to rejoin.
Biggs for Life
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) launched a trio of bills January 22 – the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. His H.Res.55 is a resolution "recognizing the importance of access to comprehensive, high-quality, life-affirming medical care for women of all ages." H.R.380 – the Abortion Is Not Health Care Act of 2021 would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 so that amounts paid for abortions can't be deducted as medical expenses. Finally, his H.R.381 – Pregnant Women Health and Safety Act, for which there is no text currently available, would "prohibit certain abortion procedures." According to a press release, it requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges to a local hospital and establishes some basic safety standards.
"The next four years of the Biden administration will bring out the worst abortion policies and edicts that our nation has experienced since the Roe v. Wade decision," Biggs said. "However, the pro-life community will rise above these challenges and grow our movement and to bring about an end to abortion on-demand."
Blackburn Blacklists Illegals
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a pair of immigration control bills on Jan. 22. S.17, the Ban Birth Tourism Act, would change the Immigration and Nationality Act so that people would no longer be allowed to visit the U.S. simply to give birth so they can gain citizenship. In a press release, the senator said, "American citizenship should not be for sale."
The Stop Greenlighting Driver Licenses for Illegal Immigrants Act would pull federal funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program from any state that issues a driver's license to illegal aliens. In 2020, that program paid out $53 million to offending states. In announcing S.25, Sen. Blackburn explained that the 19 hijackers from 9/11 "were here on temporary visas and held a combined 30 state-issued licenses."
Senate Republicans Get Constitutional
Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) each brought a joint resolution to the Senate Jan. 22 to amend the U.S. Constitution.
Scott's S.J. Res.2 has no text available as of yet, but it's a safe bet it's pretty close to his S.J. Res.21 from 2016. It proposes three amendments with three different goals: Grant presidents the power of line-item veto, establish term limits so that representatives can serve only six terms and senators only two, and require a two-thirds majority from both houses of Congress before increasing or establishing any tax or fee.
Cruz's S.J. Res.3 would also implement congressional term limits by constitutional amendment. And finally, Rubio's S.J. Res.4 tackles the issue of court-packing. Should he manage to achieve the nigh-impossible, the Supreme Court would be locked in at nine justices – permanently.
The Resistance Reborn
With the Democrats holding the trifecta of power in the Swamp, these endeavors may each seem a Sisyphean task – but they are hardly useless. The GOP is once again the opposition party, and they have a message to deliver between now and November 2022. The impossible bills of today may well end up the first new laws of tomorrow.
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