Larson Response to Minority Walk-Off
Contact:Emily Barocas/202-225-7295/202-593-1377
LARSON: REPUBLICANS TURNED THE FLOOR OF THE HOUSE TODAY INTO ANIMALHOUSE
WASHINGTON, DC - House Republicans walked off the floor of the House ofRepresentatives today in an effort to avoid voting on contempt of Congresscitations that would hold the Bush Administration in general, and Josh Boltenand Harriet Miers in particular, accountable for their involvement in the firingof U.S. Attorneys. The voting wentahead and the citations passed with the support of the Democratic majority.
Congressman John B. Larson CT-01, Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus, said:
"The politicaltheater enacted by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle today was akinto Otter and Boone leading the Deltas out of the student body at FaberCollege. If this issue wasn't soimportant to the nation, we would have to consider holding the Republicans indouble secret probation.
In article 1, theConstitution lays out the authority of the Congress. For too long, that authority has been ceded to an executive branch thatconsistently overreaches and ignores our system of checks and balances.
When Republicansleft the floor of the House of Representatives, they again abdicated theirresponsibility as members of this body to oversee the actions of the executivebranch. It is both irresponsible andunconstitutional. The ExecutiveBranch must answer questions about the firing of U.S.Attorneys. No one in this countryis exempt from a legal subpoena and Harriet Miers and Josh Bolten are not abovethe law.
The Republican'sstunt on the House floor today is just another example of their rubber stamp ofthis administration's disregard for the Constitution and our civil rights inthe pursuit of its own political purposes. Let'sremember that the need for new FISA legislation - the legislation thatRepublicans claimed they were leaving the floor in protest over- became apparentonly when the administration's secret and illegal use of unwarrantedeavesdropping was revealed. This isyet another example of the Bush Administration's dismissal of the Congress asa co-equal branch of government.
Today, Democrats inthe House stood up to the Administration, reasserted the power of Congress andheld executive branch officials accountable for their actions. Under the leadership of our Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, we have fought toreclaim the power that the Executive Branch tried to steal and House Republicanstried to give away. I am very proudof the actions of the Democratic Caucus today."