Reply to D.C. Marajuana legalization-What can Congress actually do?

Forum Index » Metropolitan DC Local Politics

Reply to "D.C. Marajuana legalization-What can Congress actually do?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous]So basically to answer your question of what can Congress do, the answer is whatever the hell they please.  They can overturn Initiative 71 and outlaw marijuana in the District, they can make it a full-fledged Federal offense if they want.  They can make it a misdemeanor to wear heels without stockings, they can make it legal for anyone who's name starts with "W" to double park on Wednesdays.  Congress still has exclusive jurisdiction.  They basically just loaned responsibility for handling city affairs to the mayor and city council for a while but Congress can take it back at any time on any subject.[/quote]

I think it is important to distinguish between what responsibilities the Constitution allocates to Congress and what Congress actually can do. The two are not necessarily the same.  Specifically, laws passed in DC must be submitted to the House of Representatives for a 30 day review period. During that time, [b]the House and Senate can pass a joint resolution [/b]-- which then must be signed by the President -- to prevent the law from taking effect. Because of the filibuster, Senate Democrats can prevent such a resolution from being approved and, if they fail, the President can veto it. As such, Congress really can't act during the review period. As a result, they use their power over the DC budget.

Regarding Initiative 71, the review period ends tonight. Congress won't be passing a [b]joint resolution [/b]preventing it from taking effect. Instead, some Republican Members of Congress are relying on a rider to the "Cromibus" preventing DC from spending funds to "enact" the initiative. There are arguments in DC's favor suggesting that restriction is not enough to stop I-71 and, therefore, it will go into effect tonight. The Republican opponents to the Initiative will likely consider that a violation of their will and can react accordingly. They can file lawsuits, call for hearings, and make other gestures. However, they won't be able to do very much unilaterally. The biggest danger is that they may seek revenge down the road in the form of additional riders to budget and other "must pass" legislation.

I suspect that Congress won't be able to stop I-71 and tomorrow, pot will be legal in DC. There will likely be hearings that will be contentious and there may be an effort by Republicans to attach a rider to the Homeland Security bill if they ever agree to pass it. But, it is likely that Congress has more important fish to fry and won't get around to doing anything.

[/quote]

intentional?[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics