Cord Byrd: “earlier today, in a seven-to-two decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Members of Congress do not have…”

“earlier today, in a seven-to-two decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Members of Congress do not have the requisite constitutional standing necessary to challenge the Line Item Veto Act. That decision overturns the April 10 ruling of the U.S. District Court, which held that the Act does, indeed, injure Members sufficiently to confer standing. Moreover, having granted standing, the District Court went on to conclude that the Act was an unconstitutional delegation of Congress' Article I lawmaking power. As the Senator whose name titles today's decision--Raines v. Byrd--I am obviously disappointed that a majority of the Supreme Court denied standing to Members of Congress. However, I remain mindful of the fact that the most important decision in this matter lies ahead. In the meantime, I am somewhat heartened by the fact that at least one member of the Court was willing to consider the merits of our argument. In what I believe will be a vindicated position, Justice John Paul Stephens wrote that ``. . . the same reason that the [Members] have standing provides a sufficient basis for concluding that the statute is unconstitutional.''”