Cord Byrd: “I vigorously opposed passage of the act because of my deep concern over the effects of that act on our system of checks…”

“I vigorously opposed passage of the act because of my deep concern over the effects of that act on our system of checks and balances and the separation of powers that has served this Nation so well for over 200 years. As I have told my colleagues on many occasions, I viewed the passage of that law as one of the darkest moments in the history of the republic. Today, U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia handed down a ruling declaring the act to be unconstitutional. Among other things, Mr. President, the court held, ``Where the President signs a bill but then purports to cancel parts of it, he exceeds his constitutional authority and prevents both Houses of Congress from participating in the exercise of lawmaking authority. The President's cancellation of an item unilaterally effects a repeal of statutory law, such that the bill he signed is not the law that will govern the Nation.”