G. K. Butterfield: “As many of my colleagues know, I spent 30 years in a courtroom, one-half of those as a judge, including 2 years on the…”

“As many of my colleagues know, I spent 30 years in a courtroom, one-half of those as a judge, including 2 years on the North Carolina Supreme Court. I have taken particular interest in House Resolution 676, and I have spent considerable time researching the standing of the House to initiate litigation against a President or Department heads or Federal agencies to seek ``appropriate relief for failure to act in a manner consistent with the duties of the executive branch.'' Never before, Mr. Speaker, in the history of the Congress, has there been ``institutional litigation'' between two coequal branches of government--never. There have been prior cases involving individual Members of Congress who have alleged that their vote had been nullified by Presidential action, but none of them succeeded. This bill will clearly authorize institutional litigation between the legislative and executive branches--unprecedented, Mr. Speaker. The Republicans have chosen to proceed with a one-Chamber resolution. The Affordable Care Act, I remind you, was a two-Chamber enactment. The House, as an institution, as a subset of the Congress, Mr. Speaker, cannot by itself enforce a legislative enactment. It must be bicameral. This misguided and politically-motivated resolution will establish a precedent that is unknown in our jurisprudence. It is an abuse of power on the part of House Republicans.…”