Congress: From Sanctions to Supreme Court Nominee

Congress has many key issues to address in the weeks ahead - leading up to its Memorial Day recess at the end of May.  There's many issues that need attention - including imposing sanctions against Iran, a new treaty concerning nuclear armaments, federal spending, immigration, and of course - the upcoming vacancy at the Supreme Court of the United States.

The ACLJ is engaging these legislative issues and working to protect your interests in Washington, D.C.

Here's a brief synopsis of some of the issues facing lawmakers in the weeks ahead:

Iran Sanctions With the Iranian regime led by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the brink of obtaining the capacity for nuclear weapons, it is imperative for the U.S. to quickly impose crippling sanctions against Iran.  This is likely the last opportunity to use diplomacy to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of the largest state-sponsor of terrorism in the world.  Both the House and the Senate have overwhelmingly approved such sanctions despite objections from the White House but have yet to resolve the differences between the two bills.  It is critically important that this process be completed and that the President be implored to sign the sanctions.  Failure to do so signals imminent danger to the rest of the world.

Nuclear Treaty At the same time the President is resisting sanctions on the terrorist regime in Iran, he has voluntarily signed a treaty with Russia aimed at reducing our own nuclear capacity.  Couple that with the Presidents alarming disclosure that the U.S. will limit its own options for responding to a biological terrorist attack, and you have a very dangerous situation.  There is a growing argument that such action is dangerous because it merely telegraphs your own intended response to our enemies.  And with that comes the concern that the U.S. could face a greater probability of attack.  The first step to remedying this situation is not for the Senate to focus on ratifying the treaty, but rather for the Congress to send the Iranian sanctions to the President for his signature.

Budget and Spending On the domestic front, its again time for Congress to begin the annual budget process. While its unclear if Congress will even attempt to complete this duty, there are a couple of items to watch for during the debate.  First, this is the process that is used to attempt back-door enactment of various policies, including the removal of federal protections for the pre-born.  Well be carefully monitoring the various appropriations bills to make sure you are aware of any such efforts.  This will also be a very interesting time to see how Congress handles earmark spending.  The Republicans in the House have committed to requesting no earmarks for the year.  However, it is unclear whether or not the Democratic majority will go ahead with their earmarks or not.  Also unclear is how the Senate both Republicans and Democrats will handle the issue.

Supreme Court Much of the summer will likely be spent considering the nomination of a replacement for Justice John Paul Stevens on the United States Supreme Court.  As soon as a nominee is announced, which is expected by early May, the debate will begin in earnest.  It will be critically important for the U.S. Senate to fulfill its constitutional duty to ensure that the nominee will respect the Constitution and the rule of law, rather than impose his or her own ideology in an attempt to shape the law. 

Immigration Finally, there are some rumblings that Congress will attempt to begin considering an immigration reform bill.  While it is unlikely that this process will be completed this year, there is certainly sufficient reason to pay attention to the direction of this early debate.  Without real enforcement of all existing laws, any type of reform is destined to fail.  Once enforcement is accomplished, then changes to the structure could be considered.