Last week, a bill was introduced in both chambers of Congress to "limit the jurisdiction of Federal courts in certain cases and promote federalism." The House version is H.R. 3799, and the Senate version is S. 2082. The bill is titled, "The Constitution Restoration Act of 2004." Initial sponsors of the bill include Rep. Robert Aderholt (AL), Rep. Michael Pence (IN), Sen. Richard Shelby (AL), Sen. Zell Miller (GA), Sen. Sam Brownback (KS), and Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC). Even though the introduction of this bill received little national media attention, it is the most important legislation in the last fifty years.
I was privileged to be in attendance at the press conference in Prattville, Alabama when former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, Rep. Aderholt, Sen. Shelby, Sen. Brownback, and Ambassador Alan Keyes formally announced the introduction of this bill to the media. Also in attendance were conservative luminaries such as Phyllis Schlafly and Howard Phillips. The bill was drafted by a star-studded legal team including Chief Justice Moore's lead counsel, Herb Titus.
The passage of H.R. 3799 and S. 2082 should be regarded as the most important item on the conservative agenda this year! It is no hyperbole to say that the passage of this bill is significantly more important than who wins the White House this November. Yes, I really mean that.
You see, what difference does it make who wins a presidential or congressional election if neither party will faithfully discharge their duty to the U.S. Constitution? We have seen Republican and Democratic presidents come and go. The same goes for congressmen and senators. Yet, government continues to get bigger and bigger, while freedom gets smaller and smaller. Neither has either major party done anything to reverse the trend toward socialism and globalism.
One of the major reasons for this unfortunate set of circumstances is an out-of-control federal judiciary. For the last fifty years, federal courts have run roughshod over the Constitution. For all practical purposes, America is now controlled by a tyrannical oligarchy of federal judges.
Thankfully, our Founding Fathers understood this potentiality and prescribed a way for Congress to deal with the matter. Under Article III, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the power and authority to regulate and except appellate jurisdiction of the federal judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court. That is exactly what H.R. 3799 and S. 2082 do.
Accordingly, under Sec. 102 of this bill, "Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Supreme Court shall not have jurisdiction to review, by appeal, writ of certiorari, or otherwise, any matter to the extent that relief is sought against an element of Federal, State, or local government, or against an officer of Federal, State, or local government (whether or not acting in official personal capacity), by reason of that element's or officer's acknowledgment of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government."
This means, that the federal judiciary would be prohibited from interfering with any expression of religious faith by any elected local, state, or federal official. In other words, federal judges could not prevent the Ten Commandments from being displayed in public buildings or Nativity Scenes from appearing on court house lawns or "under God" from being recited in the Pledge of Allegiance or prayers being spoken in public schools, etc. This bill would limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts in these matters.
Furthermore, Sec. 201 of this bill states, "In interpreting and applying the Constitution of the United States, a court of the United States may not rely upon any constitution, law, administrative rule, Executive order, directive, policy, judicial decision, or any other action of any foreign state or international organization or agency, other than the constitutional law and English common law."
In other words, the Supreme Court would be prohibited from basing their opinions on the rule of foreign law. This is especially needful as Supreme Court justices such as Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg have demonstrated a recent propensity to do just that.
As you can see, this bill is needed in the worst way! And the encouraging thing is, it really does have a better than average chance of passing. In fact, at the press conference in Prattville, Sen. Shelby predicted the bill would pass the U.S. Senate. Rep. Aderholt feels confident it will pass the House as well.
Please contact your congressman and senators (and the White House) and tell them that your support for their reelections is dependent upon their support for this bill! There is nothing more important in politics this year than passing this bill into law! Not even the vote for President is more important. The federal judiciary must be reigned in! It must be "bound down by the chains of the Constitution" (Jefferson). Passage of "The Constitution Restoration Act of 2004" will begin this process. I wholeheartedly and enthusiastically support this bill. I hope you will, too.
© Chuck Baldwin
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