In an new email from Wallbuilders, David Barton declares that the “pocket veto” clause of the Constitution means that Sunday sessions in Congress are unconstitutional and declares that any member of Congress who supports working on the Sabbath needs to be tossed out of office:
On Sunday, December 6, 2009, President Obama traveled to Capitol Hill to speak to the Senate Democrat Caucus to rally their support for the federal government health care seizure and takeover plan. Following that lobbying meeting with the President, Senate leader Harry Reid took the Senate into an extremely rare Sunday session where they continued debating the many problems with the health care bill, including required abortion coverage and the public option issue.
Sunday sessions have been extremely rare because of the U. S. Constitution’s Article I “Sundays Excepted” Clause, which excludes Sunday from the federal lawmaking process. The Framers of the Constitution held great respect for the Christian Sabbath and therefore removed it from the federal lawmaking calendar.
…
The actions of the current congressional leadership certainly call into question whether they have ever read the Constitution. If they have, they have certainly shown little respect for its clauses – clauses they swore to uphold when they took their oath of office last January 6th.
There have already been numerous instances demonstrating Congress’s insistence on passing the federal health care seizure and takeover bill in blatant disregard for specific clauses of the Constitution (including the Tenth Amendment). This disregard for yet another part of the Constitution further heightens concern over the current reckless congressional agenda.
Contact your elected U. S. Representatives and Senators and find out where they stand on the issue of the Sundays Excepted Clause. If they support or make excuses for this recent congressional Sunday session, then they have affirmed their disregard for the Constitution and for their own congressional oath. If such is the case, make sure and replace them in the next election, November 2, 2010!
For the record, the “Sundays excepted” clause reads thusly:
If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its Return, in which Case it shall not be a Law.
