Chairman Becerra: Speaker Ryan, There Is No Need For You To File An Official Brief Before The Supreme Court

Press Release

Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra (CA-34) held a press call today with other House Democrats, including Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Linda T. Sanchez (CA-38), Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Chairwoman Judy Chu (CA-27), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Immigration Task Force Co-Chair Luis Gutierrez (IL-04), and Immigration Task Force Member Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) on today's anti-immigrant resolution by House Republicans. A transcript of his remarks follows:

Chairman Becerra: "Last week, as most people know, about 186 Members from the House -- including each one of us on this call -- and 39 Senators signed an amicus brief not at taxpayer expense. And we filed that brief before the Supreme Court in the case of US vs Texas. Our brief supports the action President Obama took as our nation's chief executive to make our fractured immigration system work more coherently.

"There are at least four million people whose lives are at stake depending on the decision issued in US vs Texas case. The President took his actions, exercising his authority under the Constitution to implement laws. Yet today, Speaker Ryan and House Republicans will force the House to vote on a resolution authorizing the House to file a similar amicus brief, albeit one opposing the President in US vs Texas. The big difference between the brief that 186 House Democrats and 39 Senators filed last week and what now Speaker Ryan is intending to force the House to vote on is that the Republican brief will inject the House of Representatives, in its official capacity, into the litigation in US v Texas.

"It seems, these days, that Republicans in Congress spend more time and taxpayer money filing partisan lawsuits and legal briefs than trying to pass the country's must-do legislation, like the budget or a jobs bill or even commonsense immigration reform. We have to remember, Congress doesn't need to file a legal brief lobbying the Supreme Court to fix our broken laws. Most Americans will remember from high school civics that the Constitution vests the Congress with the power to make or change the laws without having to wait or hope for the Supreme Court to bail it out.

"It seems that Speaker Ryan understands that because this week he said, and I quote, " the legislative branch of government needs to be the branch that is making our laws, not the executive." I would add, nor the judiciary. Therefore, Speaker Ryan, there is no need for you to be filing an official brief before the Supreme Court [on behalf of the U.S. House] using taxpayer dollars to have the Supreme Court do for the Congress what Congress can do for itself. It seems this Republican Congress is completely out of the touch with the interests and expectations of the American people. It's time for us to legislate, not litigate."

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