Staff Reports
While some lawmakers are off enjoying their two-week vacation, the Senate sits silent with the Save America Act gathering dust. It’s a scene that’s all too familiar these days—senators flying out for leisure and dining out while leaving pressing legislative matters on the back burner. As these elected officials bask in the delights of reality TV and casinos, there’s one senator who thinks it’s time to roll up the sleeves and get back to work. Enter Senator Mike Lee, a man seemingly oblivious to the allure of a good slot machine, who has a big idea that involves President Trump putting his foot down.
Senator Lee is urging President Trump to invoke his constitutional power to bring Congress back to work. Apparently, there exists an overlooked clause from 1787 that could force Congress back in session. It’s a power not used since the time of President Truman, and apparently, Lee thinks it’s high time to dust it off. For those keeping score at home, Article 2, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution allows the president to reconvene both houses on extraordinary occasions. Given the recent attacks on military installations and the Department of Homeland Security being unfunded for 50 days, Lee argues this is indeed such an occasion.
Meanwhile, the opponents of the Save America Act are trotting out Hollywood’s best to stir the pot. Enter Meyer Stre or, as some might know her, the acclaimed actress worried about names on voting rolls. But Senator Lee is quick to dismiss her claims as a Hollywood fantasy. Her fears of women being turned away from voting booths due to mismatched names are, in his view, nothing more than a plot twist concocted by an overzealous screenwriter. If anything, the Save America Act aims to make voting user-friendly, while keeping an eye out for cheaters—a notion that, according to Lee and his supporters, couldn’t be easier.
The debate over the filibuster also adds its own layer of intrigue. Senate Majority Leader John Thoon seems to confess to a Shakespearean love affair with the filibuster. Yet, Senator Lee thinks it’s high time to reexamine what some call the “zombie filibuster.” It seems akin to a scene from a horror movie, where speeches go unheard, while the silent filibuster looms like an unsung villain. As Lee points out, the bill should pass if it’s given its day in the sun, debated until every senator is exhausted by sheer rhetoric alone.
Even as President Trump takes it upon himself to require a list of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote, it’s still Congress’s job to make laws. Mike Lee seems ready to remind those vacationing lawmakers that getting the Save America Act passed should be top priority, no matter how tempting the siren call of the Jersey Shore or the poker tables might be. By golly, if that doesn’t happen, one wonders if Congress might need a couple of lessons in commitment from the man determined to turn constitutional clauses into modern-day political tools.
