HR4138 is a bill reported by the Committee on the Judiciary to enforce the law. This bill passed in the House on March 12, 2014 and goes to the Senate next for consideration.
To protect the separation of powers in the Constitution of the United States by ensuring that the President takes care that the laws be faithfully executed, and for other purposes.
- Sponsor
Trey Gowdy
Representative for South Carolina’s 4th congressional district, Republican
The text of the bill follows:
TEXT OF H.R. 4138, ENFORCE THE LAW ACT OF
2014
[Showing the text of the bill as ordered reported by the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Executive Needs to
3 Faithfully Observe and Respect Congressional Enact4
ments of the Law Act of 2014’’ or the ‘‘ENFORCE the
5 Law Act of 2014’’.
6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION TO BRING CIVIL ACTION FOR VIO7
LATION OF THE TAKE CARE CLA– — — USE.
8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon the adoption of a resolution
9 of a House of Congress declaring that the President, the
10 head of any department or agency of the United States,
11 or any other officer or employee of the United States hasthe United States has
12 established or implemented a formal or informal policy,
13 practice, or procedure to refrain from enforcing, applying,
14 following, or administering any provision of a Federal
15 statute, rule, regulation, program, policy, or other law in
16 violation of the requirement that the President take care
17 that the laws be faithfully executed under Article II, sec18
tion 3, clause 5, of the Constitution of the United States,
1 that House is authorized to bring a civil action in accord2
ance with subsection (c), and to seek relief pursuant to
3 sections 2201 and 2202 of title 28, United States Code.
4 A civil action brought pursuant to this subsection may be
5 brought by a single House or both Houses of Congress
6 jointly, if both Houses have adopted such a resolution.
7 (b) RESOLUTION DESCRIBED.—For the purposes of
8 subsection (a), the term ‘‘resolution’’ means only a resolu9
tion—
10 (1) the title of which is as follows: ‘‘Relating to
11 the application of Article II, section 3, clause 5, of
12 the Constitution of the United States.’’
13 (2) which does not have a preamble; and
14 (3) the matter after the resolving clause which
is as follows: ‘‘That lllllll 15 has failed to
16 meet the requirement of Article II, section 3, clause
17 5, of the Constitution of the United States to take
18 care that a law be faithfully executed, with respect
to lllllllll19 .’’ (the blank spaces being
20 appropriately filled in with the President or the per21
son on behalf of the President, and the administra22
tive action in question described in subsection (a),
23 respectively).
1 (c) SPECIAL RULES.—If the House of Representa2
tives or the Senate brings a civil action pursuant to sub3
section (a), the following rules shall apply:
4 (1) The action shall be filed in a United States
5 district court of competent jurisdiction and shall be
6 heard by a 3-judge court convened pursuant to sec7
tion 2284 of title 28, United States Code.
8 (2) A final decision in the action shall be re9
viewable only by appeal directly to the Supreme
10 Court of the United States. Such appeal shall be
11 taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within 10
12 days, and the filing of a jurisdictional statement
13 within 30 days, of the entry of the final decision.
14 (3) It shall be the duty of the United States
15 district courts and the Supreme Court of the United
16 States to advance on the docket and to expedite to
17 the greatest possible extent the disposition of any
18 such action and appeal.
