ACTION ALERT
We just had a major victory for constitutional rights!
Update: Although we won in committee, we lost on the House floor. The House voted 260 to 167 to pass HR 2389, the so-called Pledge Protection Act. To see how your member of Congress voted, go to http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll385.xml A "NAY" voting member of Congress should be thanked, and a "YEA" voter should be reprimanded.
Jun. 29, 2006 - On Wednesday, June 28, the House Judiciary Committee in a 15-15 tie vote failed to pass HR2389, the so-called Pledge Protection Act, in markup. This bill seeks to strip all federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, of the power to decide the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance or its recitation. The swing vote was Rep. Bob Inglis (R-SC) who opposed the legislation because he said it would still allow liberal state supreme courts to strip "under God" from the Pledge. The committee reconvened the following day (Thursday, June 29) for the purpose of reconsidering the vote; however, Rep. Inglis did not challenge the prior vote - so the bill remains dead in committee.
Unfortunately, this victory in the House Judiciary Committee does not guarantee the death of this legislation. Leaders in the House are expected to insert the language into another bill or move the legislation to the floor in another manner. If you have not already done so, please call your member of Congress (see our action alert from June 25) and urge him/her to oppose this legislation.
Thank you for making calls and helping to create this victory in the House Judiciary Committee. The votes by the individual members of the committee are listed below. Please thank or reprimand, as appropriate, your member of Congress for this vote.
15 Members who voted against the legislation (a no vote is the correct vote):
Berman (D-CA), Conyers (D-MI), Inglis (R-SC), Jackson Lee (D-TX), Meehan (D-MA), Nadler (D-NY), Sanchez (D-CA), Schiff (D-CA), Scott (D-VA), Van Hollen (D-MD), Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Waters (D-CA), Watt (D-NC), Weiner (D-NY), and Wexler (D-FL).
15 Members who voted for the legislation (a yes vote is an incorrect vote):
Chabot (R-OH), Coble (R-NC), Feeney (R-FL), Forbes (R-VA), Franks (R-AZ), Gallegly (R-CA), Goodlatte (R-VA), Green (R-WI), Hostettler (R-IN), Jenkins (R-TN), Keller (R-FL), King (R-IA), Lungren (R-CA), Sensenbrenner (R-WI), and Smith (R-TX).
10 Members who were not present at the vote:
Bachus (R-AL), Boucher (D-VA), Cannon (R-UT), Delahunt (D-MA), Flake (R-AZ), Gohmert (R-TX), Hyde (R-IL), Issa (R-CA), Lofgren (D-CA), and Pence (R-IN).
Take a stand: Contact your Representative in the House and urge her/him to vote against legislation that would jeopardize your right to challenge the Pledge of Allegiance in court. If s/he is listed above, thank or reprimand her/him for this week's vote.
You can contact your Representative through her/his website or through the Legislator/Media Lookup by Zip Code.