HOUSE OKS MEASURE THAT WOULD REFORM PRESIDENTIAL PARDON
Measure would also enhance oversight of executive branch
House Democrats on Thursday approved legislation that seeks to bolster congressional oversight of the executive branch and deter presidents from abusing their pardon power.
The bill, which passed the House 220-208, is not likely to advance in the Senate because of the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a GOP filibuster. All House Democrats and one Republican voted for the legislation.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, said the Protecting Our Democracy Act was needed to protect the country’s integrity after former President Donald Trump’s turbulent term.
The bill is a “comprehensive and transformative package of democracy reforms, which will create essential guardrails to uphold the rule of law and prevent any president, regardless of party, from abusing the public trust or undermining our democracy,” Pelosi said in a statement, describing Trump as “a rogue past president.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger, RIll., a sharp Trump critic, was the only Republican to support the legislation. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said in a statement that the bill was a “political power grab.” Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., speaking before the vote, called the proposal “nothing but a continuation of the Democrats’ obsession with Trump. He lives rent-free in their heads.”
The bill would prohibit federal officers from receiving gifts from foreign nations under most circumstances and would enhance protections for whistleblowers. It would also require the Justice Department to disclose details about pardons or commutations that benefit the president or the president’s family. Democrats said such a rule may deter presidents from abusing their pardon power.
Rep. Adam Schiff, DBurbank, who sponsored the legislation, said strengthening congressional oversight is vital for American democracy. Without this bill, he said, “We could see the executive branch become the kind of autocratic office where the measure of the presidency is above and beyond the reach of the law.”
Schiff and Democrats said a key component of the bill would strengthen Congress’ ability to gather testimony and documents by empowering federal judges to fine government officials who “willfully” fail to comply with subpoenas.