Braised Lambchop
a nurse trying to work while suffering with chronic pain - she rambles a bit

I wrote earlier this month about an attempt to place H.R. 3179 into the funding authorization for the entire intelligence community. The plot was that the chairman of the House Intelligence Commitee would put the text of this bill, which contains several sections of a bill known as Patriot II, into the budget bill behind closed doors.

Here's what happened: It didn't. The House Intelligence Committee did not attach the text of H.R. 3179 to the budget authorization bill. Rep. Porter Goss, the chairman, also refused a request by the Department of Defense to exempt U.S. Army Intelligence from the Privacy Act, although such a provision has been included in the Senate Intelligence Authorization Bill (S.2386).

However, the House Intelligence Authorization bill went to the Rules Committee today, and could be on the House floor as early as June 23. It's possible that, unless Rules says otherwise, that the text of H.R. 3179 could be added to this bill as an amendment.

Here's the Lambchop Government Lesson for today - if you already know this, please forgive me, but if you don't, pay attention. All funding authorization, both federal and state, must originate in the House of Representatives, although both houses must eventually pass the bills. (When my cousin was chairman of the Oklahoma House Appropriations Committee, it was cool to look in the paper and see all the bills she sponsored, but then I figured out that as the Chairman of that Committee, it was her job to do it. Drat.) The House is a wild place, and there aren't a lot of rules, except those handed down by the Rules Committee. After a bill comes out of markup (committee hearings) and before it goes to the floor, it goes in front of Rules so they can set the rules for debating that particular piece of legislation. Each bill is treated differently; one bill can have three hours on each side with any floor amendments are acceptable, and the next will have one hour on each side and no amendments allowed. That's why the House Rules Committee is so powerful. They can seal the fate of a bill before it reaches the floor.

So, to make a long story short, it's not over. I'll keep you posted, or you can check yourself at the site of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. They don't send out spam, and you can be assured that their sole purpose is to watch Congress and do what they can to defend the Constitution. Just click on the headline to get started.