WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman and other members of the House Government Reform Committee introduced a Resolution of Inquiry directing the President to submit to Congress all documents relating to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which the President signed on February 8. The version the President signed was different in substance from the version the House of Representatives passed on February 1, 2006.

"We are introducing this resolution because of the solemn obligation we all share to uphold the Constitution," said Rep. Waxman. "Given the unprecedented breach of a basic constitutional principle, it is imperative that Congress exercise its oversight powers to examine what the President and his staff knew about the defects in the legislation and how they considered and acted on such action."

The resolution comes after repeated requests by members to obtain information from the White House have been ignored. On March 22, Rep. Waxman and Democratic Leader Pelosi wrote to the President asking clarification of his knowledge of the constitutional defects in the bill. On March 15, Rep. Waxman wrote to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card asking for a response to information that Speaker of the House had called the President to alert him that the version of the Reconciliation Act he was about to sign differed from the version that passed the House. The White House has failed to respond to the requests.

A resolution of inquiry is a House procedure that seeks factual information from the executive branch. The resolution is privileged and may be considered at any time after it is properly reported or discharged from committee. If the resolution is not reported to the House within 14 legislative days, a motion to discharge the committee is privileged.

The text of the resolution follows:

RESOLUTION

Requesting the President to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days after the date of adoption of this resolution documents in the possession of the President relating to the receipt and consideration by the Executive Office of the President of any information concerning the variation between the version of S. 1932, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, that the House of Representatives passed on February 1, 2006, and the version of the bill that the President signed on February 8, 2006.

Resolved, That the President is requested to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than 14 days after the date of adoption of this resolution, all documents, including telephone and electronic mail records, logs and calendars, and records of internal discussions in the possession of the President relating to the receipt and consideration by the Executive Office of the President of any information concerning the variation between the version of S. 1932, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, that the House of Representatives passed on February 1, 2006, and the version of the bill that the President signed on February 8, 2006.

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