Tweet
CONGRESSIONAL NONBINDING RESOLUTIONS PLAYING WITH FIRE
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.10.2007 12:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Although nonbinding resolutions by the U.S. Congress
have no force in law and often go unnoticed, they can evoke a
passionate response.
Jackson Diehl, the Washington Post's deputy editorial page editor,
said Congress can use nonbinding resolutions as a first step in
crafting legislation.
Nonbinding resolutions have several purposes, Diehl said. Congress
can use them "just to strike a position" on an issue, to satisfy the
concerns of constituents or to put pressure on the White House about
a particular matter.
Diehl discussed a highly publicized nonbinding resolution in the
U.S. House of Representatives that would label as Genocide the mass
killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1917.
Congress uses several types of resolutions depending on the
circumstances. A concurrent resolution can create joint committees,
authorize the printing of congressional documents or set the date
for Congress to adjourn. Concurrent resolutions also can express the
sense of Congress on many matters of foreign and domestic policy.
Allan Lichtman, a professor of history at American University in
Washington, says a nonbinding resolution, like that addressing the
violence against Armenians a century ago, does not change U.S. policy
"because it does not have the force of law."
Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute
in Washington, said nonbinding resolutions are all about politics.
He said that members of Congress use nonbinding resolutions in the
hope that they will affect "public opinion enough that it will have
an impact on policy."
Nonbinding resolutions are not sent to the president following
congressional approval, said Ornstein. Rather, the resolutions are
used as a "symbol" of congressional opinion or sentiment on a matter,
he said.
But symbolism is "not meaningless," Ornstein said. The Armenian
resolution, he said, was a "cheap and easy way" for members of Congress
"to express their solidarity with the Armenian people and especially
with the Armenian-American population."
Ornstein said the resolution "has been around for a long time,"
because of the "significant population" of Armenian Americans in the
United States.
Armenian Americans are an "extremely affluent and articulate
population," and "they care passionately" about the killing of their
people during the Ottoman Empire, he said.
"An awful lot of Congressmen believed that what happened in 1915 to the
Armenians involved serious atrocities," said Ornstein. "Recognizing
that a nonbinding resolution was just symbolic, members of Congress
said 'why not' pass the measure," he added.
But Ornstein said symbolism has "turned into a deadly serious business"
with huge foreign policy ramifications that caused the resolution to
lose support in Congress.
It is clear, Ornstein said, that members of Congress are "starting
to get the message" that because of the volatility of the issue,
the Armenian resolution is "playing with fire," USINFO reports.
October 10, with a vote 27 to 21 the U.S. House Committee on Foreign
Affairs adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.106, which
was introduced by Representative Adam Schiff January 30, 2007. The
vote in the full House has not been scheduled yet.
Meanwhile, several Congressmen recalled their signatures under pressure
of the Turkish lobby.
PanARMENIAN.Net
22.10.2007 12:22 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Although nonbinding resolutions by the U.S. Congress
have no force in law and often go unnoticed, they can evoke a
passionate response.
Jackson Diehl, the Washington Post's deputy editorial page editor,
said Congress can use nonbinding resolutions as a first step in
crafting legislation.
Nonbinding resolutions have several purposes, Diehl said. Congress
can use them "just to strike a position" on an issue, to satisfy the
concerns of constituents or to put pressure on the White House about
a particular matter.
Diehl discussed a highly publicized nonbinding resolution in the
U.S. House of Representatives that would label as Genocide the mass
killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1917.
Congress uses several types of resolutions depending on the
circumstances. A concurrent resolution can create joint committees,
authorize the printing of congressional documents or set the date
for Congress to adjourn. Concurrent resolutions also can express the
sense of Congress on many matters of foreign and domestic policy.
Allan Lichtman, a professor of history at American University in
Washington, says a nonbinding resolution, like that addressing the
violence against Armenians a century ago, does not change U.S. policy
"because it does not have the force of law."
Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute
in Washington, said nonbinding resolutions are all about politics.
He said that members of Congress use nonbinding resolutions in the
hope that they will affect "public opinion enough that it will have
an impact on policy."
Nonbinding resolutions are not sent to the president following
congressional approval, said Ornstein. Rather, the resolutions are
used as a "symbol" of congressional opinion or sentiment on a matter,
he said.
But symbolism is "not meaningless," Ornstein said. The Armenian
resolution, he said, was a "cheap and easy way" for members of Congress
"to express their solidarity with the Armenian people and especially
with the Armenian-American population."
Ornstein said the resolution "has been around for a long time,"
because of the "significant population" of Armenian Americans in the
United States.
Armenian Americans are an "extremely affluent and articulate
population," and "they care passionately" about the killing of their
people during the Ottoman Empire, he said.
"An awful lot of Congressmen believed that what happened in 1915 to the
Armenians involved serious atrocities," said Ornstein. "Recognizing
that a nonbinding resolution was just symbolic, members of Congress
said 'why not' pass the measure," he added.
But Ornstein said symbolism has "turned into a deadly serious business"
with huge foreign policy ramifications that caused the resolution to
lose support in Congress.
It is clear, Ornstein said, that members of Congress are "starting
to get the message" that because of the volatility of the issue,
the Armenian resolution is "playing with fire," USINFO reports.
October 10, with a vote 27 to 21 the U.S. House Committee on Foreign
Affairs adopted the Armenian Genocide Resolution, H.Res.106, which
was introduced by Representative Adam Schiff January 30, 2007. The
vote in the full House has not been scheduled yet.
Meanwhile, several Congressmen recalled their signatures under pressure
of the Turkish lobby.