What is the SUBMIT IT Act?
By: Kurt Couchman
"New legislation could help Congress reclaim power, hold the president accountable, and get a timely start to each year’s priorities...
"Senator Joni Ernst and Representative Buddy Carter proposed S. 3734/H.R. 7249, the Send Us Budget Materials & International Tactics In Time (SUBMIT IT) Act in early February...
"It would keep presidents from doing the State of the Union (SOTU) address until they give Congress a budget request and a national security strategy...
"Ernst and Carter’s SUBMIT IT Act would withhold a major media opportunity for presidents until Congress gets what it needs to do its job...
"The SUBMIT IT Act would use the SOTU to help Congress advance annual budget legislation and security authorization bills...
"Federal law requires presidents to submit a budget request and a national security strategy on the first Monday in February. Presidents routinely miss this toothless deadline...
"Remarkably, Congress keeps letting presidents do the SOTU before they get the reports...
"This approach should apply to a new president too. An incoming administration has nearly three months between the election and the reports’ due date to weave its priorities into the budget...
"Ernst and Carter’s SUBMIT IT Act would help the business of Congress get started on time. It would shift Congress back toward the center of our constitutional system and help hold presidents accountable...
"Such a Congress would be a better place for members to serve and would deliver better results for the American people.
Read the full article here.
