WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- U.S. House Democrats have filed suit, claiming their civil rights were abused when the president signed a budget deficit reduction bill.
President Bush signed the $39 billion Deficit Reduction Act Feb. 8. It included the same language that had been approved by the Senate on Dec. 21 but was slightly different from what the House adopted Feb. 1 due to a clerical error. The language in question related to Medicare coverage of medical equipment.
A lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Democrats want the measure declared unconstitutional because of the language difference.
"Plaintiffs were entitled under the United States Constitution to vote on the bill being described as the Deficit Reduction Act prior to it becoming law," the filing claims.
"Each suffers irreparable injury by the enactment of a law without the opportunity to participate in its consideration as is required under Article I, Section 7 of the United States Constitution."
Reps. John Conyers and John Dingell, both D-Mich., led the effort to bring the suit. The case will be heard by Judge Nancy Edmunds, a George H.W. Bush appointee.
Three other lawsuits have been filed in federal courts so far seeking to halt the executive branch from implementing the bill's provisions.
