Court Rejects Gramm-Rudman, ABC Says
The Supreme Court, in a decision due out today, has ruled that a key provision of the deficit-reduction law passed by Congress last year is unconstitutional, ABC News reported Sunday.
The network said the court, in a 7-2 decision, holds that the landmark legislation passed by Congress to help balance the federal budget violates the separation of powers doctrine.
The ruling would apparently uphold the Feb. 7 ruling of a special three-judge federal court that the so-called Gramm-Rudman law, in effect, allows an officer of Congress to perform executive branch functions, ABC said.
Supreme Court spokesmen could not be reached to comment on the report. The court’s decisions are rarely leaked in advance of their official release.
At issue in the Gramm-Rudman case is the role of the comptroller general, an officer of Congress appointed by the President for a 15-year term.
Under the new law, the comptroller general is charged with determining deficit-reduction figures that must be implemented automatically if Congress fails to pass a budget that meets the deficit-reduction goals each year.
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