House Panel Rebuffs Bush’s Flag Proposal

The Democrat-dominated House Judiciary Committee, mired in bickering over how to best protect the American flag from desecration, refused today to consider President Bush’s proposed constitutional amendment.

Rep. Jack Brooks (D-Tex.), the chairman of the panel, ruled that a Republican attempt to force the committee to vote on Bush’s proposal was out of order.

Instead, Brooks insisted that the committee continue to work on his bill, which would attempt to protect the flag from desecration without touching the Constitution.

No Vote on Ruling

The committee did not vote on Brooks’ ruling, but the Democrats on the panel would have certainly upheld his decision.

The ruling on Bush’s proposal was the only action the committee took today on the flag issue. The members spent most of their time arguing over whether the constitutional amendment or the bill is the best way to protect the flag.

In a move widely seen as a way to short-circuit Bush’s suggested constitutional change, Democrats had planned to vote on Brooks’ bill, which the President has insisted is inadequate. Many Democrats, however, say the bill is the best way to try to protect the flag without running the risk of eroding First Amendment free speech guarantees included in the Constitution.

However, the panel’s session was curtailed because Republicans, upset that Democrats would not even allow the Bush proposal to come to a vote either in the committee or in the full House, used parliamentary procedures to force the committee to adjourn until Thursday.