Monrovia, Liberia – Amid ongoing power play at the level of the House of Representatives, two Southeastern Senators are clashing over who should receive the draft budget from the Executive Branch. Sinoe County Senator Augustine Chea describes the decision not to submit the budget to the Speaker as a disregard for constitutional authority, but Maryland County Senator James Biney believes otherwise and insists that the majority is the legitimate authority.
Senator Biney’s response addresses critical points raised by Senator Chea, emphasizing the importance of careful consideration.
“I disagree with Sen. Chea’s position that, in the midst of what is obtaining at the House of Representatives, the Senate should deal with the Speaker,” Biney asserted.
The Maryland County Senator agreed with his colleague Sen. Chea of Sinoe County that the fight by the majority bloc on Capitol Hill to remove the Speaker is more political than legal, as the Chambers Justice’s November 6 ruling suggests.
The NPP lawmaker further agreed with Sen. Chea that the President needs to be mindful when dealing with the House of Representatives.
“He put it perfectly well that the matter is deemed by the Chamber Justice to be political. I do agree that the matter is indeed political. Hence, we ought to be mindful of our dealings with the House. I also strongly feel that the President ought to be careful. In addition to the political component of the situation, we cannot ignore what is expressly written in the constitution,” Biney highlighted.
Sen. Chea argued that the communication from the Acting Minister of State addressed to the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives instead of the Speaker on the “postponement of submission of the national budget for FY 2025….” is a replication of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf era’s constitutional breaches in previous House Speakers’ removal.
The Sinoe Senator further argued that not submitting the budget to Speaker Koffa and disregarding the Speaker’s constitutional authority by writing the Chief Clerk has drawn the Presidency directly into the conflict.
“Speaker Koffa is still the legitimate Speaker until removed by the “two-thirds majority” mandated by the constitution,” Senator Chea argued.
According to him, the only thing the Speaker cannot do legally is to hold sessions, as he does not have the constitutional quorum to do so; similarly, the ‘majority bloc’ cannot hold sessions without the Speaker because he has the authority to convene and preside over sessions.
Sen. Chea further argued that the Deputy Speaker has no authority to preside if not authorized by the Speaker, except if the Speaker is incapacitated by illness or death or absent from the country or from a session.
He pointed out Article 49: “The House of Representatives shall elect once every six years a Speaker who shall be the presiding officer of that body, a Deputy Speaker, and such other officers as shall ensure the proper functioning of the House. The Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, and other officers so elected may be removed from office for cause by resolution of a two-thirds majority of the members of the House.”
According to Chea, it is also important to note that the constitution neither recognizes a ‘majority bloc’ nor a ‘minority bloc’ of the House of Representatives, noting that what the constitution recognizes and requires is that there must be a majority (37 Reps) to hold sessions under the authority of the Speaker; that there must be a two-thirds majority (49 Reps) to remove the Speaker; and that the removal must adhere to fundamental due process (Article 20 (a) of the constitution).
However, Senator Biney disagreed with his colleague on the issue of who should preside over the submission of a budget.
According to Sen. Biney, Article 29 of the Liberian Constitution states that the legislative powers of the Republic are vested in the Legislature, which shall consist of two separate houses.
He pointed out Article 33, which further states that a simple majority of each House shall constitute a quorum for the business transaction.
The Maryland County Senator wants his colleague to note that the constitution did not state that the Vice President, the Speaker, or the Pro tempore must be present for decisions to be deemed legal.
“Sen. Chea, please note that the constitution did not say that the Vice President, the Speaker, or the Pro tempore has to be present for decisions of the majority to be deemed legal,” Biney counterargued his colleague position.
Senator Biney further argued that it is unequivocal that the power or authority of each House lies in the decision of the majority, emphasizing that once lawmakers assemble at the Capitol building on their session day and there’s a quorum, the most senior ranking member presides.
“An example of this is the most recent recast budget. The Vice President was present in the building when I, Chair of the Executive, presided over the passage of the recast budget. Ultimately, the power of democratic legislatures is vested in the majority, irrespective of who is Vice President, Speaker or President Pro tempore at the time,” explained.
The Senate chair on Executive said that as much as the Speaker remains Speaker until constitutionally removed, they have no authority, without a quorum of the body, to transact, conduct, supervise, or manage the business in the name of the House.
“Of what effect, essence, or use, therefore, will submitting the budget to the Office of the Speaker is to the country if he or she can do nothing with it,” Biney questioned.
Biney continued: “Some have argued that it is procedural [not constitutional] to channel the budget through the Speaker when addressing the HOR. I interpose no objection to this argument. But here is the point: all the instances that such argument refers to point to the HOR operating under normal conditions. What is obtaining in the HOR is abnormal and unusual.”
According to the Maryland Senator, no one has cited any law violated when the Executive writes the Chief Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate.
He said these two are the ones to whom all communications addressed to the Legislature are given for presentation to the plenary.
The budget is constitutionally submitted to the Legislature, not necessarily to the President of the Senate, the House Speaker or the Senate Pro tempore.
As stated above, the constitutional requirement for passage of the budget is a simple majority vote of each House under a presiding officer.
“If the President submits the budget to the Speaker [I am not personal about who is Speaker now] and consequently the majority vote against the budget, what does the President gain? The simple mistake of the President ignoring the authority of the majority could cause unimaginable consequences for their Presidency in terms of subsequent decisions of the majority,” Biney argued.
He said the Vice President’s position, the Speaker’s position, or the President Pro tempore of the Senate in the budget’s passage is inconsequential.
The NPP Executive asserted that the Vice President’s position, the Speaker’s position, or the President Pro tempore of the Senator play no material role when dealing with a conscious and knowledgeable legislature.
“What the President needs from the house, as well as the Senate, is the support of the majority of each house,” Biney noted.
As the debate on Capitol Hill about who will receive the national budget intensifies, everyone is waiting to see what the President’s next step will be in the coming days.
