U.S. House Speaker Republican John Boehner delivers remarks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. European Pressphoto Agency
WASHINGTON—The House Rules Committee on Thursday approved a resolution authorizing House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) to file a lawsuit on behalf of the House against President Barack Obama over his use of executive actions.
The panel voted 7-4 along party lines to advance the resolution, which must return to the Rules Committee later to determine how it will be considered on the floor. The House is expected to vote on the measure next week.
GOP leaders have said the lawsuit will focus on the White House's decision to waive the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate without the consent of Congress.
"This president, as well as future presidents from both parties, must not be allowed to circumvent Congress and ignore the Constitution," Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions (R., Texas), who introduced the resolution, said this week. "Through this lawsuit, the House of Representatives will take a crucial step to rein in the president and defend our Constitution so that it endures for generations to come."
Democrats countered that the lawsuit is a misguided sideshow.
"It is clear that Republicans will do anything to distract attention from their special-interest agenda of obstruction and dysfunction," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said Thursday. "While Democrats work to jump-start the middle class, Republicans are wasting time and taxpayer dollars on another hypocritical, partisan and preposterous lawsuit against the president."
While courts have traditionally held that frustrated members of Congress aren't allowed to sue the White House, some lawyers believe that if a chamber of Congress authorizes such a lawsuit they may have standing.
If approved, the resolution gives Mr. Boehner authority to file the lawsuit on behalf of the House against Mr. Obama. The House general counsel is expected to work with outside counsel to file the suit, according to a GOP aide. That's a departure from the procedure used in 2011, when House Republicans used the chamber's bipartisan legal advisory group to defend the Defense of Marriage Act after the Obama administration said it considered the law unconstitutional.
Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com and Michael R. Crittenden at michael.crittenden@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
The House general counsel is expected to work with outside counsel to file the suit, according to a GOP aide. An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the lawsuit would be filed through the House's bipartisan legal advisory group.



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Home > LI Confidential > Stop scratching on holidays

Stop scratching on holidays
Published: June 1, 2012


Off Track Betting in New York State has been racing into a crisis called shrinking revenue. Some people have spitballed a solution: Don’t close on holidays.
New York State Racing Law bars racing on Christmas, Easter and Palm Sunday, and the state has ruled OTBs can’t handle action on those days, even though they could easily broadcast races from out of state.
“You should be able to bet whenever you want,” said Jackson Leeds, a Nassau OTB employee who makes an occasional bet. He added some irrefutable logic: “How is the business going to make money if you’re not open to take people’s bets?”
Elias Tsekerides, president of the Federation of Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, said OTB is open on Greek Orthodox Easter and Palm Sunday.
“I don’t want discrimination,” Tsekerides said. “They close for the Catholics, but open for the Greek Orthodox? It’s either open for all or not open.”
OTB officials have said they lose millions by closing on Palm Sunday alone, with tracks such as Gulfstream, Santa Anita, Turf Paradise and Hawthorne running.
One option: OTBs could just stay open and face the consequences. New York City OTB did just that back in 2003. The handle was about $1.5 million – and OTB was fined $5,000.
Easy money.