Cunningham Pushes Discharge Petition for Gun Bill

Josey1

Cunningham Pushes Discharge Petition for Gun Bill Bid to Let Retired Cops Carry Firearms Puts Him at Odds With Judiciary Chairman Sensenbrenner By John Bresnahan In a rare move, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) will begin circulating a discharge petition this week designed to force Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) to release his hold on a gun bill.Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), the former chairman of the Judiciary Committee who now wields the gavel on the International Relations panel, initially indicated he will sign Cunningham's petition, but Hyde later expressed fears about being caught in a dispute between Cunningham and Sensenbrenner. It is highly unusual for a member of the majority party to offer a discharge petition, as the maneuver threatens the majority's control of the floor. Hyde's potential support is also noteworthy because of his stature as a former chairman of the committee, where he is still a senior member. But Cunningham said he has no alternative because Sensenbrenner refuses to act on his bill, which would allow off-duty and retired police officers to carry guns, replacing a mish-mash of state laws on the issue. Cunningham's proposal was approved by the House during the 106th Congress with 372 votes, although it later stalled when partisan squabbling derailed a juvenile justice bill in which the measure was included. An identical bill introduced by Cunningham this session currently has 210 co-sponsors, and the California Republican has tried to resurrect the issue in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. But Sensenbrenner "personally canceled" a hearing scheduled for earlier this year on the legislation, according to Cunningham, and declined to include it in an anti-terrorism package approved by the committee last month. That spurred Cunningham to complain about Sensenbrenner's actions in an Oct. 4 letter to his Republican colleague. "This heavy-handed behavior is unbecoming a Chairman of a major committee on an issue with such broad bipartisan support," Cunningham wrote. "When the will of the whole Conference is there, we go forward," said Cunningham in an interview last Thursday. "Sensenbrenner is just being Sensenbrenner." The California Republican said he has vetted his plan with leadership and received no objections. Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-Ill.) spokesman John Feehery confirmed that Cunningham has informed their office of his intentions. "It is his right as a Member to do that. Mr. Cunningham has the right to do a discharge petition," Feehery said. Sensenbrenner pointed out that Cunningham's bill, if approved by the House, could potentially kick off a wide-open gun debate in the Senate, where gun control forces are stronger, as well as abrogating current laws in 17 states. "I'm disappointed that Duke would do this," said the Wisconsin Republican. He added that his committee has already acted on terrorism, bankruptcy reform and broadband legislation, as well as a flag-burning amendment sponsored by Cunningham. "There is just a limit to the amount of things that the committee can do," said Sensenbrenner. Cunningham said he crafted the discharge petition in such a way that even if it garners the necessary 218 signatures, Republicans won't lose their ability to control the floor agenda. "I'm no dummy," said Cunningham. "I've already talked to [Rules Chairman] David Dreier [R-Calif.] about this." Hyde, for his part, downplayed the idea that Cunningham's petition was a slap at Sensenbrenner's stewardship of the Judiciary Committee. "I think there's such confusion around here that it's a way to bring attention to a good bill," said Hyde, who gave up the Judiciary gavel this year after six years as chairman. "They've done a lot of substantive legislation, including the terrorism bill. I don't blame anybody." http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2001/11/news1105h.html