# Whence the money for the Republican lawsuit **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 31, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520 "2014-07-31T20:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/1 "2014-07-31T20:02:23Z")
Can anyone explain to me where the money to hire the lawyers to sue Obama comes from. The House passed a resolution to sue. It doesn’t seem it’s going to the Senate like a bill and it would certainly be vetoed I’d assume if it went to Obama, so the money involved cannot be like an ordinary new budget item. It must somehow already be in a discretionary budget in the existing House budget. Is this correct? Does this mean the House now has less money to (i) pay for lawyers to advise them on other bills (ii) take junkets to someplace, (iii) hire interns, whatever? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/2 "2014-08-01T01:28:04Z")
Bumping this, because I’d like to know too. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/3 "2014-08-01T02:33:10Z")
From Boehner’s [memo](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/25/us/25boehner-memo.html) to Congressional Republicans on the proposed lawsuit. “I intend to bring to the floor in July legislation that would authorize the House of Representatives – through the House General Counsel and at the direction of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) – to file suit in the coming weeks in an effort to compel the president to follow his oath of office and faithfully execute the laws of our country. The legislation would follow regular order and be considered by the Rules Committee following its introduction, prior to its consideration by the full House.” In other words, they’re going to use government attorneys for the lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/4 "2014-08-01T05:19:54Z")
Just to be clear, we’re going to use taxpayer money to simultaneously attack and defend the President? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/5 "2014-08-01T06:07:09Z")
- shrug \* Different budgets, you know. Anyhow, something sort-of similar happens every time the Solicitor General’s office appears before the Supreme Court. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/6 "2014-08-01T17:15:43Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Just to be clear, we’re going to use taxpayer money to simultaneously attack and defend the President? 😕 Yes. But that’s not unusual. Taxpayers foot both bills when states sue each other or the federal government, or are sued by the feds. What’s unusual here is that the funds will come from Congress’ internal budget rather than whatever funds it appropriates for the Attorney General. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/7 "2014-08-01T17:17:48Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Just to be clear, we’re going to use taxpayer money to simultaneously attack and defend the President? 😕 and paying the judge. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/8 "2014-08-01T18:13:49Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From Boehner’s [memo](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/25/us/25boehner-memo.html) to Congressional Republicans on the proposed lawsuit. > > “I intend to bring to the floor in July legislation that would authorize the House of Representatives – through the House General Counsel and at the direction of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) – to file suit in the coming weeks in an effort to compel the president to follow his oath of office and faithfully execute the laws of our country. The legislation would follow regular order and be considered by the Rules Committee following its introduction, prior to its consideration by the full House.” > > In other words, they’re going to use government attorneys for the lawsuit. “legislation” Doesn’t that require the Senate to pass the bill too? I await that happening, now that they’re going on vacation… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/9 "2014-08-01T19:48:56Z")
Yes. The House can pass a _resolution_ on its own, but it has no legal effect. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/10 "2014-08-01T23:13:16Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yes. But that’s not unusual. Taxpayers foot both bills when states sue each other or the federal government, or are sued by the feds. What’s unusual here is that the funds will come from Congress’ internal budget rather than whatever funds it appropriates for the Attorney General. Or much more commonly, on a local level, when a public defender is assigned to a criminal defendant. Taxpayers pay for both sides of the criminal trial. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/11 "2014-08-01T23:59:33Z")
If they are using the HOUSE’s internal legal dept, I don’t see the need for anybody’s else’s approval. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-money-for-the-republican-lawsuit/694520/12 "2014-08-02T04:26:02Z")
nm