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Washington, D.C. —This is not an April Fool’s Day joke—the U.S. Constitution is under serious attack from politicians who appear not to believe it takes both House and Senate approval, followed by the signature of the President, to enact legislation into law.

The attack happened today when the House majority approved a bill purporting to lay the groundwork to put into effect the draconian federal budget cuts adopted earlier this year by that body—but not by the Senate—that would run through the Sept. 30 end of fiscal 2011.

“Prior to the vote, the White House declared this legislation patently unconstitutional,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), “and during floor debate, Democratic House members derided it—as they should—as a fraud on the public.”

House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.) said the bill is no more than an attempt by House Republicans to say “If you don’t pass what we want, our bill will take effect if the Senate doesn’t act.”

Today’s measure, H.R. 1255, is titled the “Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2011.” It is the latest act of political theater in ongoing efforts to reach agreement on government funding for the next six months.

In earlier legislation, H.R. 1, House Republicans sought to reduce federal agency funding by some $61 billion in this fiscal year; in today’s debate, they criticized the Senate for not having advanced its own budget proposal in the wake of the looming expiration of the current continuing resolution funding the government through April 8. If no agreement is reached by that time, a government shutdown will go into effect with devastating impacts on the American taxpayers.

NTEU is the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.