in the House of Representatives, including Speaker Dennis Hastert of Illinois, Tom DeLay of Texas and Tom Davis of Virginia, opened a congressional inquiry of the House Government Reform Committee, which was to take place in Clearwater on March 25, and issued subpoenas for Terri and Michael Schiavo and several hospice workers. Because of her condition, Terri Schiavo obviously would not have been able to testify; however, the subpoena gave her federal protection as a prospective witness, as it is a federal crime to prevent a person from testifying before Congress. Greer opted to ignore the subpoenas, telling congressional attorneys over a conference call "I have had no cogent reason why the (congressional) committee should intervene." This was upheld by the Florida Supreme Court. Although US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, Sen. Rick Santorum, and Rep. Tom Delay, brought the possibility of sanctioning Florida Judge Greer on charges of Contempt of Congress, Congress did not attempt to enforce the subpoenas or take any action against Florida Judge Greer. Politicians Some conservatives, such as former Representative Bob Barr, expressed concern about the implications for federalism of a bill that involved the federal government in a matter traditionally left to the states. Many Democrats simply stayed away from the controversy. Republican Representative Tom DeLay of Texas and Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, a cardiac surgeon, spoke in favor of keeping Schiavo on the feeding tube, as did President George W. Bush. Critics say that Frist's stance on this issue appears to indicate a reversal in his personal opinion, as he has previously argued for the definition of brain death to be extended to include anencephalic conditions of the type seen in this case. Democratic Senators Tom Harkin and Kent Conrad also supported federal intervention in the Schiavo case, although Republican Representative Dave Reichert was against it. Especially outspoken Democratic members of Congress who have protested the federal intervention include Henry Waxman, Robert Wexler, Barney Frank, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz. On March 22, 2005, the Los Angeles Times reported on then-Texas Governor George W. Bush's signing of a 1999 bill, the Advance Directives Act, that allowed medical professionals to remove life support from a patient, even over the objections of family members, if the hospital determined that there was no further hope for the patient (the bill allows the hospital to take into account inability to pay the health insurance carrier of the