Sessions: House Rules Committee is "Out of Order"
Press Release
Sessions: House Rules Committee is "Out of Order"
U.S. Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Dallas) joined his Republican colleagues on the Rules Committee in documenting the breakdown of debate, decorum, and deliberation in the House of Representatives at the hands of the Rules Committee.
In a report entitled "Out of Order," Rules Committee Ranking Republican David Dreier (R-CA), Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA), Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Congressman Pete Sessions outline the vast discrepancy between the Democrat Majority's promises to lead the "most honest, ethical and transparent Congress in history" and the reality of the 110th Congress.
"The new Majority has not only failed to keep their campaign promises to the American people, but they have repeatedly waived long-standing precedent and transparency measures in a desperate attempt to prevent Members from interfering with the Democrat Leadership's preferred outcome. The result has been a disorganized and chaotic House as the Majority party has proven that political expediency is the Democrat's #1 virtue," stated Sessions.
The "Out of Order" report details a Democrat Rules Committee operated by partisan advantage, including the following heavy-handed tactics:
Rewriting bills to include massive tax increases and Medicare cuts with no debate.
· Rejecting more Minority-sponsored amendments than the previous Congress.
· Issuing more than double the number of closed rules prohibiting amendments than the previous Congress.
· Reducing by an entire day the amount of time Members have to review legislation and submit amendments for consideration.
Adopting a policy of turning some Members of Congress away at the door of the Committee when they attempt to submit amendments.
· Abandoning its pledges for regular order in the House by jamming through huge bills with less than 24 hours for review.
"This chaos is the product of a Majority Party that is willing to undermine Members' ability to represent their constituentseffectively disenfranchising the representation of nearly half our nation. The American people deserve better," Sessions concluded.
To view the "Out of Order" report, please visit http://rules-republicans.house.gov/Media/PDF/Out%20of%20Order.pdf
Source