| Washington D.C.- House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), today sought to rewrite the rules of the House to prevent PAYGO offsets from expanding the scope of germaneness to further what Republicans may offer in their motions to recommit the bills to Committee. This change would allow House Democrats to more easily raise taxes and increase government spending without being held to account.
The move marks the first change in the germaneness rule since 1822 and is a direct infringement on the rights of the Minority in the House and the Americans that they represent. The Republican Study Committee Floor Action Team, under the leadership of Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), began requesting a series of procedural protest votes every 30 minutes in response to this power grab by the Majority.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling issued the following statement this afternoon:
“There they go again, promising high ethics and openness and instead delivering a muzzle through a stunning abuse of power in the people’s house. Today, House Democrats sought to silence Americans from hundreds of districts across the nation by attempting to mute their representatives in Congress and we are not going to stand for it.
“On the heels of passing the largest tax increase in American history, House Democrats today sought to make it easier to impose even more tax increases upon families to fuel spending increases.
“Though it appears at this moment that the Democrats will back away from trying to change this nearly 200 year old rule, the Republican Study Committee and our Floor Action Team will be resolute in an ongoing effort to prohibit the Democrats from again trying to make such a massive power grab.”
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