Dreier Decries Democratic Majority’s Altering of Motion to Recommit

April 19, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman David Dreier (R-San Dimas, CA), Rules Committee Ranking Republican, today roundly criticized the Democratic Majority for approving an unprecedented roll-back of Minority party rights in the House of Representatives. In the rule providing for consideration of the bill granting a vote in the U.S. House to the District of Columbia, H.R. 1905, the Democratic Majority altered the effect of the motion to recommit, essentially turning it into a motion to table, or kill the legislation, rather than send it back to committee for discussion and possible amendment.

"This change rolls back years of precedent and is nothing more than an abuse of the House rules to protect majority members from doing their job," Dreier said. "By turning a chance for the minority to participate in the legislative process into a motion to kill the bill, the Democratic Majority has made clear they will stop at nothing to use the rules to provide political cover for their members and avoid substantive debate. This change gives the majority the ability to hide from a substantive discussion and dismiss a motion to recommit as nothing more than an attempt to kill a bill. Rather than being up front about this significant change to the motion to recommit, the Democratic Majority buried it in this rule. If they want to curtail the Minority’s opportunity to offer one, they should have the courage of their convictions and tell us what they’re doing.

"It’s ironic that the Majority chose this bill, to give Congressional voting rights to the District of Columbia, to institute this unprecedented change. Democracy and representations are at the heart of this debate. Unfortunately, the Democratic majority has thrown both out the window by altering 218 years of precedent in this House. That’s beyond regrettable. It is another demonstration of the new Majority’s broken promise to provide for openness and fairness in the House. "