i wish she had done this sooner ! On Jan 7, 8:10 am, Florida Cracker <[email protected]> wrote: > [ Thank God we have Speaker Pelosi in the house ! ] > Pelosi's Power Move Leaves House Republicans > Fuminghttp://www.truthout.org/010609T > House Democrats are poised to approve new rules that will > significantly increase their authority while taking the bullets out > of > the few legislative weapons Republicans have in the lower chamber. > > Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has approved the changes from the > last Congress, when House GOP members frustrated their Democratic > counterparts by winning over two dozen amendment battles on the > floor. > > Pelosi's move has set up a divisive mood on the first day of the > 111th Congress, which Republicans say runs counter to the tone set by > President-elect Obama. > > Republican leaders intend to fight the rules changes, which would > curtail their ability to delay legislation by forcing Democrats to > take politically difficult votes. > > "This is not the kind of openness and transparency that > President- > elect Obama promised," the GOP leaders wrote Monday in a letter to > Pelosi. > > Republican leadership aides say the changes will make it easier > for the Speaker to run the House and protect vulnerable House > Democrats. > > But Democratic leadership sources dispute the GOP > characterizations, noting that Republicans will still have an > opportunity to offer an amendment to bills on the floor, though they > won't have the ability to invoke an arcane rule that would in effect > kill the entire underlying measure. > > Democrats say GOP assertions that Republicans would not be able > to > offer a "motion to recommit" are false. They say they are removing > the > "Catch-22" that Republicans have exploited to force embarrassing > votes > on issues such as gun control and illegal immigration. > > The rules package also calls for the end of six-year term limits > for committee chairmen. This move is not popular with younger > members, > but panel chairmen have been pressing for the change since Democratic > leaders surprisingly kept the six-year limits intact in their rules > package for the 110th Congress. > > The change means that House chairmen could be in their posts > until > they retire or die. > > The six-year limit was initially adopted after House Republicans > took control of the lower chamber in 1995. That ended the seniority- > based system that Democrats had embraced for decades. > > Democratic aides argue, however, that term limits under > Republican > rule meant that the committee member who raises the most money would > be rewarded with a chairmanship. > > Seniority was a factor in the awarding of GOP committee > chairmanships between 1995 and 2006, though fundraising is seen as > vital on both sides of the aisle. For example, the Democratic > Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican > Congressional Committee will apply political pressure on members who > are lagging in their committee dues. > > Democrats were scheduled to meet Monday evening to discuss the > rules package before an anticipated vote on Tuesday. Democratic aides > at press time said there could be changes made to the package before > the vote. > > Republican leadership aides expect that their members will > strongly contest the rules package. > > Opposition tactics could include offering motions to adjourn and > walking out of the House chamber. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
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