House Democrats Pull an End Around To Try To Overthrow Boehner and Reopen Government

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:41 pm

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Remember when I wrote that Democrats were planning to use Republican’s own bill against them in order to fund the government? They signed the petition today. Democrats are trying to bypass Speaker Boehner in order to allow a quick vote on a bill to reopen the government.

So far, 186 Democrats have signed a petition to demand a vote as soon as October 14th to reopen government. This discharge petition only needs a majority of House members; it doesn’t rely upon Republican leadership.

Take a look at Democrats lining up to sign the petition:

The method of using discharge petitions to bring legislation for consideration is not unprecedented.

According to a Congressional Research Service study cited by Democrats, “seven discharge petitions have received 218 signatures over the last 30 years. And in all seven cases, the majority party agreed to bring the measure to the House floor.”
But then, they weren’t dealing with these Republicans.

“The only thing standing between this Congress and an open government is Speaker Boehner’s refusal to allow a vote on a clean continuing resolution,” said Congressman Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). “This measure can remove the Speaker’s undemocratic roadblock and finally allow a clean vote in the House of Representatives to open the government.”

What Democrats are trying to do here is reestablish the rule of the majority, thereby bypassing the Tea Party strangle hold on GOP leadership. This CR would fund the government at levels set by the Senate if a majority of House Members sign onto a discharge petition. Click here to read what Democrats filed on the 4th to allow the signing of the petition today.

If Democrats can get to 218, the remaining two steps would be 1) Discharge the resolution from the Rules Committee for immediate House consideration. 2) Then debate a CR with the House and Senate agreed spending levels. This would be a substitute to H.R. 1164 – a Republican bill introduced more than 30 days ago. Then, they’d take an up or down vote.

The bill would then need to be passed by the much saner Senate.

“There is a growing number of Republicans who want the opportunity to work with us to end this crisis. We have seen it in press reports. And I have heard it in my own private conversations with my Republican colleagues,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.). “Today, we are offering my Republican friends, and the American people, a way forward.”

We’ll see if any of the House Republicans who have indicated that they want to end this shutdown have the courage to sign the petition.

If they don’t, this is a perfect example of why we can’t trust even moderate Republican lawmakers in the current GOP. If Republicans try to shut down this attempt at democracy, the people must demand a vote.

Image: Via Nancy Pelosi, Dems lined up to sign the discharge petition.

Sarah Jones

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