<p style="text-align: left" align="center">Don Wolfensberger, former chief of staff for the House Rules Committee in the Newt Gingrich era and now a <a title="Regular Order is a Political Rorschach Test" href="https://www.rollcall.com/news/regular_order_is_a_political_rorschach_wolfensberger-224587-1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">columnist</a> for Roll Call, offers this insight on the legislative tactics of the current House Republican leadership:</p> <p style="text-align: left;padding-left: 30px" align="center"> <span style="font-size: 13px">This week the Rules Committee reported two special rules for floor debate that could be identical twins. One provided for consideration of the <a title="House Rules Committee" href="https://www.rules.house.gov/Legislation/legislationDetails.aspx?NewsID=1085" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Working Families Flexibility Act</a>, reported by the Education and Workforce Committee. The second made in order the <a title="House Rules Committee" href="https://www.rules.house.gov/Legislation/legislationDetails.aspx?NewsID=1086" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Full Faith and Credit Act</a> from the Ways and Means Committee.</span> </p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Both rules provided for consideration of their bills in the House, instead of the Committee of the Whole; "self-executed" the adoption of the committee-reported substitute; provided for one-hour of debate; allowed for consideration of one Republican amendment, debatable for 10 minutes; and provided the customary motion to recommit (a final minority motion).</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Democrats were shut out from offering amendments to either bill, even though they filed six amendments to the first (three were later withdrawn), and nine amendments to the second measure.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">There was a time in the olden days when the Ways and Means Committee, after ordering a bill reported, would adopt a motion instructing the chairman to request from the Rules Committee a modified closed rule that allowed for one minority party substitute, plus the motion to recommit.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Apparently those days are long gone.</p>
