Post by bot on Jan 22, 2015 22:03:11 GMT -5
Hoyer Introduces Resolution to Restore Voting Rights to Delegates, Resident Commissioner
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) introduced H. Res. 44, which would amend the House rules to allow the Delegates of the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to vote in the Committee of the Whole House.
"Today, I am re-introducing legislation to provide House Delegates and the Resident Commissioner with the right to vote in the Committee of the Whole House so that the nearly five million Americans they represent have a voice in Congress,” stated Whip Hoyer. “It is deeply disappointing that the current and past two Congresses have adopted rules that deprive these representatives of a role in an important part of the legislative process, silencing the views of millions of Americans on legislation before the House. I strongly urge the House Republican leadership to reconsider their position and bring this legislation to the Floor for a vote so that Delegates and the Resident Commissioner have the opportunity to show their constituents where they stand on issues, and their constituents can hold them accountable for their votes.”
During the Democratic-led 110th and 111th Congresses, the Rules of the House allowed Delegates and the Resident Commissioner to vote in the Committee of the Whole House without legal controversy. Unfortunately, that privilege was revoked by the Republican rules package for the 112th, 113th, and 114th Congresses. Whip Hoyer wrote a letter to Republican Rules Committee Chair Pete Sessions last month requesting that Delegates and the Resident Commissioner be permitted to cast votes in the Committee of the Whole House. Whip Hoyer also previously introduced this legislation in the 112th and 113th Congresses. To read text of the legislation, click here.
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