Now that we have a Speaker, what happens next in Congress? The House of Representatives must adopt rules that govern their operations every two years. The 118th Congress votes on those rules as the second order of business. (The Constitution requires the House to elect a Speaker as the first order of business).
It’s important to note that no bills can be introduced in the House until the House rules are adopted. Even the Speaker cannot refer these bills to a committee until the Rules are adopted. So, expect to hear a lot about the Rules changes. It’s all a legal and very orderly process. See the links at the bottom of this article (no additional links, please).
I’m excited about the taxpayer-friendly rules that are up for a vote, like:
- A 60% support (instead of 50%+1) for any legislation for federal tax increases
- Raise points of order to stop pretend budget balancing that makes us think balancing the budget is short-term while ignoring long-term effects to future generations.
- No longer use the reconciliation process to pass massive spending bills instead of regular means to pass such bills
-The House is in control of the purse. No unrelated expenditures will be “tacked on” to bills through amendments. (This is huge, as we will know where the money is going, not superfluous add-ons that We the People learn about after the fact).
-All expiring expenditures will be reviewed and either re-authorized or retired, not automatically renewed without review. (Yay! Use our precious tax dollars wisely!).
Additional rules aim to give members more control, not concentrate House power solely in the Speaker’s hands.
You can discover much more at rules.house.gov and house.gov. It's a good day in America when the People’s House “gets its house order” at the beginning of a new year and new term.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.🇺🇸
