David Skaggs: “included in the House rules package prepared by the Republican Conference being voted upon today are provisions to…”

“included in the House rules package prepared by the Republican Conference being voted upon today are provisions to direct the House Oversight Committee to abolish all Legislative Service Organizations [LSO's], including the Democratic Study Group. The Republican rules package is being brought to the floor under a procedure which bars amendments. So today there will be no opportunity for the House to effectively debate the merits of an organization such as the Democratic Study Group or to consider proposals to allow the Democratic Study Group to continue to provide top-quality research within the House of Representatives. However, as the newly elected chairman of the Democratic Study Group for the 104th Congress, I cannot let this occasion pass without standing up to protest this misguided action on the part of the House Republican Conference. Although under the new Republican rules the Democratic Study Group will be allowed to reconstitute itself as a 'Congressional Member Organization,' DSG's ability to have an office and staff and thus to produce the legislative research materials Members have relied upon for so long is being terminated. The Democratic Study Group has served the House of Representatives extremely well for over 30 years. Over this period of time, DSG has provided independent, indepth, and timely analyses of all legislation coming to the House floor.…”