Christopher Shays: “What we did is we ended 40 years of one-party control. That was a system where the chairman became so dominant that even…”

“What we did is we ended 40 years of one-party control. That was a system where the chairman became so dominant that even a rank and file Democrat had no power, even in the majority. I would wager to say a rank and file Democrat Member has more power today under our system than they did under their system, which meant that the chairman decided every issue. You would bring a bill before the chairman. If he did not want to hear it, it did not happen. If the chairman did not want to have a public hearing on it, it did not happen. If the chairman did not want to invite these witnesses, it did not happen. If a bill was being debated and someone wanted to amend it and the chairman did not want it to be amended, under the old system it did not happen. What we have now is the expression of a lot of different ideas. We have a lot of Members on both sides of the aisle empowered to make significant change.”