Debbie Dingell: “tucked away in the package of rules changes being proposed by the Republican majority is a reduction in the time…”

“tucked away in the package of rules changes being proposed by the Republican majority is a reduction in the time permitted for the minority to file its views on legislation reported by a committee. The change would reduce the number of days for filing these views from 3 days to 2 days. I find it ironic indeed that during the 40 years of control by the Democratic Party, we never considered limiting this fundamental right of the minority to file views on legislation. Yet after just 2 years in control of the House, the Republicans now have found the granting of 3 whole days to the minority to file its views as somehow being too onerous. What is the motivation of this change? Was there some important business we failed to complete in the 104th Congress because of the 3 day filing period? Of course not. Certainly there appears to be no rush to pass legislation in this Congress. If that were the case we would be in session for more than the proposed 10 days over the next 2 months. The reason seems pretty obvious. The majority wants to make it harder for Members to hear the arguments being made by the minority.”