Fred Upton: “There are very powerful parts of this institution. One is the Committee on Rules, which meets behind those doors to my…”

“There are very powerful parts of this institution. One is the Committee on Rules, which meets behind those doors to my left. The Committee on Rules really runs this place in lots of ways. Every bill that comes to this House floor has a procedural vote first, and the Committee on Rules dissects those bills. They are the ones that decide what amendments, who will offer them, how long we will debate things, what is the procedure of each piece of major legislation as it hits the House floor. J.L., through her role working for then Chairman Colmer, got to know those rules of the House, which are this thick. She knew every I and every T in those rules, and she was one that tried to figure out where the votes were going to come.”