Like a bad movie sequel, House Democrats announced plans to bring the D.C. Vote bill back to the House floor after it fell victim to a masterful Republican procedural move last week:
The House will resume action on a D.C. voting rights bill in mid-April, with the majority party seeking new tactics to avoid the sort of Republican maneuvers that kept it from passing last week, a top Democrat said yesterday.
“I intend to have the D.C. bill back on the floor the first week that we return” from a two-week spring recess, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters. “And I expect it to be in a position where we will not have the procedural problems that we confronted.”
The ironic thing is that the Democrats were the ones who gave Republicans the opportunity to derail the bill to begin with:
The White House and the House GOP leadership oppose the bill, saying it is unconstitutional. Its prospects in the Senate remain uncertain. Republicans derailed a vote on the bill last week by taking advantage of a parliamentary loophole.
The loophole was created when Democrats decided at the last minute to introduce a minuscule tax increase to pay the costs of adding two House seats. The change would expand a provision of federal tax withholding law by .003 percent.
Once Democrats introduced the tax code into the picture, the bill was subject to new rules allowing a variety of amendments to be attached — such as the gun-rights language.
Amusing to say the least.
Previous Posts:
A Vote For D.C. That’s Unconstitutional
Congress Examines Legality Of D.C. Vote Bill
White House Opposes D.C. Vote Bill
The D.C. Voting Rights Crybabies
Will Bush Veto The D.C. Vote Bill ?
Memo From The Washington Post: Ignore The Constitution, Just Vote Already
D.C. Vote Bill Stalls In The House
The Washington Post: Ignoring The Constitution Again
April 18th, 2007 at 8:11 am
[...] Already D.C. Vote Bill Stalls In The House The Washington Post: Ignoring The Constitution Again The D.C. Vote Bill Is On It’s Way Back The D.C. Voting Rights Crybabies Are Back The D.C. Vote Bill: The Battle Begins Anew [...]
May 7th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
[...] Already D.C. Vote Bill Stalls In The House The Washington Post: Ignoring The Constitution Again The D.C. Vote Bill Is On It’s Way Back The D.C. Voting Rights Crybabies Are Back The D.C. Vote Bill: The Battle Begins Anew The D.C. Vote [...]