To: The United States House of Representatives
Oppose the Hastert Rule: the Real Reason for Congressional Dysfunction
The real reason for current congressional dysfunction lies in the Hastert Rule, an informal rule applied only by Republican House Speakers since 2004. The Hastert Rule has the effect of holding the country hostage to the right wing of the Republican Party. Basically, the Hastert Rule requires that any legislation from the President’s Office or the Senate first be approved by the majority of the Republican Party before it is voted on by the House. By requiring that any potential legislation first be approved by a majority-of-the-majority, Republican House Speakers have given power to extremist Republicans to silently kill legislation supported by most Democrats and many centrist Republicans. As a result, House Speaker Boehner has prevented the full House from even considering most of the bills requested by the White House or sent over from the Senate. Voice your opposition to the Hastert Rule and tell Republicans that it is time to allow every piece of legislation that comes to the House to be considered and voted on by all elected members of Congress.
The damage caused by the application of the Hastert Rule is seen dramatically in the recent government shut down. When Speaker Boehner finally relented and allowed the full House to vote on the budget, as he should have done from the start, the budget passed with a majority vote. The whole fiasco was created and perpetuated by Republicans and could have been averted if the measure had been brought to a full vote of the House from the start.
Unfortunately many other bills which enjoy widespread public support never see the light of day because the Hastert Rule. Whereas Republicans have applied the Hastert Rule since 2004, Democratic House Speakers have allowed all legislation coming from the Executive branch and the Senate to be considered by the full House, as intended by the framers of the Constitution.
If as a nation we are to make progress on important issues such as global warming, improved education, and immigration reform, the recently introduced and arbitrarily applied Hastert Rule must be banned from use. Voice your opposition to the Hastert Rule and demand that balance and fairness be restored in the House.
The damage caused by the application of the Hastert Rule is seen dramatically in the recent government shut down. When Speaker Boehner finally relented and allowed the full House to vote on the budget, as he should have done from the start, the budget passed with a majority vote. The whole fiasco was created and perpetuated by Republicans and could have been averted if the measure had been brought to a full vote of the House from the start.
Unfortunately many other bills which enjoy widespread public support never see the light of day because the Hastert Rule. Whereas Republicans have applied the Hastert Rule since 2004, Democratic House Speakers have allowed all legislation coming from the Executive branch and the Senate to be considered by the full House, as intended by the framers of the Constitution.
If as a nation we are to make progress on important issues such as global warming, improved education, and immigration reform, the recently introduced and arbitrarily applied Hastert Rule must be banned from use. Voice your opposition to the Hastert Rule and demand that balance and fairness be restored in the House.
Why is this important?
To restore balance and functionality to the legislative process in the House.