Bills Introduced – 10-30-23

Yesterday, with the Senate in Washington and the House meeting in pro forma session, there were 31 bills introduced. One of those bills will receive additional attention in this blog:

HR 6124 To direct the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot program to award competitive grants for the integration of cybersecurity education, and for other purposes. Thompson, Glenn [Rep.-R-PA-15]

Mention in Passing

There is one piece of legislation introduced yesterday that I would like to mention in passing:

H Res 826 Amending the Rules of the House of Representatives to limit the privileged status of a motion causing a vacancy in the Office of Speaker to motions offered by direction of not fewer than 112 Members from the majority party or 112 Members from the minority party. Miller, Max L. [Rep.-R-OH-7]

This rule change resolution is certainly part of the fallout from the Speaker Fiasco earlier this month. Everyone knew that the one-person rule adopted in January was fraught with political peril, but McCarthy was forced into acquiescence by the slim majority the Republicans held, and the pressure applied by a small number of radicals. The number required by this proposed change, 112 or almost 26% of the number of members of the House, seems at first glance to be excessive. 

The interesting thing though is that it specifically allows for the minority party to initiate a move to vacate. I can see that being used in an out-of-majority Republican congress (probably the 119^th) as another tool to obfuscate and impede the operation of Congress like we saw the fringe of the Republican Party do in the 117^th congress.