Logjam in the House

Tensions in the House continue today as Democrats and Republicans have been unable to come to a compromise over the calendar.

Last week as Democrats were filibustering over the grocery tax bill, Republicans, likewise, began blocking voting on bills until more of their bills begin to appear on the House calendar for consideration. Today, the House calendar included 5 Republican and 5 Democrat bills, and Representative Ken Guin, chair of the House Rules Committee, said “this is as fair of a calendar as we could put together.”

Representative Mike Hubbard, chair of the Republican Party, presented an alternate calendar that did not change any bills appearing on the calendar but merely rearranged them so that Senate Democrat bills were moved to the bottom of the Special Order Calendar. Republicans have taken this posture against Senate Democrat bills because the Senate refuses to take up House Republican bills. Without naming names, Representative Hubbard stated that one member of the Senate has promised to kill all Republican House bills. Representative Hubbard emphasized that by allowing one senator to block bills essentially “disenfranchises our constituents”.

By a vote of 43 to 39, the proposed alternate calendar failed to pass, and Republicans plan to block the procedural vote that would be required for Senate Democrat bills to be voted on in the House. Representative Hubbard went on to say that Republicans are not trying to be obstinate but asked members of the Democrat Party to think of what they would do if one senator was blocking their bills and the interests of their constituency from being considered.

They may never have the opportunity to do so today though, as filibustering on the grocery tax currently continues.