"Just act casual, John, I got this."
It looks like House Democrats might have a path to forcing a vote on the Senate's bill to fund Homeland Security through the end of September (currently, it's only funded through Friday). Such a move would save the nation from a Homeland Security shutdown, not to mention saving House Speaker John Boehner from both the GOP's crazy caucus and his own failure in leadership.
So this is confusing, but here goes: The House voted last week to "conference" with the Senate on the "clean" funding bill it passed. Conferencing is when House and Senate leadership aides get in a room and verbally work out the differences between their bills. During the conference, some House Republicans hoped they might add some of the anti-immigrant riders back into that "clean" bill that funds Homeland Security through Sept. 30. Senate Democrats can block (or filibuster) the motion to move to conference (a vote expected later today) and have thus far indicated they will do that.
At that point, House Democrats could invoke Rule XXII, which states, “When the stage of disagreement has been reached on a bill or resolution with House or Senate amendments, a motion to dispose of any amendment shall be privileged.”
The privileged thing is key because it would "trigger" a vote on the Senate's "clean" bill. Roll Call explains:
In other words, any House lawmaker, arguing that a conference scenario is moot and won’t be resolved before the clock runs out on the current extension of DHS funding, could take to the floor and move that the House recedes from its previous position and concurs in the Senate amendment.
Please head below the fold for more on this story.
12:23 PM PT: UPDATE: This is not a good sign—looks like Rep. Steve King is making a play to block Dems from using Rule XXII. Resolution text from his site: "Resolved, That any motion pursuant to clause of rule XXII relating to the bill H.R. 240 may be offered only by the Majority Leader or his designee."
Okay, whatever—Democrats can theoretically use this rule to force a vote on the clean bill, so long as House Republicans don't vote to suspend it, which is what they did during the government shutdown in 2013 to keep House Democrats from ending it. That worked out well for 'em.
The language House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi used in encouraging her colleagues to finally vote for the one-week extension in funding last Friday suggested that she may have her eye on the above course action.
“Your vote tonight will assure that we will vote for full funding next week,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., wrote in a Friday evening Dear Colleague letter to her fellow Democrats, encouraging them to support a one-week Homeland Security CR.
Boehner and his cohorts
are insisting, however, that no such agreement or "deal" has been worked out between the parties.
In an interview on “Face the Nation” Sunday, the Ohio Republican was asked what promise he made Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that secured enough votes from House Democrats Friday night to pass a one-week extension of DHS funding, just hours before the agency was due to shutter.
Boehner chose his words carefully: “The promise I made to Ms. Pelosi is the same promise I made to Republicans, that we would follow regular order.”
He said, “We want to go to conference with the Senate. Now, they’ve made clear that they don’t want to go to conference. But they’re going to have a vote, and if they vote in fact not to go to conference, this bill might be coming back here to the House.”
For Pete's sake, John, just let the Democrats lead you out of this rabbit hole already.