House GOP Defeats Democratic Proposal

As expected, a Democratic proposal to rescind a Republican-written rule was killed today by a vote of 56 to 42 in the House.

Del. Robert H. Brink (D-Arlington) had asked his colleagues to change a rule that allows Speaker William J. Howell to bypass the usual committee process and send bills straight to the House floor for a vote.

With little discussion, the change was defeated along party lines.

Howell has sent dozens of bills to the Rules Committee, which he chairs. That committee can choose to send the bills straight to the full House with little debate or expert testimony.

The first time that happened was two weeks ago when Democrats revolted and abstained from voting on a controversial labor bill. Republicans responded by using an obscure House rule to force almost all the Democrats to vote, against their wishes, on the bill.