Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.-05) issued the following statement on Monday regarding her vote on the Rules of the 118th Congress.
Spartz
“Congress is a broken institution – less than quarter of Americans approve our job. Such distrust in our government is not baseless but is also dangerous for our Republic,” Rep. Spartz said. “Therefore, to move the needle and start restoring the culture of accountability, deliberation and debate, I worked with my fellow conservatives to bring back more democracy to our institution. Our current rules package is a step in the right direction to make Congress more representative of the American people and I am proud to support it.”
The updated rules package improves:
- Transparency: requires the text of legislation to be made available at least 72 hours prior to a vote and ensures that bills follow new single-subject and germaneness rules
- Democracy: restores the Motion to Vacate to allow any member to offer a privileged resolution declaring the Office of Speaker vacant, going back to the original process that existed for over 100 years that was altered by Democrats in the 116th Congress
- Fiscal accountability: requires a three-fifths majority vote on any legislation that increases tax rates, prohibits legislation from coming to the floor that has the net effect of increasing mandatory spending without offsets, eliminates the Gephardt Rule that allowed for an automatic suspension of the debt ceiling upon adoption of a budget resolution, restores the Holman Rule that allows Congress to reduce the salary of or fire specific federal employees, or cut a specific program
Additionally, it establishes new select committees on China and the weaponization of the federal government.
Click here to watch Rep. Spartz and her colleagues during a rules forum in November.