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I'm excited about the Republicans' "Pledge to America" which came out this week explaining what we would do if we were the majority in the House of Representatives. The Pledge includes a plan to make America more competitive and create jobs, a plan to stop out-of-control spending, a plan to repeal and replace the government takeover of health care, a plan to reform Congress and restore trust, and a plan to keep our nation secure at home and abroad.
It would take a while to fulfill most of the promises in the Pledge to America, but one set of promises could immediately be adopted if the current leadership in the House would only agree - and that is the procedures we adopt for considering bills in the House of Representatives.
Under the top-down way of governing enforced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leadership has attempted at every turn to stifle debate. Despite having the largest Democratic majority since 1993, the current Congress marks the first time in history that not a single spending bill has been considered under an 'open' amendment process. The Pledge to America promises that a Republican-led House would restore openness and debate. This is also a promise to run a more open House than the last time the Republicans were in control from 1995 to 2007.
The pledge ensures that in a Republican-led House there would be no more hiding legislative language from the minority party, opponents and from the public. Instead, there would be a requirement that bills be published online for at least three days before coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives. There would be an opportunity for legislation to be understood by interested parties before it is voted on. Everybody would actually have the opportunity to "read the bill."
The Pledge to America also commits a Republican-led House of Representatives to end the practice of packaging unpopular bills with "must-pass" legislation to circumvent the rights of legislators and of the public to have their say on specific controversial proposals. Instead, we would advance major legislation one issue at a time.
These are changes that the current House leadership could and should bring about today. But failing that, these are changes a NEW leadership of the House will be able to bring about in its first day.
While it would take time to fulfill the pledges to cut spending, replace the health care takeover, make America more competitive and strengthen our security, the whole country would know on Day One that we are returning openness, transparency and fairness to the People's House - that we are restoring the House as a true deliberative body rather than an institution controlled by a limited group at the top.
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