WASHINGTON – Representative Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) issued the following statement in response to the House Rules Committee passage of martial law until the end of the August recess:

“You would think after four years, the Majority would know how to run the House, but apparently not. The week before the August recess is usually a productive time, but all that this Majority could accomplish is suing the President, deregulating pesticides in the environment and – in a real embarrassment – canceling a vote because Tea Party Members refused to support a border bill tailor-made for them. Meanwhile, they blocked a vote on bipartisan Senate proposals to replenish the Highway Trust Fund and deal with the border crisis in a serious way.

“The irony was lost on no one this evening when the Speaker of the House called on the president to act on his own to solve the border crisis – less than 24 hours after the House voted to sue the president for acting on his own. Using the Majority’s logic, the president might have grounds to sue the House for legislative malpractice after this week.

“This much is true: it costs the taxpayers $24 million per week to run the House of Representatives; the American people are clearly not getting their money’s worth.”

Under martial law, the Majority could bring legislation to the Rules Committee at a moment’s notice, report it to the floor and pass it without following regular order.