FreedomWorks Issues an Urgent Key Vote "NO" Against Speaker Boehner's Closed-Door Continuing Resolution Vote

Dean Clancy: "Speaker Boehner should allow 'open rule, open process'"

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following news that Speaker Boehner is pushing for a vote on a continuing resolution (CR) that would fail to address long-term budget and spending reforms, FreedomWorks VP of Public Policy Dean Clancy announced that FreedomWorks has issued an urgent Key Vote "NO" against the closed House "rule" vote for H.R. 933, expected to take place tomorrow.

The "Department of Defense, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act," H.R. 933, contains a continuing resolution to fund the federal government in the absence of a budget, since the Senate has failed to pass a budget resolution for nearly four years.

House Leadership has indicated that the CR will come to the House floor under a "closed rule," meaning that debate will be limited and no amendments will be allowed. 

Clancy commented, "Leadership is trying to make Members vote up or down on the continuing resolution without giving them a chance to offer amendments. That violates the Leadership's promise made in 2010 to operate in a fair and open way, giving Members a chance to offer amendments to important bills like this massive government funding bill. The least Speaker Boehner and the Leadership can do is allow input from the fiscal conservatives in the House who are actually committed to coming up with long-term spending and budgetary reforms."

Already, Congressmen Huelskamp (KS-1), Bridenstine (OK-1) and DeSantis (FL-6) have an amendment which would remove all funding for ObamaCare implementation from the CR. Other Members may have more ideas for useful spending reductions that would help reduce our unsustainable deficits and our $16.6 trillion in debt. 

FreedomWorks will be mobilizing its membership of over 4 million members nationwide to drive phone calls and emails to Congressional offices to demand that Leadership allow the bill to the floor under an open rule, in which amendments are allowed to see the light of day.

FreedomWorks also plans to count this rule vote as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Freedom Scorecard for 2013. The Economic Freedom Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.

FreedomWorks is a service center to a community of over 4 million grassroots activists nationwide who believe in individual liberty and constitutionally-limited government. For more information on FreedomWorks' position on the continuing resolution, please visit www.FreedomWorks.org or contact Jackie Bodnar at [email protected].

Contact:
Jackie Bodnar
(202) 942-7652
[email protected]

SOURCE FreedomWorks