Chairman Burgess Opening Remarks on Rules Committee Member Day

As prepared for delivery:

Good morning.

I would like to welcome everyone to the House Committee on Rules’ Member Day for the 118th Congress. Pursuant to Section 3(h) of H. Res. 5, the Committee is convening this memberday to hear from the broader body about issues under this Committee’s jurisdiction. I am glad to see the interest and participation of the membership off our committee and look forward to hearing their ideas. 

But before we get to that, I want to touch on the work we’ve done so far this Congress. 

For the first time in years, this body considered legislation under an open rule. 

This committee has also considered nearly double the amount of bills so far this year as the previous two Congresses at the same point in time. 

We’ve considered nearly double the amount of bills under a structured rule as the previous Congress.

We’ve eliminated the use of en bloc authority for amendments, ensuring that each amendment made in order under the rule is given its appropriate consideration and vote.

We’ve created the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, which has done incredible work investigating the extent of the CCP’s global ambitions and providing legislative recommendations on how to combat this aggression. 

We’ve also established the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to fully investigate the Biden-Harris Administration’s assault on the constitutional rights of American citizens. 

Finally, we’ve tweaked various rules to make this body more accountable to the people who elect us, more efficient, and more conscious of the taxpayer dollars our constituents entrust to us. 

The Congress has not been without its challenges, and I look forward to the discussion today on ideas to make things work better here, but I wanted to make a quick note of the accomplishments this Committee has achieved. I would like to yield to our Ranking Member, Mr. McGovern, for any remarks he wishes to make. 
 

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