Have you ever had the feeling that no matter who you vote
for, your values won’t be represented in the swamp of Washington, D.C.?
Even if your representative holds conservative values, it’s tempting to assume he or she will get bought off, or simply not have the political leverage to pass meaningful legislation.
Well, it’s true that good policy won’t pass if it’s blocked by a bad process. And for several years, the process in the U.S. House of Representatives was terribly broken. It shut out many conservative members from a seat at the table because they were not part of the D.C. inner circle. By extension, it shut out the voices of conservative voters.
But this January, things changed. I want to encourage you that your voice can be heard, your values can influence policy, and your vote matters!
What Happened?
As a new session of Congress began, the members-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to choose their Speaker—an extremely powerful position for stopping bad bills and passing good ones, as I mentioned in a previous article.
Candidates from both parties ran, but the majority party candidate usually wins. This time, however, 20 conservative members refused to vote for the Republican nominee without first securing major reforms in the political process.
Here’s an amazing fact: if Republicans had had a “Red Wave” in November with a large majority as expected, these 20 conservative votes wouldn’t have made a difference. But because Republicans were only four votes over the majority threshold, conservatives had leverage to insist on those reforms.
Their stand was successful! Here are just seven ways the process has been reformed:
- Conservatives gave backbone to the Speaker of the House. For the past four years, the House rules made it practically impossible to hold the Speaker accountable because a majority of either party had to initiate a call to remove the Speaker. But this year, conservatives restored a historic rule allowing a single member to request a vote to remove the Speaker at any time. This gives the Speaker incentive to negotiate for more conservative legislation. Otherwise, he could face another contentious election for his position.
- Freedom Caucus Members gained seats on key committees. One of the most influential is the Rules Committee, which largely controls which bills are voted on by the House. Another is the Appropriations Committee, responsible for funding the government. There are more, but with seats on these two committees alone, true conservatives have significant influence.
- Stopping bloated omnibus bills. Congress routinely stuffs wasteful spending items into essential bills that must pass. Now, however, each bill must have a single stated purpose, and any member can challenge irrelevant amendments. It also means the House will vote on separate appropriations bills to fund the government rather than one giant omnibus spending bill.
- Reducing spending and waste. Several rules help rein in out-of-control spending. One that conservatives resurrected is the Holman rule. It empowers Congress to reduce the salary or eliminate the positions of bureaucrats who abuse their power. Another prohibits most attempts to increase mandatory spending within a five or ten-year budget window.
- More time to read bills before voting. A loophole was eliminated so House members now truly have at least 72 hours to read a bill before voting on it. At iVoterGuide, we are big fans of informed voting!
- Harder to raise your income tax rate. It now requires 3/5 of the members voting instead of a simple majority to increase the federal income tax rate.
- Fast-tracked conservative legislation. The rules prioritize the passage of certain legislation on the right to life, border security, energy, crime, and reining in the IRS.
What’s the Big
Picture?
While not perfect, these reforms give more conservative members—and the voters who elected them—a greater voice in the national debate of crucial issues. It also gives them more power to stop bad legislation from the Senate. Overall, the House functions closer to its purpose as “The People’s House.”
Moreover, a new foundation has been laid for sustaining these reforms in the next Congress—provided a majority of conservatives is elected to uphold them. Speaking of elections, another victory achieved reduces the amount of big money spent to defeat conservative candidates in Republican primaries.
Why Does it Matter?
One last thought about the significance of what happened in January: a candidate’s political philosophy matters.
Representatives whom iVoterGuide rated “Verified Conservative” in 2022 made up 14 of the 20 courageous members who pushed for these reforms. That’s 70 percent, significantly higher than the 21 percent of “Verified Conservatives” among House Republicans as a whole. It takes a lot to earn that rating, and it seems those candidates are living up to it.
Remember that behind this group of 20 representatives who pushed for conservative reforms was a significant number of informed, motivated, discerning voters. Now that’s encouraging!
