TThe House is set to vote Friday on an oil-related bill after reviewing more than 140 proposed amendments that were introduced earlier this week thanks to the lower house’s modified open rule.
Under House rules, lawmakers are usually limited in the number of amendments they can introduce to a bill. However, under the modified open rule, which has not been used by the House in seven years, any member can propose an amendment as long as it is filed one day before the legislation is introduced in the House.
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The open rule has not been used by House lawmakers since May 2016. However, the method was revived after several conservative Republicans pushed for a more open legislative process ahead of House leadership elections in early January.
“The entire time the Democrats have been in the majority, these four years and three years in the past, you haven’t had a bill come to this floor under an open rule,” said House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R -CA) to journalists on Tuesday. . “That’s what we promised the American public. That’s what we promised members of both parties. There’s going to be more openness, more opportunities for ideas to win at the end of the day and as we go forward.”
Lawmakers introduced more than 140 amendments to the Strategic Production Response Act, which seeks to limit the president’s ability to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and would require the federal government to increase the percentage of federal lands that they lease for oil and gas production. Because the open rules allow for amendments, the proposed changes varied greatly in subject matter.
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The bill was considered a safe testing ground for the open amendment process, as it will not pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, and the White House has vowed to veto it even if it does.
The House voted on each amendment through a voice vote Thursday, and some proposals were considered by roll call. Lawmakers will vote on the legislation as a whole on Friday.