According to the standing rules of the House, any member could have brought the CR to the floor, a vote would have been taken, and the shutdown would have ended early, or perhaps avoided altogether. Much of the damage to the economy and to people’s lives could have been prevented.
However, on the eve of the shutdown, the House Rules Committee slipped through a resolution (H. Res. 368) denying members their long-standing privilege and giving that right exclusively to House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor, R-VA.
This was a shameless attempt by Republicans, pressured by their TEA Party caucus, to undermine the Nation’s democratic processes. Only nine House Republicans had the courage to vote against this travesty. Doc Hastings (R-WA) was not one of them. Doc Hastings, who was elected to represent a district (WA-4th) whose very existence as a viable economic entity depends mightily on the federal government, abandoned the interests of his constituents and bowed to the more extreme elements of the Republican Party.
Common Sense for Congress? Hardly.
