Republican Congressman Tom Reed and his bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus has been pushing for an end to what he calls the “top-down, speaker-driven” style of operations in the House.
Now, said Reed in a conference call with reporters this past week, he believes the caucus, which he co-chairs with New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer, is close to making it happen, thanks to the leverage nine of his Democratic colleagues have regarding the next House majority leader.
Reed said the caucus is “committed to reforming the rules of the House,” where he and others claim that legislation with even wide bipartisan support can be blocked from getting to the floor for a vote by the majority leader. That is currently Republican Paul Ryan.
Democrats on the Problem Solvers Caucus have had discussions with current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi about adopting reforms that Reed said would encourage more bipartisan legislation on key issues facing the nation.
Reed said a number of Democrats are vowing to withhold support for Pelosi’s bid to become House majority leader in January unless she embraces reforms to create a “member-driven organization.” The Democrats won control of the House in the mid-term elections.
If she does support substantial reforms, said Reed, he is “open to supporting a candidate on the Democratic side.”
Reed scoffed at the idea, put forth recently in a Washington Post story, that the Problem Solvers are more interested the optics of bipartisanship than they are with getting anything accomplished.
Finger Lakes Times:
Read More
