[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 167 (Thursday, November 21, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H7336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            THE HASTERT RULE

  (Mr. DEUTCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, Speaker Boehner says that the Hastert rule 
demands that he only allow votes on bills that are supported by a 
majority of his own party instead of a majority of the whole House.
  Last weekend, a constituent asked me where the Hastert rule came 
from. I did a little research. It doesn't exist. Not a single page of 
this book--the House manual of rules and procedures--contains the 
Hastert rule. That is because bills in the House need votes from a 
majority of all Members, not by a majority of any party.
  The Speaker, himself, knows that the Hastert rule is no rule at all. 
That is why, whenever extremists bring us to the brink of default or 
insist on a costly government shutdown, the Speaker brushes it aside 
and relies on support from reasonable Republicans and Democrats.
  The Hastert rule is only used to prevent votes Americans actually 
want. They want us to pass reasonable gun laws, to pass ENDA, to 
protect LGBT Americans from discrimination. They want us to pass 
commonsense immigration reform, and they want us to pass a minimum-wage 
increase.
  This week, the GOP reminded us that it has no agenda. Don't use the 
nonexistent Hastert rule to block the agenda of the American people.

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