Republicans Reportedly Plan to Crack Down on Potential Future House Sit-Ins
Remember the House Democrats’ sit-in over gun control? Well, Republicans are looking to crack down on potential future sit-ins.
A recent report from Bloomberg said that Paul Ryan is looking to impose fines and ethics violations on members of Congress who engage in certain disruptive behavior on the House floor, and that report has been corroborated today by Fox:
House Republicans are proposing sanctioning members with a $500 fine for the first offense and $2,500 for additional offenses.
“Any subsequent offense will be assessed at the higher amount, regardless of whether it is connected to any other offense by time or proximity,” part of the proposal reads.
In addition, lawmakers cannot block the well of the House as Democrats did with their sit-in in June, when they called for votes on bills strengthening background checks and barring firearms sales to people on the government’s no-fly list.
One particular issue here is the use of video recording devices on the House floor. After the C-SPAN cameras stopped rolling, members of Congress proceeded to live-stream and Periscope what was going on.
The reported Republican proposal would impose fines on members who use recording devices on the House floor. Bloomberg says that fine could potentially be up to $500.
One House Democrat has already responded to the reports:
.@HouseGOP wants to fine me, @RepBetoORourke & @RepScottPeters for filming #gunviolence sit-in. I'll always stand w/ victims. Bring.It.On.
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) December 26, 2016
[image via screengrab]
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