Democrats hope to force vote to end government shutdown [View all]

[applegrove]

Democrats hope to force vote to end government shutdown

at Al Jazeera

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/10/4/democrats-hope-toforcevoteonspendingbillwithobscuretool.html

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The workaround solution would circumvent the contentious debates between party leaders by using an obscure legislative tool called a “discharge petition,” which would dislodge a bill from a House committee and send it to the House floor if a simple majority of lawmakers in the chamber sign the petition.

The tool is rarely used because it would require House members, in this case Republicans, to defy party leadership. But some lawmakers are confident that – given the dire situation facing the nation – the move will work.

Democratic Rep. George Miller said he was confident he could find 218 votes in the deeply divided Congress.

“We will round them up. We expect to get them in a day," the California congressman said.



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Here is a Business Insider article on the same topic:

http://www.businessinsider.com/government-shutdown-house-clean-cr-discharge-petition-boehner-pelosi-2013-10