Today Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed Rep. Luke Messer's (IN-06) proposal to change House GOP rules, making the conference more responsive to its rank-and-file members.
Messer's rule will require committee chairs to hold a hearing on a measure within 30 legislative days if it is cosponsored by a majority of the Republican Conference and the cosponsors include one third of the Republican committee members.
"If one thing was clear from the recent election, it's that the people are still in control of their government," Messer said. "Congress must be directly responsive to the people it serves. One of the best ways to do that is to remove the barriers that prevent good ideas from succeeding. We can empower the American people by empowering their representatives in Congress to drive results."
Messer's rule ensures that popular legislative proposals have a guaranteed path forward in the legislative process to become law. Previously, a committee chair or other powerful member could kill a proposal regardless of how much support it had from conference members -- even if it was supported by over half of the conference.
"When Americans contact their representatives about an issue, they wonder if it makes a difference. This new rule will make sure it does," Messer said. "For the first time, the American people will be able to directly influence whether a policy idea moves forward by picking up the phone and urging their representatives' support."
Messer also authored a rule amendment which was adopted by the House Republicans today to improve conference culture by preventing personal attacks during debate, which impedes constructive policy discussion.
Messer's rule changes will now be part of the policies that govern the House Republican Conference for the 115th Congress.
Messer has been advocating for changes to House Republican Conference rules for more than a year. This September, he sent a letter with Reps. Rodney Davis (IL-13) and Morgan Griffith (VA-9) to all House Republicans urging several rules changes to empower members and help them deliver for the American people.
Messer is a member of House Republican Leadership, recently reelected to serve as Chair of the Republican Policy Committee in the 115th Congress.