Texas’ Louie Gohmert paralyzes House on coronavirus bill, demanding time to review ‘technical’ fixes – By Todd J. Gillman and Paul Cobler (Dallas News) / March 16 2020
Six Texas Republicans voted against the measure late Friday and Gohmert now insists it be read in its entirety on the House floor, delaying Senate action.
WASHINGTON — A lone Texas congressman, Rep. Louie Gohmert, threatened to freeze emergency legislation aimed at addressing the coronavirus pandemic, complaining Monday that House leaders were trying to ram through changes without providing time for lawmakers to review them.
With the House on recess for a week, the Tyler Republican was in the rare position to single-handedly paralyze the federal response to a fast-spreading epidemic.
Gohmert defended his move, asserting that lawmakers hadn’t yet even seen changes that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi labeled minor “technical corrections” to a measure passed hastily late Friday, to ensure she’s not trying to slip in anything substantive.
“I’d like to know how I’m holding up a bill from going to the Senate that hasn’t been written yet? Most Senators are not even back in DC yet,” he tweeted as the uproar grew Monday afternoon.
Both President Donald Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., spoke with Gohmert on Monday, the congressman said, adding that both were sympathetic to his concerns.
Continue to article: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2020/03/16/texas-louie-gohmert-paralyzes-house-on-coronavirus-bill-demanding-time-to-inspect-technical-corrections/
