US House resumes passing bills amid Republican infighting
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[June 14, 2023]
By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives returned to the
job of legislating on Tuesday, after a week-long standoff between
Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a small group of hardline Republican
conservatives ended in a temporary truce.
The Republican-controlled chamber first voted 219-210 on a gun rights
bill favored by McCarthy's hardline critics, under an agreement the two
sides reached late on Monday, before moving on to the first of four
measures that were sidelined last week.
The firearms bill, brought by hardline conservative Representative
Andrew Clyde, would repeal new firearms restrictions on "stabilizing
braces," which functionally convert pistols into short-barreled rifles.
Such weapons are considered particularly deadly and have been used in
mass shootings.
The House then voted 248-180 to pass the Gas Stove Protection and
Freedom Act, the first of two Republican gas stove bills that the House
is considering this week. It would prohibit the Consumer Product Safety
Commission from issuing regulations curtailing the use of new gas
stoves.
Neither bill was expected to be considered by the Democratic-led Senate.
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Earlier on Tuesday, the House also voted to open debate on three other
delayed bills including measures that would give Congress the ability to
stop new federal rules and expand judicial oversight on regulatory
issues. Votes on those measures are expected later this week.
The return of legislative activity came a week after roughly a dozen
conservative hardliners shuttered the House floor for two days to
protest the debt ceiling deal between Republican Speaker McCarthy and
Democratic President Joe Biden that passed the House on May 31. McCarthy
was forced to send lawmakers home early as a result.
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![](../images/061423PIX/news_p38.jpg)
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 8,
2023. REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2017/Jul/22/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png)
"Anytime you walk through things like this, if you have to give up a
couple of days as you work through in a conference, it only makes
you stronger on the other end," McCarthy told reporters.
But the hardliners, who want deeper spending cuts than those
included in the McCarthy-Biden debt ceiling bill, said they stand
ready to derail other measures as they seek greater influence over
the House agenda.
McCarthy and other key Republicans say they will push for deeper
cuts as well.
Ongoing friction from the far right could complicate House passage
of 12 appropriations bills that Congress will try to approve before
the 2024 fiscal year begins on Oct 1. Lawmakers are also due to take
up massive bills renewing U.S. military programs and setting
American agriculture policy for the next few years.
"This is ridiculous," Democratic Representative Jim McGovern said of
the Republican turmoil. "The only thing I've seen so far since they
took over is dysfunction and disarray."
(Reporting by David Morgan and Richard Cowan; Editing by Jonathan
Oatis and Stephen Coates)
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