Matt Collins
Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2007
- Messages
- 47,707
SOURCE: http://thestand.liberty.me/congressman-massies-500-yard-run-that-is-driving-congress-crazy/
Recently, Congressman Thomas Massie came to speak at the University of Cincinnati. He was the keynote speaker for the Young American for Liberty’s Ohio State conference. Massie gave an eye opening speech on how the House of Representatives works. One of his most revealing stories centered around his 500-yard run that he frequently makes from his office to the House floor.
Congressman Massie explained that voice votes are frequently used to pass motions, amendments, and resolutions. There are several problems with taking voice votes on important issues. First, the voice vote does not hold politicians accountable for their votes. Many of our congressmen that we send to Washington are voting against what they ran on, but we do not have a record of all of these votes. The second problem with this method of voting is that it is solely at the discretion of the House Chair, which is normally Speaker of the House John Boehner. He is the only one that is allowed to interpret the vote.
The House is supposed to have something called a “quorum” to have a vote. A quorum is defined by at least 218 congressmen. The way that Boehner decides if there is a quorum is by squinting his eyes and declaring he thinks he sees 218 people. Congressman Massie sometimes said there will only be ten congressmen present.
There are about 500 yards in between Massie’s office and the house floor. When the speaker starts to do voice votes when no one is in the house. The congressman will sprint from his office to the House floor and demand a recorded vote. When Congress has a recorded vote, it forces there to be a quorum and politicians to be held accountable for their votes. Massie said that he had done this a lot since he was elected in 2012.
