Miscellaneous

A little House parliamentary history: The motion to recommit goes back at least to the British Parliament and has existed in some form since the 1st Congress. A motion to recommit with instructions, as the great rules guru Don Wolfensberger has pointed out, goes back at least to 1891 and Speaker Thomas Reed (R-Maine). But that MTR was granted to a Member who was friendly to a bill, to offer a chance to clean up errors.

Democrats withdrew a bill on Tuesday to give the District the voting rights it has long sought in the House of Representatives, saying the "price was too high" after learning of Republican plans to introduce an amendment that would eviscerate the city's gun laws.

Buoyed by the support last week of President Obama, House Democrats seemed prepared to vote this week for a bill similar to one passed in the Senate last year, even though that measure contained an unpalatable amendment weakening local gun restrictions.

The decision by congressional leaders Tuesday to shelve a D.C. voting rights bill, just days after announcing plans to move ahead, scuttles what supporters say was the best opportunity in a generation to give the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives.