‘Pelosi Rule’: Bill that would force lawmakers to stay in DC during shutdown introduced by Sen. Joni Ernst

 

(Video screenshots)

Hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was spotted Friday evening at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., hightailing it out-of-town, one Republican congresswoman announced that she’s introduced a bill to prevent similar escapes from occurring in the future.

“I do have a bill … it is no budget, no recess, and it would force members of Congress to stay in Washington, D.C., until we have a budget done and until we have those appropriations bills done,” Sen. Joni Ernst said Saturday morning on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”

“And if that weren’t so [if Congress failed to get the budget done], there would be quorum calls requiring our members to be on the floor twice a day til we work through the impasse.”

Listen:

Ernst made these remarks amid the ongoing government shutdown. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers remained furloughed because of a stubborn refusal by intransigent Democrats to negotiate with President Donald Trump over the construction of a wall along the southern U.S. border.

Later Saturday afternoon the president, in fact, delivered a speech in which he offered Democrats a generous compromise in which they’d receive three years of protection for DACA and TPS recipients in addition to $800 in funding for humanitarian assistance, all in exchange for $5.7 billion for the wall.

Pelosi and her congressional peers prematurely rejected the deal. But if she’d accepted the deal, it wouldn’t have mattered because she’s not even in town at the moment:

She reportedly flew commercial, by the way. That being said, the fact that congressional leaders can just flee the scene during a government crisis simply doesn’t sit well with Ernst.

“Hardworking Iowans, and Americans across the country are sick and tired of government shutdowns, continuing resolutions and massive omnibus spending bills,” the Iowa senator said in a statement last Thursday, the day that she unveiled her bill to the public.

“This dysfunctional cycle is not the way our government was designed to function or should function. If we fail to pass a budget and spending bills, we should stay in town and work together until we get the job done.”

Getting the job done at this point would entail sitting down to work out a compromise. The president, who remained busy working at the White House through Christmas and the New Year, has done his part. As has Ernst, who’s indicated she supports his grand compromise.

“I agree with President Trump and many of my colleagues that securing our southern border is a key part of a system to discourage illegal immigration and curb human trafficking and the transport of illegal weapons and drugs – in addition to the ability of gangs and terrorists to exploit the holes in our system,” she said in a statement.

“We have an opportunity to pass a bipartisan immigration bill. The deal President Trump has put on the table is one that both Democrats and Republicans can support. A bipartisan plan that includes a secure border will not only reopen the government, but also put the wellbeing of American citizens first.”

HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE MISSING …

The question now remains when will Pelosi and her peers do their part?

Since the answer is “not this weekend” (if ever), given as she’s already galloped out-of-town, some on social media think that perhaps Ernst’s new bill should be called the “Pelosi rule.”

Look:

Social media users were likewise critical of Pelosi for fleeing the scene like a coward:

HERE’S WHAT YOU’RE MISSING …

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Vivek Saxena

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