WASHINGTON—The powerful House Rules Committee decided late Wednesday to allow Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House telecommunications subcommittee, to take one last shot at amending the House telecom-reform bill to include a network-neutrality provision.
If a member of Congress wants to have an amendment considered on the House floor during debate on a piece of legislation, that member must appear before the powerful and politically-lopsided—nine Republicans and four Democrats—House Rules Committee.
The House Rules Committee decides which amendments will be allowed during floor debate. To be included in the rule, as it is known, a member must appear before this committee and urge inclusion.
That process played out Wednesday afternoon in a tiny room on the third floor of the U.S. Capitol. The House Rules Committee eventually did allow Markey’s amendment, which sent the telecom-reform bill to the full House with the network-neutrality provision.
The House is currently debating the telecom-reform bill.
