House Freedom Caucus Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA) is ramping up a push for rules changes in the next Congress as the conservative group looks to flex its muscle ahead of midterm elections in which Republicans are expected to take back the majority in the lower chamber.
Last week, the Freedom Caucus released a 54-page packet cautioning new lawmakers to lower their expectations for committee assignments and how much of a legislative impact they will have in their first term. Perry said he feels the incoming Congress should take a more bottom-up approach, noting key conservatives in the group have spoken to candidates about pushing for changes as they prepare to take office.
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“We’ve had great conversations, obviously, with candidates from across the board. We’re all focused on winning the majority, as you know, and you know, but the general theme of everything we’re hearing from our constituents, from candidates, you know, just across the board is, if you keep doing things the same way, you’re gonna keep getting the same outcomes,” he told the Washington Examiner in an interview.
“We want to see some different outcomes, so how can we affect that? And, you know, we’ve looked at the rules, we’ve looked at how Congress operates. Some of this has been there for a little while. So, we said, ‘Look, we want to have a constructive dialogue with our colleagues and our leadership about how we can make some real changes that affect different or that produce different outcomes,” he added.
When Republicans last held power in the House, the Freedom Caucus was often seen as a thorn in leadership’s side, often using its bloc of votes to move legislation to the right and having played a key role in pushing former Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) to step down. The group is hoping to use its likely growing numbers to make an impact on how things function within the Capitol next year.
While top conservatives and leadership have grappled over when to bring up a conference rules package, with Freedom Caucus members pushing for a vote prior to leadership elections next year, Perry said he’s hopeful more extensive conversations with leaders will happen shortly after the midterm elections take place and members return to Washington.
The caucus has laid out a list of demands, including changes to the Steering Committee; making it easier to vacate the chair, a mechanism used to oust a speaker of the House; and allowing for more amendments.
“I know that they’re wholly focused on getting the majority, and that’s one of the jobs that they have, and so, in this context, you know, we were happy to add the value of the thought, the foresight and kind of war-gaming some of these things, putting them together, so that we have something to talk about when we win the majority and not just say, ‘Well, you know, we got to do what has been done in the past,’” Perry said.
“We don’t have to do what’s been done in the past, and what’s been done in the past clearly is not working, and quite honestly, if we do win, they want to see different outcomes,” he continued.
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Perry said the main change the group would like to see is “a combination of anything that provides more participation by members,” with the Pennsylvania Republican adding that he believes decentralization of power and a return to regular order are critical.
“We have seen, and in our time here, like I said, no amendments for six years. I mean, the appropriations process where the House produces something out of committee that’s been marked up and going through the committee process and then a conference committee with the Senate on the budget and the appropriations — it hasn’t happened literally in decades. Now, we want to change that,” Perry said.
“So the primary thing is participation by members so that they feel that the input of their districts and their citizens is valued and heard. And I think that that’s been unfortunately missing.”
