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Fate of 'dreamers' could rest on 'queen of the hill' gambit

The other thread on this was completely derailed. Let's try to keep all discussion on topic.

Quote:

Under Denham’s plan, the House would debate and vote on each proposal. The one securing the most votes would be designated the “queen of the hill.” The House would later take an additional vote on the “queen” bill. If the House approved the measure a second time, it would truly emerge as “king of the hill,” earning passage by the House.

That said, just because a measure won at the “queen” level doesn’t mean it will win overall. In other words, passage of anything is far from guaranteed under this process.

“The biggest issue we’re having today is actually having the debate in front of the American public,” said Denham. “It allows us to show the American people the will of the House.”

It’s also an effort to show the Republican leadership that a majority of the House – more than 240 members – support a debate and vote on an immigration/DACA plan. The hope is that the GOP brass picks up on the cue and schedules a debate and vote on the four bills.

Quote:

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., opposes the queen of the hill effort.

“I don’t think that’s the right way to go,” said Ryan. “I don’t want to bring up legislation that won’t get signed into law. I don’t think it makes any sense to bring a bill through a process that would produce a bill that will get a presidential veto. I just don’t think that’s in anyone’s interest.”

However, Denham and others have a pathway to go over the speaker and deposit their four-bill buffet on the House floor. The House has a process known as a “discharge petition.” That’s where lawmakers can sidestep the leadership and put an issue on the floor, provided 218 lawmakers signed onto the effort. In this case, Denham and others wouldn’t advocate prying loose just a single bill, but a circumstance where the House would consider all four bills via queen of the hill. They would have to collect 218 signatures to initiate the discharge petition.

Discharge petitions usually aren’t successful in the House.

Denham may have around 240 supporters now. But it’s not clear that 240 backers for the current effort translate to signatories on a discharge petition. For now, Denham’s trying to use the co-sponsors as a wedge to force action from leadership rather than going the discharge petition route.

“It’s something we’d talk about,” said Denham when asked about the possibility of a discharge petition. “There’s a lot of things you can ignore here. But the will of the House becomes very difficult.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018...ll-gambit.html

Summary of latest effort:
1) 240 House Members support the "Queen of the Hill" voting process of the immigration/DACA type bills
2) Ryan does not support "Queen of the Hill" process (shocking...) - but he might change his mind if there is enough political pressure
3) Discharge Petition can force the measures to be brought up to vote, but no current plans to use this method
4) Unclear how many of the 240 House Members would sign the discharge petition, if Denham went this route (need 218 signatures)