Conservative groups and budget watchdogs on Monday urged House Republican leaders to abandon a plan to limit debate on the largest annual spending bill, and bring it to the floor under an open rule.
The joint message from influential groups, including the Club for Growth, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, raised the stakes in the procedural battle over the Defense appropriations bill (HR 2397), pitting the conservative organizations against a House leadership that wants to limit potential votes on politically sensitive national security amendments.
"With the nation $16.7 trillion in debt, lawmakers should be afforded every opportunity to rein in wasteful or inappropriate spending whether it is contained in the Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Energy and Water, and Homeland Security spending bills -- all of which were governed by an open rule -- or the Defense spending bill, which apparently may not be," the groups wrote in a letter to GOP leaders.
The House Rules Committee was scheduled to meet Monday on the Defense bill. It had been working for days on creating a structured rule that would limit controversial amendments on the National Security Administration's authorities and aid to Syria and Egypt.
The challenge for the Rules panel has been developing a structure for considering the Defense bill that can get adequate GOP support on the floor.
Democrats are expected to widely reject a structured rule for the Defense bill, which would provide $512.5 billion for regular Pentagon operations. Many conservatives also have been angered by the plan to limit debate, and could join Democrats in a floor vote against it.
Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., a tea party favorite, was trying to rally fellow conservatives to vote against the rule on the Defense bill and said in a message on Twitter that he needed 20 Republicans to defeat the rule.
As of Monday, Republican leadership appeared confident of the chances for proceeding with the Defense bills, having to slated to be on the floor on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Other groups signing the letter demanding an open rule for the Defense bill included the Citizens Against Government Waste, the Cost of Government Center, the National Taxpayers Union and the Coalition to Reduce Spending.
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