WASHINGTON — The House could vote next week on a bill aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of suspected terrorists, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan told fellow Republican members on a conference call Thursday about the upcoming legislative agenda. But that bill would almost certainly not be the one that Democrats spent 27 hours on the House floor last week demanding a vote on.
Ryan, R-Wis., said the bill could come up next week as part of a package of bills aimed at combating terrorist radicalization and recruitment, according to a GOP aide who was on the call. No final decision has been made, the aide said.
A vote on legislation to address the so-called “terror gap” could be a way to avoid continued Democratic floor disruptions. On Tuesday, a handful of Democrats tried to derail a brief “pro forma” session by shouting for recognition, and members afterward promised more antics to come.
But Ryan and fellow GOP leaders are not inclined to give in to Democrats’ specific demand — for a vote on a Senate-drafted proposal that would give the attorney general the power to block gun sales to people on federal terror watch lists — lest they encourage future attempts by the minority party to force action by occupying the floor.
Instead, the aide said, any House bill would be more likely to resemble Republican alternative legislation drafted by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, that would give federal officials three days to go to court to block a gun sale to a suspected terrorist.
Roll Call first reported on the conference call Thursday.
Ryan said in a Sunday TV interview that Republicans would not “tolerate” any further occupation of the House floor. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., a member of House Democratic leadership, on Tuesday refused to commit to a repeat of last week’s sit-in, but Democrats continue to weigh whether to repeat the protest.
Even if Republicans don’t put the Democrats’ preferred bill on the House floor, Democrats could still have the opportunity to force a vote on their legislation under typical House practice.
Controversial bills brought to the House floor typically include a “motion to recommit” giving the minority party the chance to offer an alternative measure. It is unclear whether that would satisfy the Democrats’ demands for a floor vote on “no fly, no buy” legislation.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Mike DeBonis