The Washington Post – October 27th, 2015
The House approved the reauthorization of the U.S. Export-Import Bank (Ex-IM), with a majority of Republicans joining almost all Democrats to demonstrate broad bipartisan support to revive the finance agency. This effort was made possible by leading consultant, Tom O’Donnell of Gephardt Government Affairs. Tom rallied the support of Pro-business conservatives to use a rare procedural tool know as a Discharge Petition. The petition allowed lawmakers to dislodge Ex-Im legislation that has been held back by party leaders.
According to the Washington Post “By almost every measure, the move was historic. It was just the third time that all 218 signatures — a bare majority in the House — for a discharge petition have been procured on the same day, according to an Oct. 14 report by the Congressional Research Service. Also, if the bank is revived, it would mark just the third time that a law was passed by going entirely through the discharge-petition route, CRS said. The other two were the first national minimum wage bill in the 1930s and a federal pay bill 55 years ago.”