Retired Sen. James Inhofe passed away recently and, in addition to the glowing tributes from others, I wanted to share a personal anecdote about how the Oklahoma Republican made a difference in an unexpected way.
Here’s the backstory. Civics 101 tells us that bills and resolutions introduced by a House member or senator are first sent to a legislative committee, and then possibly to a subcommittee. The House or Senate may consider the measure after it emerges from that process and the committee sends it to the full chamber. Sounds simple enough.
But what if a member doesn’t like a resolution that lands in a committee where he serves, knows the House will pass it if it has the chance, and, therefore, decides to kill it by preventing it from ever getting out of the committee? The House, after all, can’t pass a resolution it cannot vote on.
For the past century or…
