Rules Committee approves closed rules for three bills; rejects Jan. 6 plaque and NCAR amendments

The House Rules Committee voted to report closed rules for three bills after rejecting two amendments that drew partisan debate.

The committee approved a motion from the gentlewoman from Indiana, Miss Houchin, to grant closed rules for HR 4593 (referred to in the transcript as the "Shower Act"), HR 5184 (the Affordable Homes Act) and HR 6938 (the Commerce-Justice-Science-Energy and Interior/Environment appropriations act for 2026). The rules package waives points of order, provides that the bills be considered as read under specified amendment-and-debate conditions, and allows one motion to recommit for each bill. The committee clerk recorded the final tally as eight ayes and three nays; the chair declared the motion agreed to and named Miss Houchin to manage the rule for the majority.

The meeting included two failed amendments. Representative McGovern offered an amendment directing the Architect of the Capitol to install a plaque honoring law enforcement officers who responded to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, saying "the law says a plaque honoring the bravery of those officers has to be hung in the Capitol" and urging members to "get a drill and hang the **** thing up." After debate and a requested roll call, the chair announced that the noes had it and the amendment was not agreed to.

Representative Neguse offered an amendment (order amendment number 31 to HR 6938) seeking language that would require the National Science Foundation to support the president's FY26 budget request with respect to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). Neguse said NCAR's modeling and research "has national security implications" and argued the amendment was bipartisan and consequential for his district, state and the country. The amendment was put to a roll-call vote and the chair announced the noes had it; the amendment was not agreed to.

The chair opened the meeting by announcing the pending motion and invited discussion. After the votes, the committee finalized the motion to report the rules package to the House and adjourned without further action.

The transcript records the clerk's vote tallies and roll-call exchanges, though some roll-call lines in the record are inconsistent in wording; the committee's final announced result was that the motion to report carried and the committee was adjourned.