近七年来第一次，众议院周四将立法提交到了众议院其支持者称，根据“修改后的开放规则”，这一变化将导致更开放的辩论，但其他人表示，这一变化消除了旨在有效推动提案通过国会的限制。
共和党人周四晚上将一项能源法案提交给了议会，在投票之前，允许任何成员在国会记录中提交修正案。
这是自2016年5月以来首次允许此类修正案，也是自2013年以来首次允许非支出相关立法。
规则变更已协商在凯文·麦卡锡争取议长职位的过程中当他的批评者要求对法案进行更公开的辩论时。
“这是我们向美国公众承诺的。麦卡锡本周早些时候对记者说:“这是我们对双方成员的承诺:最终将会有更多的开放，更多的想法获胜的机会。”。
一些共和党人对民主党议长南希·佩洛西在众议院领导下使用“封闭”或“结构化”的特别规则持批评态度。这些程序限制了供审议的修正案，或者完全排除了将修正案提交大会的可能性。
专家注意到了这些规则的支持者如何说，它通过限制一项法案如何被修改和辩论，使众议院更有效地运行。
佩洛西的一位消息人士还表示，封闭和结构化的规则让她能够控制自由体操的进程，这是她更喜欢的。
新程序要求任何及时向国会提交修正案的议员也能在议会发言。这可能包括民主党少数派成员，他们可以利用修正案来突出对立法的攻击，并制造程序障碍。
对于周四提出的能源法案，共提交了143项修正案，但并不是所有的修正案都能获得投票。预计众议院将继续就拟议修正案辩论到深夜，并于周五投票。
众议院多数党领袖史蒂夫·斯卡利斯表示，规则的改变是共和党“开放事物”的一个例子。
众议院在新的修正案中提出的能源法案将把战略石油储备的释放与增加联邦土地和水域的钻探联系起来，这是众议院共和党人的一个关键优先事项。
华盛顿共和党众议员凯西·麦克莫里斯·罗杰斯，能源和商业委员会主席，在众议院说，“这项法案是关于恢复美国的能源安全。”
她说:“这为美国人提供了一条让能源变得更实惠的道路，他们期待我们帮助减轻加油的痛苦。”
白宫反对该提案，几乎可以肯定不会在民主党控制的参议院获得通过。
众议院最近还投票禁止向中国出售石油储备。该法案在两党支持下以331票对97票获得通过，113名民主党人加入了共和党。
House GOP opens up amendment process for first time in 7 years, allowing debate and delay
For the first time in nearly seven years, the House on Thursday brought legislation to the floor under a "modified-open rule" -- a change that leads to more open debate on the floor, its supporters say, though others say it removes restrictions intended to efficiently move proposals through Congress.
Republicans put an energy bill on the floor Thursday evening with a process that, prior to the vote, allowed any member to submit amendments in the Congressional Record.
It's the first time such amendments have been allowed since May 2016 -- and the first time since 2013 with non-spending related legislation.
The rule change was negotiated during Kevin McCarthy's fight for the speakership when his detractors asked for more open debate on bills.
"This is what we promised the American public. This is what we promised members on both sides: that there will be more openness, more opportunity for ideas to win at the end of the day," McCarthy told reporters earlier this week.
Some Republicans were critical of the use of "closed" or "structured" special rules under Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi's leadership in the chamber. Those processes limit amendments for consideration or eliminate them from being brought to the floor altogether.
Experts have noted how supporters of those rules say it makes the chamber run more efficiently by limiting how a bill can be revised and debated by the full chamber.
A Pelosi source also said that the closed and structured rules gave her control of the floor process, which she preferred.
The new process requires that any member who submitted their amendment in time to the Congressional Record also be able to speak on the floor. That could include members of the Democratic minority, who could use amendment proposals to spotlight attacks on legislation and create procedural hurdles.
For the energy bill taken up Thursday, 143 amendments were submitted -- but not all of the amendments will receive a vote. The House was expected to continue debating the proposed amendments into the night and vote Friday.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said the rule change is an example of the GOP "opening things up."
The energy bill the House introduced the new amendment process with would tie Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases to increased drilling on federal lands and waters, which is a key priority for Republicans in the chamber.
Washington Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said on the House floor that "this bill is about restoring America's energy security."
"It provides a path towards making energy more affordable for Americans, who are looking to us to help ease the pain at the pump," she said.
The White House is against the proposal and it is almost certain not to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
The House also recently voted to ban sales from the petroleum reserve to China. That legislation passed with bipartisan support, in a 331-97 vote, with 113 Democrats joining Republicans.
