Republicans Block Senator Udall’s Committee Hearing

DENVER (AP) – Sen. Mark Udall says Republican senators have been using “arcane rules” to block committee hearings in Congress.

The Colorado Democrat told reporters Wednesday that senators have used two different rules to block the hearings. One rule requires unanimous consent for a hearing to take place after 2 p.m. Another rule allows senators to object to any hearing taking place more than two hours after Senate comes into session.

Udall had planned to hold a hearing Tuesday on his bill to manage the bark beetle epidemic. The hearing in front of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources was canceled. Colorado state Sen. Dan Gibbs had traveled to Washington to testify at the hearing. He went home without testifying.

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