WHERE WE STAND RIGHT NOW WITH THE McCLINTOCK-POLIS AMENDMENT
The House Rules Committee will not allow the McClintock-Polis Amendment to hit the floor for a vote, which is not too surprising because they have done the same thing several times before with the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment, which has nevertheless passed with every budget since 2014
So being rejected by the House Rules Committee does not disqualify McClintock-Polis from ultimately passing with the budget
However, many had hoped that with so much recent bipartisan support to protect MJ-legal states since Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo on January 4th, the House Rules Committee would be pressured by fellow Republicans to change their behavior and allow MJ amendments to hit the House floor for a full vote -- this is the origin of tonight's disappointment
The next step for McClintock-Polis is in the Senate, where the chances of passing are pretty favorable
Whenever the House and Senate have differences in their respective budget bills, the House-Senate Conference Committee is in charge of reconciling them, resulting in the final budget bill
So let's see what happens in the Senate next
Assuming passage, the Conference Committee is likely to determine the final fate of McClintock-Polis
If the House Rules Committee had allowed McClintock-Polis to be voted on, as they did in 2015 when it almost passed (206-222), we all could have celebrated its victory tonight, because we know the votes are there in 2018
Instead, we will need to wait a little longer to learn the fate of McClintock-Polis
Like Mr. Polis, I remain hopeful
Sleek
