Dems, civil libertarians blast fines for live-streaming on House floor

Civil libertarians are blasting new rules from House Republicans that would impose fines on lawmakers who take pictures or live-stream video on the House floor.

The fines are intended to prevent a repeat of protests like the sit-in by House Democrats last year calling for gun control legislation after the mass shooting in an Orlando, Fla., nightclub.

Democrats broadcast their sit-in on social media, including Periscope and Twitter, after GOP leadership cut the camera feed that was being aired by C-SPAN.

Michael Macleod-Ball, a First Amendment attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, called the new fines an overreaction.

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“Ultimately what harm was done?” Macleod-Ball said of Democrats broadcasting their sit-in, noting that the House floor is constantly being televised.

“I just don’t see that there’s a huge justification for imposing this penalty,” he added. “Adding the penalty is just one further step in the wrong direction. The original rule would have had some chilling effect, the rule with the penalty has a further chilling effect, and because of that we don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Before the fines, there were already existing rules against recording on the House floor, but lawmakers rarely faced any consequences for violating it before Tuesday. 

The new fines are part of a rules package that was opposed by the entire Democratic caucus and just three Republicans. It imposes a $500 fine on lawmakers for their first offense and a $2,500 fine for every subsequent violation. The money would be taken out of a member’s salary.

The House later voted to allow for members to appeal any fines incurred for violating the rule.

“These changes will help ensure that order and decorum are preserved in the House of Representatives so lawmakers can do the people’s work,” said AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). Strong also noted that an appeals process was approved along with the fines.

But Democratic lawmakers are voicing their anger.

On Tuesday, Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee released a letter by a group of law professors denouncing the fines, which they believe pose “significant constitutional and policy problems.”

“If adopted, the new provisions would undermine core constitutional protections under Article I of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights,” wrote the group, which included Laurence Tribe of Harvard University and scholar Norman Ornstein.

“At a minimum, it would seem that significant and controversial changes of this nature would benefit from the input of legal experts before being considered by the full House of Representatives.”

Democrats swiftly denounced the fines, and some openly defied the rule on Tuesday by posting selfies from the House floor.

Exercising freedom of expression on House flr before draconian GOP rules change goes into effect. @repjohnlewis @repjoecrowley #goodtrouble pic.twitter.com/fvjh2IVjqC

— Jared Huffman (@JaredHuffman) January 3, 2017

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), an icon of the civil rights movement, blasted the rules in a brief speech on the House floor Tuesday.

“I am not afraid to be fined,” he said. “I have been fined before. Many of us have been fined before. During the 60s, many of us were arrested many times, beaten, left bloody and unconscious on the march from Selma to Montgomery. But no Congress, nobody, and no committee has the power to tell us that we cannot stand and speak up and speak truth to power.”

This story was updated on Jan. 5th at 12:40 p.m.