hed him into the role. Rosty quickly realized the leverage he could create to become Speaker of the House and immediately engulfed himself in the issue. He offered the Democratic speech after Reagan’s State of the Union address. Rosty helped to create a set of transitional rules inside the House in order to phase in appropriation, i.e. pork barrel spending, requests to ensure some backing from his Democratic collegues. He called for a slight increase in the 1981 tax rates and set an entire month for debate. After five days of pro-reform speeches and twenty-three days of con-reform speeches, the media began to catch on to the bleakness of the legislation. It was at this time the Ways and Means committee had to do something. Informally called the Pheonix Project, the committee began to vote in new loopholes in order to try and get the dying bill onto the floor for a vote. It was at this time that Rosty used his rough yet endearing personality to save the reform bill. Rosty defied his collegues and the many Morris 12lobbyists who hounded them and opened the floodgates. He leaked stories to all the major newspapers and made fools out of the bureaucrats on the Hill. The public outcry was enough to push the legislators to vote down the loopholes and they did, sending a legitimate tax reform bill to the house floor (Birnbaum).The biggest problem for the bill was now on the floor. The Rules Committee had to create the guidelines for debate and, led by Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill (D-MA), created a modified closed rule with only certain amendments and debate time allowed. The Republican Congressmen were furious. Congressmen Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott pushed to destroy these rules and they succeeded. An open rule was ordered yet Speaker O’Neill decided against bringing the bill up for debate unless it had a legitimate chance to pass. President Reagan, anxious to see his initiative pass, invited all of the...
