Schweikert, Ousted Conservatives Seek Explanation from Speaker Boehner

WASHINGTON – Today Congressman David Schweikert, Congressman Tim Huelskamp, and Congressman Justin Amash released a letter that was sent to GOP House Leadership asking for written explanation for why they were kicked off their respective committees. They also requested the scorecard used to judge their votes. Below is the text of the letter:December 7, 2012The Honorable John BoehnerSpeaker of the House of Representatives232 The CapitolWashington, DC 20515Dear Speaker Boehner,We write to request a full and complete written explanation of the rationale for removing us from our current committee assignments, including any “scorecards” presented to the Steering Committee to justify our removals.On Monday, we learned that we had been removed from our committee assignments. Some of us learned of this news from a member of the Steering Committee; others never were officially informed and heard of the action from press accounts citing anonymous leadership staffers. To this date, no formal explanation has been given for the removal.After learning of our removal, it came to our attention that a scorecard was presented to the Steering Committee to make the case for our removal from those committees. On Wednesday morning, Mr. Huelskamp stood before the House Republican Conference and asked to see a copy of the scorecard used to remove us.Through this past term, we were not aware that any such scorecard existed, nor that the scores would cause us to be removed from committee assignments. We believe this would be valuable information for the entire Republican Conference to know, so that each Member can make a full and complete decision when casting votes in the future. It would also allow us to communicate to our constituents which votes caused us to be removed.Please provide a full and complete written explanation for our removal, including a copy of the scorecard presented to the Steering Committee meeting, by close of business Monday, December 10th.Sincerely,David Schweikert Tim Huelskamp, Justin AmashU.S. Representative U.S. Representative U.S. RepresentativeArizona Kansas Michigancc: Republican Steering Committee Members