Booted committee members question speaker

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Three freshmen Republican U.S. House members who were dismissed from committees have demanded an explanation from Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

Justin Amash of Michigan and Tim Huelskamp of Kansas were removed from the Budget Committee, and David Schweikert of Arizona was booted from the Agriculture panel. The three were being punished for opposing House leaders on important votes, The Hill reported Friday.

They wrote a letter to Boehner Monday, asking him for "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."

"Two days ago I asked House GOP Leadership to explain why we were taken off key committees, but my questions have gone unanswered," Huelskamp said in a statement. "Not only do I deserve answers, but the people of Kansas deserve to know as well. And, my colleagues who have been safe so far should know how they can avoid retribution in the future. After all, the entire GOP conference was warned last week that leadership is watching their votes as well."