Last week, rank-and-file lawmakers were able to propose amendments on the floor for the first time since May 2016.Win McNamee/Getty Images The House just used an open process for amending legislation for the first time in 7 years. Democrats proposed nearly 60 amendments to a largely symbolic bill put forward by the GOP. The use of the process — a concession from McCarthy to his right flank — has some Democrats excited. For the first time in nearly seven years, the House of Representatives did something that one might expect it to do on any normal day: engage in a relatively free-form debate over amendments to a major piece of legislation.On Thursday and Friday of last week, the House used a so-called "open amendment" process to churn through 56 amendments — almost all of which were proposed by Democrats — to a bill teed up by the new Republican majority.