The House is Voting and Voting…
If, on the odd chance, you're a fan of C-SPAN, you may have noticed that the House has been stuck voting on motions to adjourn – four of them today thus far. That is because the GOP is protesting – as they have been for a week. The scuffle started when Dems moved to cut off GOP amendments to the Commerce, Justice and science appropriations bill, calling the dizzying number of Republican amendments tantamount to a filibuster. The GOP responded by forcing 52 roll call votes in a day – a record. The same is happening today with the Homeland Security appropriations bill after the Rules Committee late last night moved to limit the number of GOP amendments to 14. Historically, appropriations bills have been bipartisan and open to amendments on the floor. “They're trying to ramrod as much spending through this Congress as they can, and as fast as they can-- that's why they continue to limit the number of amendments,” House Minority Leader John Boehner told reporters this morning. “And I've got to believe that Thomas Jefferson would be rolling over in his grave if he saw how House Democratic leaders were running the Congress of the United States. They're turning it into a banana republic.”
With just two of the 12 appropriations bills done, this promises to be a long appropriations season. Though, some House Republicans seem to be losing their appetite for the many motions to adjourn. On the first vote 75 Republicans voted against it. That number expanded to 96 on the second vote, 139 on the third vote and 144 on the fourth.
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1
If you're a fan of any other news operation, you're watching Mark Sanford fees up to fooling around.
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2
OK, OK, "fess up."
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4
"...calling the dizzying number of Republican amendments tantamount to a filibuster."
Details please. How many amendments? What is a reasonable number? Is it clear that the Republicans are using gamemanship to stop the House from passing anything? We have Boehner's opinion, what do House Dems say? Thanks. -
5
So where's the story about how the Republicans are behaving like trolls trying to gum up the works instead of acting like leaders and participating in the process.
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6
They're turning it into a banana republic.
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Nope. Too late. Not upholding the Geneva conventions did that.
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To paraphrase Neruda:
Bush flies, Cheney flies
Gonzales flies, Yoo flies. -
7
More like this please, JNS.
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also, more relevant detail -- like an answer to pinto's question about how many amendments the GOP wanted to consider.... while the opposition party should be allowed to submit some "political" amendments (i.e. amendments that have no chance of passage, but which are there to get congresscritters 'on the record' on controversial issues) those amendments need to be limited if Congress is to get their job done. -
8
" more relevant detail -- like an answer to pinto's question about how many amendments the GOP wanted to consider."
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The Roll Call link has the number at 127. -
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PNNTO -
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Could ye be puttin' tha' link here, matey?
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Arrgh! -
10
JNS provided it- "Dems moved to cut off GOP amendments"
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http://www.rollcall.com/news/35971-1.html?type=printer_friendly -
11
Geez, JNS -
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Yer link were a takin' me t' th' Boner's blog page - I be still wipin' off th' slime!
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An' fer th' record, readin' 'is usual slop didn't clarify things a'tall.
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Arrgh! -
12
PNNTO -
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Sorry laddie, I were missin' it fer some reason.
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Thank ye!
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Arrgh! -
13
Pluk -
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I were comin' o'er here 'cause o' yer comment in th' schadenfreude thread, bu' thar really be not much t' work wi' - he says she says, it be lookin' li'.
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We be needin' a new non-Sanford thread!
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Arrgh! -
14
The Roll Call link has the number at 127.
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that is the total number of amendments that had been offered. At least nine were amendments from Democrats, according to the article (9 out of 33 that had been scheduled for a vote were from Democrats.) -
15
Dee-
Welcome to Congress.
Congressional maneuvering by way of such legislative tactics is the rule, not the exception. The GOP, the Democrats. It makes no difference. Let's rewind back to 2007.
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A motion before the House to bar undocumented immigrants from receiving any federal funds apportioned in the agricultural spending bill passed 215-213. Arguments erupted in the chambers because Democrats contended the vote had been 214-214. Rep. McNulty (D.-NY) closed the vote after a signal from the Democratic leadership, however, allowed several Democratic 'ayes' to switch their votes. After this, Majority Leader Steney Hoyer (D-Md) offered a motion to reconsider, allowing members to recast their votes, thus to cover up the illegal procedure of switching votes after the gavel had sounded an end to voting and prior to the actual motion to reconsider. Republicans requesting a point of parliamentary inquiry were ignored. Republicans stormed out of the House chanting "Shame, shame, shame" only to find that when they returned the Democratic leadership had erased all evidence of the procedures to cover their egregious actions. They regrouped, convinced more of their fellow Dems to vote against the motion and then the motion was voted on and failed.
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How's that for behaving like trolls trying to hijack the works instead of acting like leaders and participating in the process?
- jnsmall Had to feed my dog rice this morning after I got to the store to buy dog food and realized I'd left my wallet @ work. It's one of those days - 5 hours ago
- jnsmall A primer on tomorrow's primaries to fill Teddy Kennedy's Senate seat: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/12/07/its-election-time-again/ - 21 hours ago
- jnsmall Belatedly, was on @The_Takeaway this AM talking about Obama's Hill trip. Listen in: http://tiny.cc/Y30yV Thanks 4 hosting me! @Todd_Zwillich - 1 day ago
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