House close to ending "remarkable week"

The House has moved a couple steps closer to adjourning until after Labor Day, after approving a pair of energy bills Saturday evening that have been high on the Democratic agenda.

Vowing to march on past midnight if necessary, Democrats will have quite a checklist of accomplishments from this past week: ethics reform, an expansion for children's health-care, energy legislation and doing their duty on national security items such as the Pentagon spending bill and a reauthorization of an intelligence surveillance program.

But, as has been the case for several days now, with each step forward legislatively, Democrats had to fend off another attack on how they've handled their majority status. The latest allegation of impropriety is the case of the missing three words in the Congressional Record - "enough is enough" - by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Hoyer denied that he or his staff played any role in cleaning up his comments, blaming the parliamentarian for the editing. He said the parliamentarian determined he "had not been recognized for the purposes of debate. ... Any comments I had made were asides, which are not included in the Congressional Record."

"I was not so pleased," he said, adding he wished his full comment had been included because he thought the GOP complaints were "specious."

There is still no explanation for the fact that portions of Hoyer's statement are included in the record -- "Madam Speaker, enough is enough, I move to table the resolution" -- but the phrase "enough is enough" was somehow deemed an aside while the rest of his statement was not.

With a special committee already formed to investigate the voting snafu Thursday night, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) offered a resolution demanding Hoyer's actual words be placed in the record and that the committee be allowed to investigate Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) for her actions while she was in the chair Friday night. As has been the case with the previous protest votes, this one failed on party lines as Democrats tabled it, 216-182.

For those trying to keep track of this latest privileged resolution, bear with Capitol Briefing for this explanation: It was a resolution asking for an investigation into how Democrats handled the debate on a privileged resolution from Friday night, which itself was a resolution calling for an admonishment of a Democrat for how he handled the debate Friday morning, a debate that was about how the Democrats handled a parliamentary vote Thursday night.

Got all that?

So, after the second energy bill was approved, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) convened a press conference with Hoyer and more than a half dozen committee chairmen who had played a role in the energy legislation.

"It's been a remarkable week for us," she said, beginning the press conference.

Capitol Briefing will not take issue with that statement. It is in the record, with no need for any revising or extending of remarks.

Comments

What's your point?

Posted by: sethsonderling | August 5, 2007 3:41 AM | Report abuse

You said the house, among other things attended to "a reauthorization of an intelligence surveillance program." This was not a REauthorization. Bush signed an executive order some years ago authorizing this surveillance program which was actually AGAINST the law. The house move this week has made this previously illegal activity into a legal one, just another example of congress rolling over for the dictator.

This is the kind of spin which is so dangerous, presenting a fallacy as if it were true, and then basing additional assertions upon that fallacy.

Paul, get your facts straight before publishing them in a national newspaper! Misleading the public is truly irresponsible.

Posted by: Baruch | August 5, 2007 5:52 AM | Report abuse

Dear CIA,
Please use this new law to wiretap George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. It won't take long before you record something incriminating.

Posted by: Tony | August 5, 2007 9:16 PM | Report abuse

I hear the GOP crying about the Dem. congress.
THE FACT IS THE GOP HAD CONTROL OF OUR GOVT FOR 6 YEARS.
EVERYTHING THEY TOUCHED WAS A FAILURE SO NOW THE PEOPLE FINALLY WOKE UP AND RUN THEM OFF.
I WOULD ENCOURAGE THEM TO TRY TO FIND SOMEONE WITH THE SMARTS TO RUN A COUNTRY AND NOT PROFIT FROM THE LOBBY.

Posted by: TOM MCCLAIN | August 8, 2007 12:44 PM | Report abuse

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