[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 42 (Wednesday, March 12, 2008)]
[House]
[Pages H1543-H1544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I have a privileged resolution at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 1039

       Whereas on January 5, 2007, the House of Representatives 
     adopted a rule of the House amending clause 2(a) of rule XX 
     to include that, ``A record vote by electronic device shall 
     not be held open for the sole purpose of reversing the 
     outcome of such vote.'';
       Whereas on the evening of March 11, 2008, the Speaker pro 
     tempore repeated an annoucement regarding enforcement of such 
     rule, stating ``An alleged violation of clause 2(a) of rule 
     XX may subject the vote to collateral challenge in the form 
     of a question of the privileges of the House pursuant to rule 
     IX.'';
       Whereas a press release dated October 7, 2005 from then 
     Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stated, ``Democrats have 
     proposed guidelines for how we think the House of 
     Representatives should operate, a Minority Bill of Rights.'' 
     Included in this document is the declaration that ``No vote 
     shall be held open in order to manipulate the outcome. When 
     we take back the People's House, we will heed that 
     declaration.'',
       Whereas H. Res. 1031 provided that ``House Resolution 895, 
     amended by the amendment printed in the report of the 
     Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, is hereby 
     adopted.''
       Whereas on March 11, 2008 the publication Roll Call 
     reported, ``Republicans nearly defeated the measure on a 
     procedural maneuver, but House leaders held the vote open for 
     at least 10 additional minutes to turn a handful of 
     Democrats--sealing the win with the votes of Reps. Emanuel 
     Cleaver (D-Mo.), Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), G.K. Butterfield (D-
     N.C.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.). With their support, the bill 
     was allowed to come to the floor.'' (``House Passes Ethics 
     Bill; Pelosi Hails Victory,'' Roll Call, March 11, 2008.);
       Whereas on March 11, 2008 the publication The Politico 
     reported, ``Republicans, backed by 18 Democrats, thought they 
     had won a parliamentary vote prior to consideration of the 
     new ethics office, a victory that would have derailed [sic] 
     But Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democratic 
     leadership held the vote open for 16 minutes beyond the 
     alloted 15-minute deadline, and in that period, convinced 
     several Democrats to switch their votes.'' (``New Ethics 
     Office Approved by House After Controversial Quote,'' The 
     Politico, March 11, 2008.);
       Whereas on March 11, 2008 The Politico further reported, 
     ``In response to GOP manipulation of votes during their years 
     of control, Pelosi promised at the beginning of the 110th 
     Congress that floor votes would only last 15 minutes, and `no 
     vote shall be held open to manipulate the outcome.' Pelosi, 
     however, appeared to go back on that promise during the 
     previous question vote, which was open for a total of 31 
     minutes before it was gaveled closed.'' (``New Ethics Office 
     Approved by House After Controversial Quote,'' The Politico, 
     March 11, 2008);
       Whereas on March 11, 2008 The Politico further reported, 
     ``The most vocal Democratic opponent of the OCE, Rep. Neil 
     Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), who made an impassioned speech on the 
     floor urging his colleagues to vote against the measure, 
     insisted that the opposition had actually won the 
     parliamentary vote, regardless of the final outcome. `We did 
     win,' Abercrombie declared afterwards. `This thing is totally 
     discredited.' '' (``New Ethics Office Approved by House After 
     Controversial Quote,'' The Politico, March 11, 2008.);
       Whereas on March 12, 2008 Associated Press reported, 
     ``Republicans yelled in protest as Democrats held the 15-
     minute vote open for 27 minutes while Democratic leaders 
     urged holdouts in the party to support the party position.'' 
     (``House Approves Ethics Panel,'' Associated Press, March 12, 
     2008.);
       Whereas on March 11, 2008, Roll Call reported, `` `There 
     are still plenty of people trying to keep it from coming to 
     the floor,' said one Democratic lawmaker, who spoke in 
     advance of the vote on the condition of anonymity, fearing 
     reprisals from party leadership. The Member added that 
     colleagues expressed a `lot of unhappiness', as many 
     acknowledged they would have to vote for the bill once it 
     reached the floor.'';
       Whereas at 9:31 p.m. the vote on Ordering the Previous 
     Question on H. Res. 1031, was ordered and was to be a 15-
     minute vote;
       Whereas that vote was held open for 27 total minutes;
       Whereas 413 Members of the House, which was the total 
     number of Members present and voting, had registered their 
     votes after 21 minutes had elapsed;
       Whereas no new Member of the House voted after 21 minutes 
     into the vote who had not previously recorded their vote;
       Whereas at 21 minutes elapsed, the vote was 204 yeas and 
     209 nays, the motion failing;
       Whereas for approximately the next 5 minutes, no further 
     votes were cast or changed and the previous question vote was 
     held open for the sole purpose of changing the outcome of the 
     vote;
       Whereas during the final moments of Roll Call Vote 121, 
     after conversing with Democratic leaders in full view of the 
     House, three Democratic Members changed their votes from Nay 
     to Aye;
       Whereas Speaker Nancy Pelosi left the floor during this 
     time and returned with Representative Bart Stupak who changed 
     his vote from a no to a yes;
       Whereas Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Whip James 
     Clyburn approached Representatives Sanford Bishop and Emanuel 
     Cleaver on the Democratic side of the aisle and had them 
     change their votes from a no to a yes;
       Whereas according to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's document 
     entitled ``A New Direction for America,'' page 24 states that 
     ``floor votes should be completed within 15 minutes with the 
     customary 2 minute extension to accommodate members' ability 
     to reach the House Chamber to cast their votes. No vote shall 
     be held open in order to manipulate the outcome.'';
       Whereas the result of the 3 Democratic vote changes, after 
     12 minutes of extended vote time and pressure from Democratic 
     leadership, manipulated the outcome and changed the result 
     from 204 yeas and 209 nays, the motion failing, to 207 yeas 
     and 206 nays, the motion passing; and
       Whereas a Democratic Member approached Members and staff of 
     the minority following the announced outcome of the vote and 
     revealed that, ``Deals were made to get Cleaver and 
     Bishop;'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That
       (1) the House denounces this action in the strongest terms 
     possible, rejects the practice of holding votes open beyond a 
     reasonable period of time for the sole purpose of 
     circumventing the will of the House, and directs the Speaker 
     to take such steps as necessary to prevent any further abuse;
       (2) The votes on ordering the previous question and 
     adoption of House Resolution 1031 are hereby vacated;
       (3) the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is 
     directed to investigate without further delay violations of 
     House rules by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Members of the 
     Democratic leadership and report its findings and 
     recommendations to the House, including a recommendation 
     regarding the appropriate actions for the Speaker's 
     activities; and,
       (4) The Select Committee to Investigate the Voting 
     Irregularities of August 2, 2007, is hereby directed to 
     investigate and include in the report its findings and 
     resulting recommendations concerning the actions of the 
     Speaker, concerning the time the vote was held open and the 
     changes in votes cast by

[[Page H1544]]

     members, resulting in passage of the previous question vote 
     to H. Res. 1031 on March 11, 2008.

                              {time}  1045

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution presents a question of the 
privileges of the House.


                Motion to Table Offered by Mr. McGovern

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the resolution on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.


                         Parliamentary Inquiry

  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may state his inquiry.
  Mr. BOEHNER. As the gentleman called the vote, I couldn't hear, Mr. 
Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair noted that the ayes had it.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 215, 
nays 193, not voting 21, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 125]

                               YEAS--215

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Arcuri
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bean
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boren
     Boucher
     Boyd (FL)
     Boyda (KS)
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown, Corrine
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Carnahan
     Carney
     Castor
     Chandler
     Clarke
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Courtney
     Cramer
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis, Lincoln
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Ellsworth
     Emanuel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Foster
     Frank (MA)
     Giffords
     Gillibrand
     Gonzalez
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hall (NY)
     Hare
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Herseth Sandlin
     Higgins
     Hill
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hodes
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (OH)
     Kagen
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind
     Klein (FL)
     Kucinich
     Lampson
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lynch
     Mahoney (FL)
     Markey
     Marshall
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum (MN)
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McNerney
     McNulty
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Mitchell
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy (CT)
     Murphy, Patrick
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Perlmutter
     Peterson (MN)
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Reyes
     Richardson
     Rodriguez
     Ross
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan (OH)
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schwartz
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sestak
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Shuler
     Sires
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Solis
     Space
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stupak
     Sutton
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Thompson (CA)
     Tierney
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz (MN)
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Welch (VT)
     Wexler
     Wilson (OH)
     Wu
     Wynn
     Yarmuth

                               NAYS--193

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Barrett (SC)
     Bartlett (MD)
     Barton (TX)
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blunt
     Boehner
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boozman
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Broun (GA)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Buchanan
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp (MI)
     Campbell (CA)
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Castle
     Chabot
     Coble
     Cole (OK)
     Conaway
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Davis, David
     Davis, Tom
     Deal (GA)
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Doolittle
     Drake
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Emerson
     English (PA)
     Everett
     Fallin
     Feeney
     Ferguson
     Flake
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Fossella
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Garrett (NJ)
     Gerlach
     Gilchrest
     Gohmert
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Granger
     Graves
     Hall (TX)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Heller
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Inglis (SC)
     Issa
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Jordan
     Keller
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline (MN)
     Knollenberg
     Kuhl (NY)
     LaHood
     Lamborn
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     LoBiondo
     Lucas
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul (TX)
     McCotter
     McCrery
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McKeon
     McMorris Rodgers
     Melancon
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Murphy, Tim
     Musgrave
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Nunes
     Paul
     Pearce
     Pence
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe
     Porter
     Price (GA)
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Reynolds
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Sali
     Saxton
     Schmidt
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shays
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Turner
     Upton
     Walberg
     Walden (OR)
     Walsh (NY)
     Wamp
     Weldon (FL)
     Weller
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield (KY)
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman (VA)
     Wolf
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--21

     Boswell
     Cardoza
     Costello
     Cubin
     Ehlers
     Engel
     Gingrey
     Gordon
     Hooley
     Johnson (GA)
     Maloney (NY)
     Oberstar
     Rangel
     Renzi
     Rothman
     Rush
     Tancredo
     Taylor
     Thompson (MS)
     Woolsey
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1122

  Mr. McCAUL of Texas changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Messrs. ALTMIRE, WEXLER, BERMAN, COHEN and HILL changed their vote 
from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________