And Now, This Morning's Outrage
Nancy Pelosi lets 'em swing, in response to the shameful display on the House floor yesterday:
A vote that was supposed to take five minutes took more than nine times that long because the indicted Republican leader of the House of Representatives needed extra time to twist the arms necessary to pass a bill that is against the interests of the American people, against consumers, against taxpayers, and against the environment.
“The fact that the Republicans are handmaidens of the special interests is nothing new. The fact that they would shamelessly display their servitude should come as no surprise. But today’s extortion is an especially shameful display – a sad day for democracy. The people spoke and the vote was clearly against this bill.
A vote that was supposed to take five minutes took more than nine times that long because the indicted Republican leader of the House of Representatives needed extra time to twist the arms necessary to pass a bill that is against the interests of the American people, against consumers, against taxpayers, and against the environment.
“The fact that the Republicans are handmaidens of the special interests is nothing new. The fact that they would shamelessly display their servitude should come as no surprise. But today’s extortion is an especially shameful display – a sad day for democracy. The people spoke and the vote was clearly against this bill.
posted by Management at 12:12 PM
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 07, 2005
CONTACT:
Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider
202-226-7616
Pelosi: ‘What You Saw on the House Floor This Afternoon Was a Shameless Display of the Republican Culture of Corruption’
Washington, D.C.– House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer at a news conference this afternoon to condemn the Republican abuse of power that occurred on the floor of the House today. The Republican leadership held a five-minute vote on the energy bill open for 45 minutes to twist arms to get their Members to switch votes. Below are Pelosi’s remarks:
“What you saw on the House floor this afternoon was a shameless display of the Republican culture of corruption, as it exists in the House of Representatives. It demonstrated once again that the Republican majority will go to any length to satisfy the greed of the energy companies over meeting the needs of the American people.
“A vote that was supposed to take five minutes took more than nine times that long because the indicted Republican leader of the House of Representatives needed extra time to twist the arms necessary to pass a bill that is against the interests of the American people, against consumers, against taxpayers, and against the environment.
“The fact that the Republicans are handmaidens of the special interests is nothing new. The fact that they would shamelessly display their servitude should come as no surprise. But today’s extortion is an especially shameful display – a sad day for democracy. The people spoke and the vote was clearly against this bill.
“How long will the Republican caucus condone this behavior? Until the rank-and-file Members break with the culture of corruption, they are all complicit and they all enable. The American people must object.
“Our country’s democracy is based upon every American having his or her voice heard on the floor of Congress. Republicans have shut down debate here. Now they are shutting down the reasonable outcome of a vote.
“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.”
LONGEST VOTES ON HOUSE FLOOR
The Republican Leadership continues its abuse of power in the chair, holding votes open for the sole purpose of reversing the outcome of the vote. On five separate occasions in the 108th Congress alone, votes were held open beyond the traditional 17-minute limit for the sole purpose of overturning the will of the majority. This includes the infamous 3-hour Prescription Drug vote in November 2003, which went far beyond any previous vote and broke all records in the history of electronic voting.
Before the Republican Leadership took over in 1995, votes were usually held open simply to decide the next order of business on the House floor, a so-called “time out”. This occurred after the outcome was already determined and was not for the purpose of “arm-twisting”. In 1987, the Republicans excoriated the Democratic Leadership for holding a vote open for 30 minutes, an amount of time that pales in comparison to their record of abuse in the majority.
Below is a chronological record of lengthy votes going back to 1987, and the amount of time each vote was held open. “Arm-twisting” votes are noted by asterisks.
October 7, 2005** Final Passage of Energy. 45 minutes (on a 5-minute vote).
July 27, 2005** Final Passage of CAFTA. 65 minutes.
July 8, 2004** Sanders amendment on PATRIOT Act to FY 2005 Commerce-Justice State Appropriations bill. 38 minutes.
March 30, 2004** Motion to instruct conferees on PAYGO on the FY 2005 Budget Resolution. 28 minutes (on 5-minute vote).
November 22, 2003** Final Passage of the Conference Report on HR 1, the Prescription Drug bill. 3 hours.
June 26, 2003** Final Passage of HR 1, the Prescription Drug bill. 50 minutes.
March 20, 2003** Final Passage of Budget Resolution. 26 minutes.
July 12, 2001 Campaign Finance bill. This was a “time out” to determine what was to occur next on the floor. 130 minutes.
October 9, 1997** Passage of FY 1998 DC Appropriations bill. 33 minutes.
October 3, 1994 Time out to accommodate numerous changes in the floor schedule. 44 minutes.
August 19, 1994 Time out to determine what to do next on Crime bill. 73 minutes.
October 14, 1993 Time out to determine floor schedule after rule on unemployment was defeated. 65 minutes.
October 29, 1987** Final passage of Reconciliation bill. 30 minutes.
Pelosi: Majority's Energy Bill Fails to Address Price Gouging, Fails to Bring Down Prices, and Fails to Put America on Road to Energy Independence
Friday, October 7, 2005
Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616
Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke this afternoon on the House floor in strong opposition to a Republican energy bill that fails to reduce skyrocketing gas prices and protect consumers from price gouging at the pump. Not a single Democrat voted for the bill, which passed by a 212 to 210 vote after Republican leaders once again abused their power and held open a five-minute vote for more than 40 minutes. Below are Pelosi’s remarks:
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the Republican energy bill. It is anti-taxpayer, it is anti-consumer, and it is anti-environment. I encourage my colleagues to support the Stupak substitute.
“The Republican bill should be called the ‘Republican Gift to Special Interests Bill.’ It is a perfect example of the Republican culture of cronyism and corruption. Using Hurricane Katrina as their excuse, the Republicans are once again pushing their special interest agenda at the expense of the American people.
“Americans don’t need legislation passed here today to enrich the oil industry. Americans need relief from high gas prices.
“This week the average price at the pump was $2.92 per gallon – that’s 99 cents more than a year ago, and 30 cents higher than just pre-Hurricane Katrina. It is also twice the cost per gallon since first year President Bush took office.
“Winter is around the corner, and so are skyrocketing increases in home heating costs. Families who heat with natural gas could see their fuel costs increase more than 70 percent in some parts of the country. It’s astounding. Families are expected to spend nearly three times as much for home heating oil than they did four years ago; the first year President Bush took office. And now for home heating oil, you’re expected to pay three times as much as you did four years ago when President Bush took office.
“Yet, for the second time in less than three months, the Republicans have brought a bill to the floor that fails to address price gouging, fails to bring down prices, and fails to put us on the road to energy independence.
“As with the energy bill passed last summer, this bill ignores the real needs of the American people and rewards the greed of special interests. Need, over greed: take your choice. The Republicans in this culture of corruption and cronyism came down on the side of greed. In fact, this bill includes all the special favors to the energy industry that were too extreme to be included in the energy bill passed by Congress less than three months ago.
“Refinery companies have deliberately closed and consolidated their facilities to drive up profit margins. They are making enormous profits. Do the American people really believe the right response is to waive environmental laws, brush aside state and local authorities, and open up federal lands to new refineries? Of course not. But that is the Republican approach: greed over need.
“Republicans blame the Clean Air Act for our record energy costs. Even after removing its most extreme provisions, this bill still includes the so-called ‘bump up’ provision, which would expose millions of Americans to unhealthy levels of smog for years to come. Once again, greed over need.
“Our Democratic substitute to this bill, introduced by my colleagues Mr. Stupak and Mr. Boucher, creates a Strategic Refinery Initiative, which would be able to produce 5 percent of the daily demand for gasoline when needed. Real solutions to American’s energy crisis – that’s what this substitute contains. And if you are able to produce 5 percent, bump that up to the daily demand you can reduce the price of gasoline at the pump drastically.
“For weeks, Democrats have demanded a new federal law to crack down on price gouging by the energy industry. In fact, Mr. Stupak has that very bill. Consumers are being cheated every time they fill up their cars or turn up their thermostat by an industry making record profits. But this bill doesn’t come close to addressing the severe gouging of consumers.
“Our Democratic substitute provides real protection from price-gouging for the first time. We’ve been asking for it over and over. Here we have a bill on the floor that would do just that. The Stupak-Boucher bill gives the Federal Trade Commission broad authority to crack down on price gouging, for a wide range of fuels, for businesses all along the supply chain. Our substitute provides for tough civil penalties and allows state attorneys general to enforce the federal law, without interfering with state price-gouging laws.
“Mr. Chairman, it is time for our nation to make a declaration of energy independence. This is an urgent issue of national security.
“Together, America can do better. We have the resources. We have the technology. We have the innovative ideas, and more of them are springing forth all the time. We can do it right, and create millions of new jobs at the same time.
“We have an enormous untapped potential in the areas of energy efficiency and renewable energy. By implementing existing technologies and developing new ones in every sector of the economy and American life, we can take a giant step toward energy independence.
“This is not just about again turning down the thermostat or driving less— many Americans have had to do that for a long time now, they’ve already taken those steps. This is about using our ingenuity to make our lives better and more comfortable.
“Let us make progress. Let us set aside this back-to-the-future energy bill, and turn our faces toward the 21st Century – toward our nation’s true needs. I urge my colleagues to reject this special interest Republican giveaway act and support the Democratic substitute. Together, America can do better.”
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