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.”

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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.

“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”

Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi