By the time the US House of Representatives considered energy legislation on August 4, much of the partisan fury that characterized the House session last Thursday appeared to have subsided into a sullen determination to finish work and get out of town for the month-long August recess.
"I know that there are those on my side of the aisle, and probably some on the other side of the aisle, who would rather fight all day," Republican leader John Boehner, Ohio, told the House Friday. "But at the end of the day, our responsibility is to the American people. This is the People's House."
An angry dispute arose Thursday night over a vote the Republicans thought they had won when the vote was closed, only to have the Democrats declare that it was closed prematurely. A subsequent count gave the win to the Democrats, prompting shouts of "shame, shame," from Republicans; accusations that Democrats "stole" the vote; and a Republican walkout.
On Friday, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Democrat-Maryland, said "a mistake was made," and agreed to the formation of a special committee to investigate the incident. This seems like overkill, given that past special committees have investigated such matters as the Watergate scandal. But not to Boehner, who said it was about "preserving the integrity of the House and ensuring there is no disenfranchisement of members."
Republican complaints about unfair treatment and having their rights trampled by the majority Democrats echo complaints from House Democrats when they were in the minority over the last decade.This, in turn, echoed Republican complaints during the previous 40 years when Democrats held power. But in a closely divided House, with hard-eyed ideologues on both sides of the aisle who believe their opponents are doing the devil's work, passions burn particularly hot and emotions are rubbed raw.
On Saturday, most of the sniping was relatively low key compared to Thursday's uproar. Republicans complained about Democratic highhandedness and not being allowed to offer their amendments. They referred to the energy bill as the Democrats' energy scarcity bill. It's a phrase likely be repeated often when Republicans return to their home districts.
In the end, the bill passed by a vote of 241-172 with 163 Republicans voting against the measure and 26 voting for passage. A separate bill repealing billions of dollars in oil and gas industry tax breaks passed 221-189, with 11 Democrats, primarily from oil and gas producing states, joining 178 Republicans in opposition. That vote came about 8 pm Saturday, concluding 11 hours of debate.
Members will now have an opportunity to regroup before returning to do battle in the September over such non-controversial issues as global warming and automobile fuel economy standards. Oh yes, and a House-Senate committee will convene to resolve the significant differences between the House energy bill and the energy legislation the Senate passed in June.
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