Sunday, June 21, 2009
It took nearly eight hours and a record-setting 53 votes, but the House of Representatives finally approved the first appropriations bill for the FY 2010 budget on Thursday. Although the $64.4 billion bill was not without importance—providing funding for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, as well as federal science programs—the marathon session was more the result of partisan sniping than legislative substance.
It began two days earlier when Democrats grew frustrated with what they perceived was Republican attempts to bog down the bill with more than 100 amendments, leading the majority to adopt a rule limiting amendments to about thirty. Angered by this power play, the GOP caucus instituted what passes for a filibuster in the House—demanding votes on every single amendment to the appropriations bill, and in some cases revotes of votes already taken.
The unusually long session forced lawmakers on both sides to cancel scheduled engagements, and by the end of the lengthy day, members’ moods ranged from cranky to loopy.
The 53 votes in one day broke the modern-day record of forty, set on Oct. 4, 1988.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
House Passes Commerce-Justice-Science Funding Bill (by Billy House and Humberto Sanchez, Congress Daily)
The Most Votes. Ever. (by Glenn Thrush, Politico)
House Sets Record for Most Votes in One Day (by Chad Pergram, Fox News)
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