CQ TODAY PRINT EDITION
– CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
May 15, 2008 – 11:22 p.m.
Republicans Pull Together Last-Minute Protest Vote on War Funding Bill
By Alan K. Ota, CQ Staff
For weeks, Republican leaders were divided over whether to try to temporarily derail funding for the war in Iraq with a procedural gambit.
The strategy came together only an hour before the bells rang for the roll call Thursday, according to interviews with lawmakers and aides.
Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana and members of a conservative faction, the Republican Study Committee (RSC), pressed for a dramatic demonstration to Democrats of just how dependent they are on Republican votes to keep money for the troops flowing.
According to aides, Minority Whip Roy Blunt , R-Mo., and Adam H. Putnam of Florida, chairman of the House Republican Conference, had reservations.
By contrast, aides said, Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R-Ohio, seemed to acquiesce — allowing the RSC to whip for their strategy but doing nothing to help round up the votes.
If it was going to happen, it was up to Pence and his allies to make it happen.
Boehner and Blunt took aisle seats in the back of the chamber (not their usual posts during important votes) and, side by side, quietly watched the action — looking like a couple of guys who had just eaten lemons.
RSC members have a history of not seeing eye to eye with appropriators; the former group opposes earmarks, while the other doles them out.
But on the subject of the war spending bill (
“They seized on the fact that appropriators were unhappy with how the bill had been put together, without participation by Republicans,” said one senior GOP aide. “RSC members have been venting all week.”
C.W. Bill Young , R-Fla., the ranking member on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, was one of the first members to vote “present.” Each orange-yellow light indicating a vote of “present” seemed to embolden others to join in. Soon there were 132, more than enough to kill a funding amendment that lacked solid support from the majority party.
The top GOP appropriator, Jerry Lewis of California said Republicans would be willing to vote for a war-funding package but only if unrelated measures were removed. “It’s got to be a clean supplemental,” Lewis said.
The leaders were in a bit of a bind.
Republicans Pull Together Last-Minute Protest Vote on War Funding Bill
They’ve demonstrated, frequently, a willingness to use floor procedures to torment the Democrats and to punish them for a lack of bipartisanship. Boehner, in particular, also thought the Democrats might be more open to cutting deals after a harsh lesson on the clout Republicans still have.
But as a close ally of the White House, Blunt expressed concerns about the need to expedite passage of the war money, and Putnam also expressed reservations, aides said. And there was a danger of sending a muddy message, since any defeat for war funding would cheer liberal Democrats. Afterwards, Putnam issued a statement that said: “House Republicans refused to participate in the Democrat plan to use our troops as oxen to carry massive tax increases and unrelated spending across the President’s desk.”
As the RSC members, led by Pence and Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter , moved around the chamber, they encouraged colleagues to vote present by letting them know that Boehner didn’t mind. Their pitch, according to one Republican: “It’s been approved by John Boehner. But it’s a word-of-mouth campaign.”
Afterward, some liberals celebrated the outcome. “This is what I wanted all along,” said Jim McGovern , D-Mass.
Other lawmakers were simply stunned. “I’m not sure exactly what has just happened,” said Mike Ross , D-Ark. “I am shocked they would vote to deny funding for the troops while they are in harm’s way.”
Some Republicans were perplexed, too.
Lee Terry of Nebraska, a Republican who supported the funding amendment, said he didn’t go along with the “vote present” strategy because he wanted to cast a clear vote.
“I support funding for the troops, so I voted yes,” Terry said. “I think it’s kind of cheesy not to vote for it.”
Liriel Higa, Molly K. Hooper, Jonathan Allen and Edward Epstein contributed to this story.
Comments
Republican Study Committee, what do they study--war? It kind of alienates people if there's never any money for healthcare and education, but mysteriously always money for war-especially one with questionable objectives and few results.
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