The House Appropriations Committee abruptly adjourned in chaos Thursday before acting on two big domestic spending bills, after Republicans tried to force the committee to take up a bill covering the Interior Department they believe could be used to lower fuel prices.

The fates of all three fiscal 2009 spending bills — the Interior measure, plus the two bills scheduled for votes, covering the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, and Agriculture — were left in limbo. Appropriations Chairman David R. Obey , D-Wis., incensed at his Republican colleagues for pulling what he called a “political stunt,” threatened to halt the appropriations process.

Tension began soon after the committee began meeting, when Jerry Lewis of California, the panel’s senior Republican, asked Obey to give his word that he would bring the Interior spending bill up for a vote the week Congress returns from its July Fourth recess.

Obey declined, and brought up the Labor-HHS-Education measure for debate. Lewis stood and offered an amendment to strip the text from the Labor-HHS-Education bill and replace it with the Interior spending bill.

When John E. Peterson , R-Pa., tried to offer an amendment to Lewis’ amendment, Rep. Norm Dicks , D-Wash., made a motion to adjourn. Obey called for a voice vote, and when it appeared to succeed, he declared the meeting adjourned. Republicans demanded a roll-call vote; the motion prevailed, 35-27, and the meeting ended.

The Interior-Environment spending bill would provide $27.9 billion for the Interior Department, the EPA, and other environmental and cultural agencies. It would spend $1.3 billion more than Congress provided in fiscal 2008.

Republicans are eager to bring up the Interior bill so they can offer controversial amendments to boost domestic energy production. Lewis said he did not believe Obey ever planned to bring the bill up for a vote in the committee.

A week ago, Obey canceled a scheduled vote on the Interior bill and three others, ostensibly because the House was busy debating a supplemental spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The three other bills were rescheduled for this week, but the Interior bill was not.