Hoyer threatens weekend work over GOP ‘obstruction’

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) threatened to keep members in town over the weekend if Republicans don’t stop their “obstructionist” tactics.
 
GOP members brought House business to a standstill for more than six hours on Thursday by forcing continuous roll call votes on the floor to protest Democrats’ decision to limit the number of amendments they were able to offer to the Commerce, Justice and Science funding bill under consideration.

{mosads}“We’re going to finish these appropriations bills — whether we do it on Saturday or Sunday, we are going to finish these appropriations bills,” Hoyer said.

The feud ignited late Tuesday night when Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) essentially stopped consideration of the funding bill for what he called GOP “obstructionism.”

Democrats were frustrated that Republicans were insisting on debating all of the 127 amendments members had offered for consideration. Obey required that any member who wants an amendment considered on the floor had to have it included with the printing of the full bill.

Until late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, appropriations bills considered on the floor were open to all amendments and members were allowed to offer them during debate of the measure, not days before it was to be considered.

But Democrats cut that option off when the Rules Committee met to decide which amendments would be considered by the full House.