Delahunt aims to resolve funding snag

The chairman of a House select committee to investigate a disputed Aug. 2 vote said Thursday that he hopes both parties will agree on how to fund the special panel rather than start a partisan battle over who will foot the bill.

{mosads}Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) told The Hill that Democrats and Republicans on the committee would draft letters to their respective leaders to ask that funding be a joint responsibility.

Earlier this week, GOP lawmakers had suggested that the bill for staff and resources be paid solely out of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) budget. And in a letter to Pelosi earlier this month, Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) requested the committee be allocated $1 million.
Pelosi’s office has not indicated that it will meet his request.

Delahunt and the other committee members — Reps. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin (D-S.D.), Artur Davis (D-Ala.), Mike Pence (R-Ind.), Kenny Hulshof  (R-Mo.) and Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) — met informally for the first time on Thursday morning for an organizational meeting. The committee will have its first formal meeting at 9 a.m. on Sept. 27. Its primary report is due by Sept. 30.

Delahunt praised Boehner for choosing “serious” members for the committee and said he was confident that the panel would quickly determine what exactly occurred on the evening of Aug. 2. Turmoil ensued after a vote was gaveled prematurely, prompting more than 100 GOP members to walk out from the House floor.