Pope not spared politics

A bitter debate and procedural snafu rattled a bill on debt relief, an issue supported by the Vatican, which the House hoped to pass while the pope was in town.

In the ensuing confusion and procedural wrangling, Republicans accidentally cut out two of their own provisions included in a manager’s amendment.

{mosads}“This is what happens when political gunslingers start using the legislative process,” said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.). “They drafted it sloppily.”

The chaotic roll call Wednesday also saw 43 members change their vote. And, in an unusual move, five members of leadership, including House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), voted for a Republican procedural amendment.

An Emanuel aide said the congressman voted yes by mistake.

Frank was trying to pass the “Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation,” which would order the Bush administration to negotiate with the World Bank and other organizations to let up to 24 additional low-income countries qualify for international debt relief.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she timed consideration of the bill to the visit of Pope Benedict XVI.

Frank had agreed to include several Republican proposals in the bill, including one by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) that would strengthen requirements about free and fair elections in countries receiving debt relief. He put them in a manager’s amendment that was passed.

But then, Republican leadership offered an amendment to prevent debt relief from going to countries that do business with Iran. The amendment was offered in the form of a “motion to recommit,” a procedural move that is one of the Republican minority’s few guaranteed opportunities to change legislation. Such measures are usually presented at the last minute with no prior notice.

In this instance, that proved a problem. The GOP amendment did not take into account the manager’s amendment that had passed, and accidentally stripped it out.

So Rohrabacher’s amendment was gone, along with GOP provisions on human trafficking on immigration. They could be added again in the Senate, but Frank said support is dwindling for Rohrabacher’s provision, and “it could be in trouble.”

Motions to recommit have been one of the most successful efforts by Republicans in the minority.

Republican leaders say they’ve passed 24 on the House floor and two have become law.

But Frank said Wednesday’s glitch showed the dangers of politically motivated, seat-of-the-pants legislating.

“Sometimes it’s just a nuisance,” Frank said. “This time it screwed up a whole bill.”

Republican leaders disagree. Said one GOP aide: “Chairman Frank is being a sore loser.”

The Republican amendment passed 291-130. In a surprising breach of party discipline, 97 Democrats voted “yes.”

Congressional aides said some members felt voting yes on an amendment against Iran showed support for Israel, though there were supporters of Israel who voted no. And conflicted Democrats might have taken comfort in the members of leadership who also voted for the GOP amendment.

An Emanuel aide said the congressman mistakenly thought the Democrats were accepting the amendment. But four other leadership members switched their vote to yes. They were Democratic Policy and Steering Co-chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and three chief deputy whips – Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.).

Many of the 97 Democratic supporters switched their vote from “no” to “yes.” Frank said they were seeking to be on the winning side.

“With a lot of these motions that are politically popular but stupid, when people realize they’re going to pass they go down and change their vote,” Frank said. “When this happens, I’d like to pipe in ‘The March of the Siamese Children.’”