House of Representatives violated its own rules

Humanist, Sept-Oct, 2004 by Karen Ann Gajewski

The Republican leadership of the House of Representatives violated its own rules on July 8 when it took special steps to defeat a measure that would have protected citizens' privacy in bookstores and libraries. Although the amendment initially garnered a majority--with almost all Democrats and twenty-nine Republicans voting "yea"--by the time the vote closed thirty minutes later (twice the allotted time), Republican leaders had persuaded eleven representatives to switch their vote, leaving a margin of 210 to 210.

The Bush administration, which threatened to veto the entire multibillion-dollar spending measure if the amendment passed.