IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1039 
Raising a question of the privileges of the House. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 12, 2008 
Mr. BOEHNER submitted the following resolution; which was laid on the table 
RESOLUTION 
Raising a question of the privileges of the House. 
Whereas on January 5, 2007, the House of Representatives 
adopted a rule of the House amending clause 2(a) of rule 
XX to include that, ‘‘A record vote by electronic device 
shall not be held open for the sole purpose of reversing 
the outcome of such vote.’’; 
Whereas on the evening of March 11, 2008, the Speaker pro 
tempore repeated an annoucement regarding enforcement 
of such rule, stating ‘‘An alleged violation of clause 2(a) 
of rule XX may subject the vote to collateral challenge 
in the form of a question of the privileges of the House 
pursuant to rule IX.’’; 
Whereas a press release dated October 7, 2005, from then 
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi stated, ‘‘Democrats have 
proposed guidelines for how we think the House of Rep-
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resentatives should operate, a Minority Bill of Rights.’’ 
Included in this document is the declaration that ‘‘No 
vote shall be held open in order to manipulate the out-
come. When we take back the People’s House, we will 
heed that declaration.’’; 
Whereas on the evening of March 11, 2008, the House de-
bated House Resolution 1031, providing for the adoption 
of the resolution (H. Res. 895) establishing within the 
House of Representatives an Office of Congressional Eth-
ics, and for other purposes; 
Whereas H. Res. 1031 provided that ‘‘House Resolution 895, 
amended by the amendment printed in the report of the 
Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, is 
hereby adopted.’’; 
Whereas on March 11, 2008, the publication Roll Call re-
ported, ‘‘Republicans nearly defeated the measure on a 
procedural maneuver, but House leaders held the vote 
open for at least 10 additional minutes to turn a handful 
of Democrats—sealing the win with the votes of Reps. 
Emanuel Cleaver (D–Mo.), Sanford Bishop (D–Ga.), 
G.K. Butterfield (D–N.C.) and Bart Stupak (D–Mich.). 
With their support, the bill was allowed to come to the 
floor.’’ (‘‘House Passes Ethics Bill; Pelosi Hails Victory,’’ 
Roll Call, March 11, 2008.); 
Whereas on March 11, 2008, the publication The Politico re-
ported, ‘‘Republicans, backed by 18 Democrats, thought 
they had won a parliamentary vote prior to consideration 
of the new ethics office, a victory that would have de-
railed [sic] But Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.) and the 
Democratic leadership held the vote open for 16 minutes 
beyond the alloted 15-minute deadline, and in that pe-
riod, convinced several Democrats to switch their votes.’’ 
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(‘‘New Ethics Office Approved by House After Controver-
sial Quote,’’ The Politico, March 11, 2008.); 
Whereas on March 11, 2008, The Politico further reported, 
‘‘In response to GOP manipulation of votes during their 
years of control, Pelosi promised at the beginning of the 
110th Congress that floor votes would only last 15 min-
utes, and ‘no vote shall be held open to manipulate the 
outcome.’ Pelosi, however, appeared to go back on that 
promise during the previous question vote, which was 
open for a total of 31 minutes before it was gaveled 
closed.’’ (‘‘New Ethics Office Approved by House After 
Controversial Quote,’’ The Politico, March 11, 2008.); 
Whereas on March 11, 2008, The Politico further reported, 
‘‘The most vocal Democratic opponent of the OCE, Rep. 
Neil Abercrombie (D–Hawaii), who made an impassioned 
speech on the floor urging his colleagues to vote against 
the measure, insisted that the opposition had actually 
won the parliamentary vote, regardless of the final out-
come. ‘We did win,’ Abercrombie declared afterwards. 
‘This thing is totally discredited.’ ’’ (‘‘New Ethics Office 
Approved by House After Controversial Quote,’’ The Po-
litico, March 11, 2008.); 
Whereas on March 12, 2008, Associated Press reported, ‘‘Re-
publicans yelled in protest as Democrats held the 15- 
minute vote open for 27 minutes while Democratic lead-
ers urged holdouts in the party to support the party posi-
tion.’’ (‘‘House Approves Ethics Panel,’’ Associated 
Press, March 12, 2008.); 
Whereas on March 11, 2008, Roll Call reported, ‘‘ ‘There are 
still plenty of people trying to keep it from coming to the 
floor,’ said one Democratic lawmaker, who spoke in ad-
vance of the vote on the condition of anonymity, fearing 
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reprisals from party leadership. The Member added that 
colleagues expressed a ‘lot of unhappiness’, as many ac-
knowledged they would have to vote for the bill once it 
reached the floor.’’; 
Whereas at 9:31 p.m. the vote on Ordering the Previous 
Question on H. Res. 1031, was ordered and was to be 
a 15-minute vote; 
Whereas that vote was held open for 27 total minutes; 
Whereas 413 Members of the House, which was the total 
number of Members present and voting, had registered 
their votes after 21 minutes had elapsed; 
Whereas no new Member of the House voted after 21 min-
utes into the vote who had not previously recorded their 
vote; 
Whereas at 21 minutes elapsed, the vote was 204 yeas and 
209 nays, the motion failing; 
Whereas for approximately the next 5 minutes, no further 
votes were cast or changed and the previous question vote 
was held open for the sole purpose of changing the out-
come of the vote; 
Whereas during the final moments of Roll Call Vote 121, 
after conversing with Democratic leaders in full view of 
the House, three Democratic Members changed their 
votes from Nay to Aye; 
Whereas Speaker Nancy Pelosi left the floor during this time 
and returned with Representative Bart Stupak who 
changed his vote from a no to a yes; 
Whereas Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Whip James 
Clyburn approached Representatives Sanford Bishop and 
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Emanuel Cleaver on the Democratic side of the aisle and 
had them change their votes from a no to a yes; 
Whereas according to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s document enti-
tled ‘‘A New Direction for America,’’ page 24 states that 
‘‘floor votes should be completed within 15 minutes with 
the customary 2-minute extension to accommodate mem-
bers’ ability to reach the House Chamber to cast their 
votes. No vote shall be held open in order to manipulate 
the outcome.’’; 
Whereas the result of the 3 Democratic vote changes, after 
12 minutes of extended vote time and pressure from 
Democratic leadership, manipulated the outcome and 
changed the result from 204 yeas and 209 nays, the mo-
tion failing, to 207 yeas and 206 nays, the motion pass-
ing; and 
Whereas a Democratic Member approached Members and 
staff of the minority following the announced outcome of 
the vote and revealed that, ‘‘Deals were made to get 
Cleaver and Bishop;’’: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) the House denounces this action in the 
strongest terms possible, rejects the practices of 
holding votes open beyond a reasonable period of 
time for the sole purpose of circumventing the will 
of the House, and directs the Speaker to take such 
steps as necessary to prevent any further abuse; 
(2) The votes on ordering the previous question 
and adoption of House Resolution 1031 are hereby 
vacated; 
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(3) the Committee on Standards of Official 
Conduct is directed to investigate without further 
delay violations of House rules by Speaker Nancy 
Pelosi and other Members of the Democratic leader-
ship and report its findings and recommendations to 
the House, including a recommendation regarding 
the appropriate actions for the Speaker’s activities; 
and 
(4) The Select Committee to Investigate the 
Voting Irregularities of August 2, 2007, is hereby 
directed to investigate and include in the report its 
findings and resulting recommendations concerning 
the actions of the Speaker, concerning the time the 
vote was held open and the changes in votes cast by 
members, resulting in passage of the previous ques-
tion vote to H. Res. 1031 on March 11, 2008. 
Æ 
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