'Stolen Vote' Select Committee Gets Another $150K

By John Bresnahan

(The Politico)  As with most things having to do with Congress, the select committee looking into the "stolen vote" of Aug. 2 needs more money to complete its work and has been given another $150,000 to conduct its investigation, bringing to $450,000 the cost of looking into what happened during the disputed floor vote.

The select committee, chaired by Rep. William Delahunt (D-Mass.), has already privately interviewed Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), and Rep. Michael McNulty (D-N.Y.), who was presiding over the House during the disputed vote, and public sessions with Hoyer and Boehner are expected at some point in May.

The Delahunt select committee was originally budgeted at $300,000, but the House quietly approved a resolution (H. Res. 1148) giving it another $150,000. Delahunt has publicly stated that he wants to finish up work on the matter before the August recess.

GOP leaders charge that Democrats "stole" a vote last Aug. 2 during floor debate on an amendment to the Agriculture appropriations. Democrats insist they won the vote, although McNulty has apologized for his handling of the vote.