And so it passes. A very close 219-212, following a bit of a failed filibuster attempt by Boehner.
Minority Leader John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, launched into a roughly hour-long critique of Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry A. Waxman’s 300-page substitute amendment.
The amendment was filed at about 3 a.m. Friday, Boehner complained, giving House members little opportunity to study its contents.
But Democrats accused Boehner of stalling, with the hope that some lawmakers planning to vote for the bill would leave to begin their July Fourth recess.
“I hate to do this to you, I really do,” Boehner said, as he went through the amendment raising questions about specific provisions. “But when you file a 300-page amendment at 3:09 a.m., the American people have the right to know what’s in this bill. They have the right to know what we are voting on.”