WASHINGTON -- Congress' Friday Night Lights homeland security showdown ended with a short punt.
After spiking a three-week bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. House easily passed a one-week bill, 357-60. Democrats were the major difference as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told her colleagues: "Your vote tonight will assure that we will vote for full funding next week."
Work was finished with about two hours to spare until a midnight deadline for DHS funding.
Georgia Democratic Reps. Hank Johnson of Lithonia, John Lewis of Atlanta and Sanford Bishop of Albany thus changed from "no" on the three-week bill to "yes" for one week.
The Senate earlier unanimously cleared the same bill by voice vote. Rep. Jody Hice of Monroe was the delegation's only "no."
Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Cassville flipped to yes after telling House GOP leaders during the first vote that he wanted a shorter bill. Said Loudermilk:
"So this is a little more manageable timeframe. Of course it also puts constraints on this body to act because we're recessed the next week."
Of course, there's little sign of Senate Democrats relenting on their demand for a full-year measure that does not tinker with Obama's immigration actions in the next seven days.
Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta, was still smarting from his scolding from Democrats for voting for the three-week bill. Scott went against most of his caucus, he said, for the TSA workers at Hartsfield-Jackson airport who live in his district. Scott was flummoxed by Pelosi's turnaround:
"Those people put my yard signs up. Those people are in my counties. And these TSA workers, what are they 40, 50 thousand dollars a year, if that? They can't go all this time [without pay]. And here's three weeks. And we're going to go to one week? But there you go, man."
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