Facing a veto threat by the White House, the bipartisan Freedom to Read Amendment—sponsored by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—at one point appeared to be passing 219 to 201, but was ultimately defeated by a tie vote of 210–210 after Republican leaders extended the voting time by 23 minutes and convinced some lawmakers to switch their votes. When this unusual tactic was undertaken, the usually calm floor of the House erupted as Democratic members chanted in unison, “Shame, shame, shame,” the Washington Post reported July 9.
On the House floor, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) had read a letter from the Justice Department stating that “as recently as this past winter and spring, a member of a terrorist group closely affiliated with al-Qaeda” had used Internet services at a public library. “This new world we live in is going to force us to have some constraints,” said Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), who credited the letter with influencing his decision to switch his initial “yes” vote to “no,” the Associated Press reported July 9.
“You win some, and some get stolen,” Rep. C. L. Butch Otter (R-Idaho), a conservative Republican who was one of the amendment’s cosponsors, told reporters.
“I find it ironic that, on an amendment designed to protect American democracy and our constitutional rights, the Republican leadership in the House had to rig the vote and subvert the democratic process in order to prevail,” said Sanders, who introduced a similar measure called the Freedom to Read Protection Act in 2003. “This is a very sad day for democracy in America.”
Posted July 9, 2004.