Kitty Felde

Home Room

Republican Congressman David Dreier was shocked to learn that KPCC’s new Washington Correspondent had yet to spend an afternoon in the House Gallery, watching members cast votes. He insisted this was the day.

It’s like arriving in a foreign country without a guide book.

News of an impending vote is broadcast (through a mysterious serious of buzzers and bells in House offices), abd members rush to the subway cars for the short trip to the Capitol. There, they take crowd into ALL the elevators getting to the second floor. If you’re not a member of Congress, you can wait.

Down on the House floor, it’s like home room - a reunion of familiar faces who haven’t seen each other forever. Or at least for 24 hours. There’s plenty of hand shaking, gossip sharing, and the meeting of someone’s grandchild. Eventually, members drift to either the Democratic or Republican side of the room.

And even within the parties, there are the cliques. The Congressional Black Caucus sits together. Not that any House member really ever sits down. LA Democrat Diane Watson showed her true Laker colors, wearing a purple suit and a bright yellow scarf.

Unlike the Senate, House members don’t get a desk of their own on the floor. They don’t even get a desk. Just an anonymous chair. Maybe that’s why most of them were on their feet.

At the very back of the room, younger male members are making noise, shouting “order!” and “vote!” to try to hurry along the proceedings. They are ignored. But it sounds more like a basketball game than a political event.

Eventually, a vote is called for on one of four ammendments.

Voting consists of sticking a plastic key card - not unlike a hotel key - into a slot attached to the back of most rows of chairs. If the card is recognized, the device lights up. Members then push the red button (a “no” vote) or the green button (a “yes” vote) or the yellow button that just shows they were present, but not casting a vote one way or the other. Votes are tallied in several places: a scorecard at one end of the room, and projected on the wall above the observation seats, a list of every member’s name and how they cast their ballot.

And just like that, it was over. Members scattered, leaving the House floor for their various districts. Once again, the Capitol was quiet.

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• May 7, 2009 3:30 PM by Kitty Felde
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