This was a vote on a resolution setting a time limit for debate and determining which amendments could be offered to legislation authorizing the Agriculture Department to provide loans to public or cooperative electric utilities. Those utilities would then be required to make low-interest loans to customers for energy-efficient installations. The bill authorized $993 million to be spent on this program.

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) urged support for the resolution and the underlying legislation: “…Not only will…[the legislation] result in more Americans jobs; it will lower families' and farms' utility bills. This is particularly important in rural areas where customers are facing increasing costs for electric power. Rural electric co-ops are facing a growing demand for electric power at a time when they are constrained from building new generation capacity.”

Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) argued the bill would fail to create jobs: “They've come forward with another bill to deal with weatherization that they say will be a job creator. Well, the policies that we've seen over the past 20 months have killed jobs….We should be reducing the tax and regulatory burden on working Americans and job creators to ensure that we can, as early as possible, have that kind of success.”

The House agreed this resolution by a vote of 225-188. 223 Democrats – including a majority of progressives -- and 2 Republicans voted “yea.” 171 Republicans and 17 Democrats voted “nay.” As a result, the House proceeded to formal floor debate on legislation authorizing the Agriculture Department to provide loans to public or cooperative electric utilities, and requiring those utilities (which were recipients of government loans) to make low-interest loans to customers for energy-efficient installations.