President Obama held an emergency meeting with congressional leaders Wednesday to try and find a way out of the budget stalemate -- but over on Capitol Hill, tempers were flaring and lawmakers were melting down on the floor of the House.
Lawmakers spent the evening shouting at each other, as they considered a series of votes on mini-spending bills but got no closer to a deal that could re-open the entire government. In perhaps the most intense exchange, Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., repeatedly accused his GOP colleagues of waging "jihad" on Americans.
Miller, who was a champion of the federal health care law when it was being drafted, claimed Republicans who are now complaining about the national parks being closed did not show the same concern over health care. He said: "When you were on the jihad against Americans' access to health care, shutting down the parks wasn't a problem. Shutting down NIH wasn't a problem."
Miller was then ruled "out of order." After he left the floor, Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said he was "disgusted" by Miller's comments.
"We should all reject his comments," Simpson said, adding that Miller should be formally censured "but I won't call for it."
The House was considering a suite of mini-spending bills. On Wednesday evening, the chamber approved one bill to fund the National Park Service, on a 252-173 vote, and another bill to fund the National Institutes of Health, on a 254-171 vote.
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