Capito Partakes in House GOP Floor Protest

The Hill newspaper included U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, among the 20 or so GOP members who after the House recessed on Friday "stayed behind to continue to speak about energy issues."

The protesters "gave speeches on the empty floor to protest that Congress went into recess and to raise awareness of what they say is an unwillingness by Democrats to take up legislation to deal with the nation’s energy crisis," the newspaper said. "Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), chalked the display up to politics."

Capito also appears to be the only member of the House energy "working group" who joined Friday's demonstration, according The Hill's roster of its participants and partial listings of the working group's membership in that paper and Roll Call.

The bipartisan group had sought to work quietly on energy legislation, and to avoid what its co-founder called "a rhetorical death spiral" surrounding the issue. It proposed a "National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act" last week.