House GOP whip apologizes to Bachmann for missed vote

By Pete Kasperowicz and Bob Cusack - 03/21/13 05:08 PM ET

House Republican Whip Kevn McCarthy (R-Calif.) apologized to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on Wednesday for keeping her busy on a project that made her miss the vote on the Republican Study Committee (RSC) budget.

"[T]he Majority Whip Office asked Representative Michele Bachmann to work on a project during the RSC budget vote," McCarthy said in a statement printed in the Congressional Record.

"We assured her that we would inform her prior to our closing the vote," he said. "We did not, and for that we take responsibility and apologize both to her and her constituents."

"Representative Bachmann would have voted in the affirmative for the Republican Study Committee substitute to H. Con. Res. 25."

The RSC budget failed in a 104-132 vote — the low tally reflects the Democratic strategy of voting "present" on the RSC budget, in order to force Republicans to vote it down.

Bachmann was one of just nine Republicans who did not vote on the RSC budget. McCarthy and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) voted against the budget alternative.

The more aggressive RSC budget would balance in just four years, and was favored by many conservatives who have said the U.S. needs to act quickly to avoid a debt crisis.

Today, Bachmann voted with her GOP leadership in favor of Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) plan, which would balance the budget in 10 years.