Votes

The House approved the resolution in a 239-176 vote with one Republican and six Democrats voting against their parties.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday evening presided over the swearing-in of new House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, among other opening-day duties.

Members convened at 6:30 p.m. and started with a quorum call, which was followed with the voice-vote approval of the resolution naming Irving to his new post.

The House Rules Committee on Tuesday evening approved a rule that will let the House vote Wednesday on a Republican resolution disapproving of President Obama's request to increase the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion.

The rule makes a subtle change to last year's Budget Control Act (BCA), which sets out guidelines for how the House and Senate must vote on these resolutions.

The quick House passage of the temporary extension capped a disastrous week for House Republican leaders.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the unanimous-consent request that allowed the Senate to quickly approve the package.

The House on Tuesday afternoon passed a Republican resolution expressing the sense of the House that Congress should approve a bill extending the payroll tax holiday and unemployment insurance along the lines of what House Republicans approved earlier this month.

The resolution is meant to demonstrate support for the House bill, which extends and reforms these programs for a year and pays for the extensions with cuts to discretionary spending. House Republicans spent the day arguing that their proposal is better than the Senate bill, which extends these programs for just two months with different pay-fors.

The 229-193 vote was generally on party lines, with only seven Republicans voting against the conference.

All but one Republican voted for the rule. No Democrats supported it.

The rule to set up the vote was agreed to after a highly partisan debate lasting almost two hours.

The House on Monday evening voted by unanimous consent in favor of H.Res. 497, which would commission the placement of a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the Capitol.

The House adjourned moments after that vote, and members gave no sign as to when votes on the payroll tax bill might take place tonight. House Republicans are expected to caucus at 6 p.m. to discuss how to handle the payroll tax issue.