The House on Tuesday approved legislation that would grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point marines, the first black marines recruited in World War II.

The bill, H.R. 2447, was approved unanimously in a 422-0 vote after debate earlier in the day in which several members noted that the Montford Point marines were trained separately in Montford Point, North Carolina, while their white counterparts were trained in Paris Island, South Carolina.

The House on Tuesday afternoon approved a rule for a bill that would allow a land swap between the federal government and a foreign-owned mining company, which would allow that company to extract copper from a massive copper deposit in southeast Arizona.

The rule was approved in a 245-178 vote in which less than a dozen Democrats voted for it. Democrats lodged several protests against the bill, including that it would only help foreign owned companies. Resolution Copper Mining LLC would be permitted to mine the copper, and that company is owned by Rio Tinto and BHP-Billiton, which both have headquarters and major offices in Britain and Australia.

House Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday managed to enjoy a rare moment of bipartisanship, but on a bill far less controversial that what usually gets them fighting — one that calls for a commemorative coin marking the upcoming 75th anniversary of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

"The passage of this bill… is one of those exceptional pieces of legislation that brings the House together in bipartisan fashion," said Rep. Steven Pearce (R-NM). "Particularly at this time, a bill that can garner nearly 300 signatures of support from House members on both sides of the aisle is a good thing."

Rep. Dave Schweikert (R-Ariz.), in a question-and-answer period, suggested birthers could be right to debate President Obama’s eligibility to lead the country.

An audience member asked Schweikert why congressional conservatives don’t attempt to take action to investigate Obama’s birth certificate and eligibility to serve as commander-in-chief.

House minority whip would only say he was "hopeful" the panel would reach an agreement before the clock ticks down.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) on Tuesday morning criticized Texas Gov. and presidential candidate Rick Perry (R) for allowing a state agency to "fool around" with the idea of allowing a Texas license plate bearing the Confederate flag.

"To put on the state license plate a flag that symbolized fear, intimidation, oppressive action, brutality, slavery and the death of slaves … and the brutality of Jim Crowism is an outrage and will not be tolerated," Jackson Lee said on the House floor.

Two longstanding House critics of U.S. military operations thanked President Obama for his decision last week to withdraw all combat troops from Iraq by the end of this year.

"I would like to thank President Obama for bringing all of our troops home from Iraq by the end of this year," Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) said on the House floor.

Assistant House Democratic Leader James Clyburn (S.C.) noted polls showing Obama would defeat Romney and Perry. 

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) said Tuesday morning that he is hoping to hear testimony from Energy Secretary Steven Chu by Thanksgiving on the circumstances surrounding the $535 million loan guarantee to Solyndra, the now-bankrupt California solar panel maker.

Stearns, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said on C-SPAN that he is not yet convinced that Chu should resign. Instead, he said Chu and other Energy Department officials should be given a chance to tell their sides of the story.

“I think he should be given every opportunity to present his case — of course it would be under oath,” Stearns said of Chu. “I would like to hear from him personally.”