Speaker: ‘Tempers are getting shorter’

House Speaker Lawerence Denney said after today’s stormy House debate on health care reform, “I’ve been expecting something to come up. There’s a lot of stress, and tempers are getting shorter. … I hope that that’s the hardest one that we have to do.” Denney said he doesn’t plan any further action against Rep. Lenore Barrett; he upheld the objection to her debate on the floor, though he didn’t actively gavel her. House Minority Leader John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said, “I think that sometimes in the heat of debate people say things they haven’t absolutely thought through, and I think it was handled appropriately by the body and the speaker.” He added, “I would bet that this isn’t the last time this session that strong feelings will be expressed.”