Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) is a dark horse to win a spirit award for windy words from his GOP colleagues. Big mouths: GOP rewards talkers

Public approval of Congress may be at shoestring levels, but the House Republican Conference has found at least one way to boost morale among members: give them awards for speaking on the floor.

“It’s a spirit award,” said Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, a past recipient of caucus awards for his floor speeches. Wilson says his speechifying has won him busts of Ronald Reagan and Teddy Roosevelt.


“I did get a plaque one time,” he said.

The practice has some Republicans scratching their heads.

“The idea that people who are in the House of Representatives need to give each other awards for talking bull——, and that’s really what it is,” one Republican member said before he trailed off in disbelief. “What kind of a party is that?”

The befuddled member didn’t want to be named, perhaps to keep himself in the running for the next round of awards, which will be dished out at the caucus meeting just before the start of recess.

Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, vice chairwoman of the caucus, organized an awards ceremony last week to honor members who expelled the most CO2 on the subject of energy.

Each of the seven honorees received a commemorative oil can.

“It’s not a quart; it was like collectors’ memorabilia,” said an impressed Wilson, who was not among last week’s winners. Those who were: Georgia Reps. Phil Gingrey, Lynn A. Westmoreland and Tom Price; Indiana Rep. Dan Burton; North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx; Ohio Rep. Bob Latta; and Pennsylvania Rep. John E. Peterson.

“I’ve never won an oil can before,” said Westmoreland. “It’s on my desk, absolutely.”

Gingrey said his victory was “fairly well-deserved” and added, “My parents will be very proud.” He said that when he claimed his can, he was met with cries from the caucus of “No speech! No speech!”

Granger spokesman Steve Dutton said the awards are named for Rep. John M. Shimkus (R-Ill.), who has “helped lead the effort in driving members to the floor.”

What does it take to qualify for a “Shimmy”?

The Congressional Record for June 20 shows two masters at work.

Westmoreland gave the floor to Foxx, whom he called a “battering ram.”

Foxx proceeded to batter away.

“When I was in the General Assembly in North Carolina,” she said, “I often gave an award called the Emperor’s New Clothes Award, because I gave it to bills that didn’t do anything but that nobody was willing to say wasn’t doing anything. And I think what the Democratically controlled Congress — and that’s what we have to keep saying, because many Americans blame both Democrats and Republicans for not doing something, but they have to understand that it is the Democratically controlled Congress that’s creating the problem here — what they’ve done has been a charade..”

Foxx said she does what she can.

“The good Lord has given me limited talents, so I believe in using the ones he gave me,” said Foxx. “I get positive feedback from my constituents when they see me on the floor.”

On July 8, Foxx focused her rhetorical laser on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “When the French people were starving, the queen said, ‘Let them eat cake.’ Speaker Pelosi’s office says, ‘Right now our strategy on gas prices is drive small cars and wait for the wind,’” said Foxx.

Marie Antoinette didn’t actually say that, and, for the record, the words attributed to Pelosi’s office actually came from an unidentified Democratic aide who was quoted in The Hill. But in the race for a Shimkus award, accuracy matters less than rhetorical flourish.

Here’s award winner Gingrey, going biblical on gas prices July 8:

“I think Mr. Westmoreland earlier used the expression: ‘Let my oil and gas flow.’ It made me think a little bit biblical. I don’t want to get too biblical, because I will get out of my lane in a hurry, Mr. Speaker. But it’s like Moses said to Pharaoh: ‘Let my people go.’ [Pharaoh] wouldn’t do it; he wouldn’t do it. He promised time after time. [Pharaoh] kept reneging, even though his own people were suffering tremendously. I don’t know what he was betting on back there many thousands of years ago, but he was wrong. He finally did let the people go.”

The award giving began in 2005 under then-Conference Chairwoman Deborah Pryce of Ohio. Vice Chairman Jack Kingston of Georgia kept the speech tally. “These guys and gals are all Type A’s in their hearts,” said Greg Crist, Pryce’s spokesman at the time. “Healthy competition has a way of bringing out the best in our Republican rank and file, we found. ... That little memento has a unique effect.”

Shimkus spokesman Steve Tomaszewski said his boss is proud the award bears his name, even if he doesn’t know much about it. “I don’t even know who [administers] it,” he said.

One problem with an eponymous award, is that it might be a little unseemly for Shimkus to win it. “That’s all right,” said Tomaszewski. “I don’t think that’ll stop him from speaking out.”

Erick Erickson, who writes for the conservative blog RedState, was unimpressed by the caucus incentive program. “Isn’t [speaking on the floor] what they’re supposed to do?” he asked. “Maybe if we stopped being so lame and stopped doing stuff like this — stopped thinking of ways to self-reward ourselves — and actually did something, we’d be having better success this year.”

Erickson did concede, though, that if the purpose of the award is to create private competition among members, it could have some merit. “Maybe it’s good that I haven’t heard of it and they’re just doing it internally for morale,” he said. “I’m not getting a press release saying, ‘Hey, Rep. Joe Shmoe just won an award for talking on the floor.’”

The Democrats were happy to throw an elbow when they heard about the GOP’s award ceremonies.

“We don’t have to hand out awards to get our members to speak on the floor,” said Andrew Souvall, a spokesman for Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey, who runs the Democratic floor operation.

A Democratic aide said that leaders give “shout-outs” to frequent speakers during their caucus meetings but that the praise isn’t etched in bronze.

With last week’s GOP awards out, those who came up short are already looking for opportunities to talk their way into the victory circle next time around. “We’re not going to do repeat winners,” said Dutton. “There are a limited number that we are going to give out, and there are so many that have done great work.”

A notable omission from last week’s winners: Rep. Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland, who has taken to the floor repeatedly to argue that the supply of oil is limited and that increasing demand will cause a catastrophic economic shock.

“Don’t count him out,” Dutton said of Bartlett’s chances next time around. Dutton said that Wilson and Reps. Kevin Brady of Texas and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee also have shots at taking home the gold.

Westmoreland, however, said he isn’t giving up the chase. “We were just real pleased to win the can,” he said. “We’ll continue to work hard and maybe one day win a barrel.”

Patrick O’Connor and Alexander Burns contributed to this story.