Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the chamber's second-ranking Democrat, drew loud hoots when he implied that House Republicans were Tea Party lackeys. He also noted that Democrats, when they controlled the House, negotiated with President George W. Bush rather than close the government when they disagreed over the war in Iraq.

"We never shut down the government when we were in the majority and President Bush had power," Mr. Hoyer said. "There is a rational way for us to proceed, and very frankly when we were in your shoes we did so when we couldn't reach agreement with President Bush."