Published: Friday, May 11, 2012 at 2:36 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Here's how members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending May 11.
House
MILITARY
SPENDING INCREASE:
Voting 218 for and 199 against, the House on May 10
sent the Senate a bill (HR 5652) to increase military spending by $55
billion, or 10 percent, in fiscal 2013 while cutting sharply over 10
years into domestic programs such as food stamps, school lunches, the
State Children's Health Insurance Program and subsidies to help
low-income families buy medical insurance. The bill would cancel
automatic spending cuts — known as a sequester — that are scheduled for
2013 and later years under the 2011 Budget Control Act. That act is the
deal in which Republicans allowed the national-debt ceiling to be raised
in return for Democrats accepting at least $2.2 trillion in multi-year
deficit reduction. The automatic cuts would reduce military and domestic
spending by about $100 billion next year. This bill would avert the
defense cuts while requiring still deeper cuts in a wide range of of
domestic programs, 25 percent of which benefit the poor.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Rep. Lou Barletta [R, PA-11]Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]Rep. Jim Gerlach [R, PA-6]Rep. Mike Kelly [R, PA-3]Rep. Thomas Marino [R, PA-10]Rep. Patrick Meehan [R, PA-7]Rep. Tim Murphy [R, PA-18]Rep. Joseph Pitts [R, PA-16]Rep. William Shuster [R, PA-9]Rep. Glenn Thompson [R, PA-5]
Voting
no:Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]Rep. Robert Brady [D, PA-1]Rep. Mark Critz [D, PA-12]Rep. Michael Doyle [D, PA-14]Rep. Chaka Fattah [D, PA-2]Rep. Tim Holden [D, PA-17]Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D, PA-13
LOBBYISTS' FEDERAL PENSIONS: Voting 170 for and 232 against, the House on May 10 defeated a bid by Democrats to amend HR 5652 (above) by denying federal pensions to any former House members of senators who become lobbyists after leaving Congress.
A yes vote backed the amendment.
JUSTICE, COMMERCE, SCIENCE: Voting 247 for and 163 against, the House on May 10 sent the Senate a bill (HR 5326) to appropriate $51.1 billion in fiscal 2013 for the departments of Justice and Commerce and agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The spending level is down about $1.6 billion, or 3 percent, from 2012.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
VOTER ID LAWS: Voting 232 for and 190 against, the House on May 9 passed an amendment to HR 5326 (above) to prevent the Justice Department from interfering with voter ID laws enacted by states. This follows the department's blocking of such laws in South Carolina and Texas as racially discriminatory. Under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, 16 states or parts of states with histories of racial discrimination in the voting process must receive the department's approval to change their voting laws. Eight states have passed voter ID laws, which typically require voters to show a photo or certain other documents before they can cast a ballot.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Voting 181 for and 233 against, the House on May 10 defeated a Democratic bid to add $20 million to HR 5326 (above) for programs designed to prevent or deal with violence against women. Republicans said the bill already contained $7.5 million more than President Obama's budget had requested for such programs in fiscal 2013.
A yes vote backed the spending increase.
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK: Voting 330 for and 93 against, the House on May 9 sent the Senate a bill (HR 2072) to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank through fiscal 2014. An independent agency backed by taxpayers, the bank provides loans and guarantees to help U.S. companies make sales in politically or economically risky markets abroad. The rationale is that without support from Washington, U.S. companies would lose sales to foreign competitors subsidized by their governments. Fewer than 2 percent of the bank's transactions have defaulted in recent years, and the agency usually returns a profit to the Treasury. The bank is barred by law from competing with private-sector lenders.
STUDENT-LOAN INTEREST: Voting 52 for and 45 against, the Senate on May 8 failed to reach 60 votes needed to end GOP blockage of a bill (S 2343) to prevent interest rates on newly issued Stafford student loans from doubling on July 1. The increase from today's 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent would add $1,000 on average to the lifetime cost of such loans. The bill would cost the Treasury $5.9 billion in lost revenue. To offset that sum, the bill would close a loophole used by some owners of S corporations to shield personal income from Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes. The closure would affect persons earning at least $200,000 annually whose S corporations have three or fewer shareholders. By contrast, Republicans want to pay for the freeze on student-loan interest by cutting funds in the 2010 health law for preventive-care programs.
A yes vote was to start debate on the bill.
| Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R, PA-8] | Rep. Todd Platts [R, PA-19] |
LOBBYISTS' FEDERAL PENSIONS: Voting 170 for and 232 against, the House on May 10 defeated a bid by Democrats to amend HR 5652 (above) by denying federal pensions to any former House members of senators who become lobbyists after leaving Congress.
A yes vote backed the amendment.
Voting yes:Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]Rep. Robert Brady [D, PA-1]Rep. Mark Critz [D, PA-12]Rep. Michael Doyle [D, PA-14]Rep. Chaka Fattah [D, PA-2]Rep. Tim Holden [D, PA-17]Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D, PA-13]
Voting no: Rep. Lou Barletta [R, PA-11]Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R, PA-8]Rep. Jim Gerlach [R, PA-6]Rep. Mike Kelly [R, PA-3]Rep. Thomas Marino [R, PA-10]Rep. Patrick Meehan [R, PA-7]Rep. Tim Murphy [R, PA-18]Rep. Joseph Pitts [R, PA-16]Rep. Todd Platts [R, PA-19]Rep. William Shuster [R, PA-9]Rep. Glenn Thompson [R, PA-5]
JUSTICE, COMMERCE, SCIENCE: Voting 247 for and 163 against, the House on May 10 sent the Senate a bill (HR 5326) to appropriate $51.1 billion in fiscal 2013 for the departments of Justice and Commerce and agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The spending level is down about $1.6 billion, or 3 percent, from 2012.
The bill bars
funding of a new EEOC rule making it more difficult for employers to
defend themselves against age-discrimination suits and of a new Justice
Department requirement concerning swimming-pool lifts for disabled
persons.
The bill also
prohibits funding of new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives (ATF) rules on gun sales in which the same individual in a
single week buys at least two semi-automatic rifles with detachable
magazines in the border states of Texas, California, Arizon a and New
Mexico. The rule requires dealers to report such transactions to the
government on the rationale that they involve drug trafficking.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Rep. Lou Barletta [R, PA-11]Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R, PA-8]Rep. Jim Gerlach [R, PA-6]Rep. Mike Kelly [R, PA-3]Rep. Thomas Marino [R, PA-10]Rep. Patrick Meehan [R, PA-7]Rep. Tim Murphy [R, PA-18]Rep. Joseph Pitts [R, PA-16]Rep. Todd Platts [R, PA-19]Rep. William Shuster [R, PA-9]Rep. Glenn Thompson [R, PA-5]
Voting no: Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]Rep. Robert Brady [D, PA-1]Rep. Mark Critz [D, PA-12]Rep. Michael Doyle [D, PA-14]Rep. Tim Holden [D, PA-17]Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D, PA-13]
VOTER ID LAWS: Voting 232 for and 190 against, the House on May 9 passed an amendment to HR 5326 (above) to prevent the Justice Department from interfering with voter ID laws enacted by states. This follows the department's blocking of such laws in South Carolina and Texas as racially discriminatory. Under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, 16 states or parts of states with histories of racial discrimination in the voting process must receive the department's approval to change their voting laws. Eight states have passed voter ID laws, which typically require voters to show a photo or certain other documents before they can cast a ballot.
A yes vote backed the amendment.
Voting yes: Rep. Lou Barletta [R, PA-11]Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R, PA-8]Rep. Mike Kelly [R, PA-3]Rep. Thomas Marino [R, PA-10]Rep. Patrick Meehan [R, PA-7]Rep. Tim Murphy [R, PA-18]Rep. Joseph Pitts [R, PA-16]Rep. Todd Platts [R, PA-19]Rep. William Shuster [R, PA-9]
Voting no: Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]Rep. Robert Brady [D, PA-1]Rep. Mark Critz [D, PA-12]
Rep. Michael Doyle [D, PA-14]Rep. Chaka Fattah [D, PA-2]Rep. Tim Holden [D, PA-17]Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D, PA-13]
Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]Rep. Jim Gerlach [R, PA-6]Rep. Glenn Thompson [R, PA-5]
Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]Rep. Jim Gerlach [R, PA-6]Rep. Glenn Thompson [R, PA-5]
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Voting 181 for and 233 against, the House on May 10 defeated a Democratic bid to add $20 million to HR 5326 (above) for programs designed to prevent or deal with violence against women. Republicans said the bill already contained $7.5 million more than President Obama's budget had requested for such programs in fiscal 2013.
A yes vote backed the spending increase.
Voting yes: Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]Rep. Robert Brady [D, PA-1]Rep. Mark Critz [D, PA-12]Rep. Michael Doyle [D, PA-14]Rep. Chaka Fattah [D, PA-2]Rep. Tim Holden [D, PA-17]Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D, PA-13]
Voting no: Rep. Lou Barletta [R, PA-11]Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R, PA-8]Rep. Jim Gerlach [R, PA-6]Rep. Mike Kelly [R, PA-3]Rep. Thomas Marino [R, PA-10]Rep. Patrick Meehan [R, PA-7]Rep. Tim Murphy [R, PA-18]Rep. Joseph Pitts [R, PA-16]Rep. Todd Platts [R, PA-19]Rep. William Shuster [R, PA-9]Rep. Glenn Thompson [R, PA-5]
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK: Voting 330 for and 93 against, the House on May 9 sent the Senate a bill (HR 2072) to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank through fiscal 2014. An independent agency backed by taxpayers, the bank provides loans and guarantees to help U.S. companies make sales in politically or economically risky markets abroad. The rationale is that without support from Washington, U.S. companies would lose sales to foreign competitors subsidized by their governments. Fewer than 2 percent of the bank's transactions have defaulted in recent years, and the agency usually returns a profit to the Treasury. The bank is barred by law from competing with private-sector lenders.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: Rep. Lou Barletta [R, PA-11]Rep. Charles Dent [R, PA-15]Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick [R, PA-8]Rep. Jim Gerlach [R, PA-6]Rep. Mike Kelly [R, PA-3]Rep. Thomas Marino [R, PA-10]Rep. Patrick Meehan [R, PA-7]Rep. Tim Murphy [R, PA-18]Rep. Joseph Pitts [R, PA-16]Rep. Todd Platts [R, PA-19]Rep. William Shuster [R, PA-9]Rep. Glenn Thompson [R, PA-5]
Voting no: Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]Rep. Robert Brady [D, PA-1]Rep. Mark Critz [D, PA-12]Rep. Michael Doyle [D, PA-14]Rep. Chaka Fattah [D, PA-2]Rep. Tim Holden [D, PA-17]Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D, PA-13]
Senate
STUDENT-LOAN INTEREST: Voting 52 for and 45 against, the Senate on May 8 failed to reach 60 votes needed to end GOP blockage of a bill (S 2343) to prevent interest rates on newly issued Stafford student loans from doubling on July 1. The increase from today's 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent would add $1,000 on average to the lifetime cost of such loans. The bill would cost the Treasury $5.9 billion in lost revenue. To offset that sum, the bill would close a loophole used by some owners of S corporations to shield personal income from Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes. The closure would affect persons earning at least $200,000 annually whose S corporations have three or fewer shareholders. By contrast, Republicans want to pay for the freeze on student-loan interest by cutting funds in the 2010 health law for preventive-care programs.
A yes vote was to start debate on the bill.
Voting yes: Sen. Robert Casey [D, PA]
Voting no: Sen. Patrick Toomey [R, PA]
A look ahead
In
the week of May 14, the House will take up the fiscal 2013 defense
budget and the Violence Against Women Act, while the Senate will debate a
reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House voted last week to spare the military from upcoming deep spending cuts, shifting them instead to social programs like food stamps and Medicaid.
A Republican-backed bill that passed 218-199 rewrites the terms of a budget agreement that Congress reached last summer. That deal called for $98 billion in automatic reductions at the end of this year if lawmakers can’t come up with their own strategy for allocating the cuts.
But with the cuts looming, defense hawks said the Pentagon’s $55 billion share would lead to reductions of 200,000 soldiers and base closings, and would hamper military readiness. “It’s not shooting ourselves in our foot,” said Armed Services Committee chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif. “It’s shooting ourselves in the head.”
Democrats said they do not want to weaken the military but want a fairer alternative that would include a mix of spending cuts and tax increases that Republicans have refused to embrace.
“Automatic, indiscriminate, meat-ax cuts scheduled to begin next January are the wrong way to reduce the deficit,” said Congressman Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “We need a responsible alternative.”
The House bill canceled the $98 billion in year-end cuts and substituted an alternative that called for $19 billion in cuts and $310 billion in reductions over 10 years in a range of domestic programs like Meals on Wheels, school lunches and child care grants.
Congressman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the cuts were necessary to avoid a “debt crisis just like Europe is experiencing.”
“If we don’t get our spending under control and we don’t get our deficit under control, the people who need government the most—the poor, the elderly—they’re the ones who get hurt the first and the worst,” he said. The bill passed mostly on a party line. Sixteen Republicans voted against it. No Democrats voted for it.
Congressman Norm Dicks, D-Wash., and Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., voted against the bill.
The Senate was not expected to take up the bill, and the White House said President Barack Obama would veto it if it got to his desk.
POLICE FUNDING INCREASED
The House passed a $51.1 billion spending bill for the Commerce and Justice departments after wading through more than 60 amendments that sought to add or cut spending or make changes in policies at the bureaucracies. The closest vote came on an amendment to increase funding for police grants by $126 million to restore it to this year’s spending level. NASA would be cut by the same amount as an offset.
Congressman Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., said the Community Oriented Policing Services program has been “highly successful” in helping local departments hire and officers and buy equipment.
Congressman Frank Wolf, R-Va., opposed taking money from NASA to pay for the increase to COPS.
“To put a spear right at NASA’s heart, I think, is a mistake,” he said. Wolf, the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that wrote the bill, asked lawmakers to vote down the amendment offering to find an alternative revenue source later in the budget process.The amendment to increase COPS funding passed, 206-204.
Dicks and Herrera Beutler voted for the amendment.
“DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE”
During debate, lawmakers also passed an amendment that reaffirmed House support for the 1996 law that prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Congressman Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., said his proposal would forbid any money to be spent to weaken the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.
Huelskamp criticized the Obama administration, which has decided not to defend the law against court challenges. President Obama last week further said he was in favor of same sex marriage, an historic remark by a sitting president.
“The Department of Justice and the President of the United States do not have to agree with the law, but they certainly have to enforce it and respect it,” said Huelskamp, who noted that 30 states have passed laws or constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the amendment was “meaningless” because no funds are being spent to contravene the law. The Huelskamp amendment passed, 245-171.
Herrera Beutler voted for it, while Dicks voted against it.
STUDENT LOAN IMPASSE
The Senate hit a brick wall over a bill that would prevent interest rates on student loans from doubling on July 1.
Republicans and Democrats seemed to agree on keeping the rates at 3.4 percent for at least another year. But they disagreed over how to offset the $6 billion cost.
Republicans blocked a Democratic bill that would pay for the loan subsidies by eliminating certain small business tax benefits. GOP senators said it would hurt small business owners while Democrats said the tax breaks were a wasteful loophole. A procedural vote to begin debate was 52-45, eight short of the 60 votes needed to proceed.
Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both D-Wash., voted to move forward on the bill.
Republicans have proposed to come up with savings from a health care fund that provides grants for preventive care. They called it an Obama administration slush fund while Democrats said it promotes women’s and children’s health.
How they voted in D.C. 5/13
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House voted last week to spare the military from upcoming deep spending cuts, shifting them instead to social programs like food stamps and Medicaid.
A Republican-backed bill that passed 218-199 rewrites the terms of a budget agreement that Congress reached last summer. That deal called for $98 billion in automatic reductions at the end of this year if lawmakers can’t come up with their own strategy for allocating the cuts.
But with the cuts looming, defense hawks said the Pentagon’s $55 billion share would lead to reductions of 200,000 soldiers and base closings, and would hamper military readiness. “It’s not shooting ourselves in our foot,” said Armed Services Committee chairman Buck McKeon, R-Calif. “It’s shooting ourselves in the head.”
Democrats said they do not want to weaken the military but want a fairer alternative that would include a mix of spending cuts and tax increases that Republicans have refused to embrace.
“Automatic, indiscriminate, meat-ax cuts scheduled to begin next January are the wrong way to reduce the deficit,” said Congressman Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. “We need a responsible alternative.”
The House bill canceled the $98 billion in year-end cuts and substituted an alternative that called for $19 billion in cuts and $310 billion in reductions over 10 years in a range of domestic programs like Meals on Wheels, school lunches and child care grants.
Congressman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the cuts were necessary to avoid a “debt crisis just like Europe is experiencing.”
“If we don’t get our spending under control and we don’t get our deficit under control, the people who need government the most—the poor, the elderly—they’re the ones who get hurt the first and the worst,” he said. The bill passed mostly on a party line. Sixteen Republicans voted against it. No Democrats voted for it.
Congressman Norm Dicks, D-Wash., and Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., voted against the bill.
The Senate was not expected to take up the bill, and the White House said President Barack Obama would veto it if it got to his desk.
POLICE FUNDING INCREASED
The House passed a $51.1 billion spending bill for the Commerce and Justice departments after wading through more than 60 amendments that sought to add or cut spending or make changes in policies at the bureaucracies. The closest vote came on an amendment to increase funding for police grants by $126 million to restore it to this year’s spending level. NASA would be cut by the same amount as an offset.
Congressman Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., said the Community Oriented Policing Services program has been “highly successful” in helping local departments hire and officers and buy equipment.
Congressman Frank Wolf, R-Va., opposed taking money from NASA to pay for the increase to COPS.
“To put a spear right at NASA’s heart, I think, is a mistake,” he said. Wolf, the chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that wrote the bill, asked lawmakers to vote down the amendment offering to find an alternative revenue source later in the budget process.The amendment to increase COPS funding passed, 206-204.
Dicks and Herrera Beutler voted for the amendment.
“DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE”
During debate, lawmakers also passed an amendment that reaffirmed House support for the 1996 law that prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Congressman Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., said his proposal would forbid any money to be spent to weaken the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.
Huelskamp criticized the Obama administration, which has decided not to defend the law against court challenges. President Obama last week further said he was in favor of same sex marriage, an historic remark by a sitting president.
“The Department of Justice and the President of the United States do not have to agree with the law, but they certainly have to enforce it and respect it,” said Huelskamp, who noted that 30 states have passed laws or constitutional amendments banning gay marriage.
Congressman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the amendment was “meaningless” because no funds are being spent to contravene the law. The Huelskamp amendment passed, 245-171.
Herrera Beutler voted for it, while Dicks voted against it.
STUDENT LOAN IMPASSE
The Senate hit a brick wall over a bill that would prevent interest rates on student loans from doubling on July 1.
Republicans and Democrats seemed to agree on keeping the rates at 3.4 percent for at least another year. But they disagreed over how to offset the $6 billion cost.
Republicans blocked a Democratic bill that would pay for the loan subsidies by eliminating certain small business tax benefits. GOP senators said it would hurt small business owners while Democrats said the tax breaks were a wasteful loophole. A procedural vote to begin debate was 52-45, eight short of the 60 votes needed to proceed.
Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both D-Wash., voted to move forward on the bill.
Republicans have proposed to come up with savings from a health care fund that provides grants for preventive care. They called it an Obama administration slush fund while Democrats said it promotes women’s and children’s health.
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