WASHINGTON -- Here’s how area members of Congress voted in the week ending June 12.
HOUSE
CAR, TRUCK VOUCHERS: Voting 298 for and 119 against, the House on June 9 passed a bill (HR 2751) enabling consumers to trade their car or truck for a government voucher worth $3,500 to $4,500 to be used to help buy or lease a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle -- foreign or domestic. The exact value of the voucher would depend on the new vehicle’s fuel efficiency. The government would destroy the traded-in vehicles. Congressional auditors predict the bill would spur 600,000 vehicle sales and leases. The bill is now before the Senate.
Donald Manzullo, D-Ill., said: “Stimulating sales is the only way to get the auto industry back on its feet -- not further top-down infusions of money....The bill gets the American people involved because it’s bottom-up. It sets the fire of manufacturing.”
Eric Cantor, R-Va., opposed the bill because it disallowed vouchers for acquiring more fuel-efficient used vehicles. “Even after a generous credit, for many American families a new car is financially out of reach,” he said.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: John Olver, D-1, Richard
Neal, D-2, James McGovern, D-3, Barney Frank,
D-4, Niki Tsongas, D-5, John Tierney, D-6, Edward
Markey, D-7, Michael Capuano, D-8, Stephen Lynch,
D-9, William Delahunt, D-10
Voting no: None
Not voting: None
FOREIGN AFFAIRS BUDGET: Voting 235 for and 187 against, the House on June 10 authorized a $40.6 billion, two-year foreign-affairs budget (HR 2410) that would fund Department of State and Peace Corps operating expenses, a major expansion of the Foreign Service and a broad range of U.S. non-military policies and programs overseas.
In part, the bill adds 1,500 diplomats and staff to the Foreign Service and stations 300 additional Foreign Service personnel in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The bill also increases the number of Americans studying abroad; expands programs that bring foreign youths to the United States for high school or college; funds international broadcasting programs and bolsters Radio Free Asia; authorizes $654 million to bring the U.S. up-to-date in its United Nations dues, and requires gay partners of U.S. diplomats to receive benefits equal to those of diplomats’ spouses.
Additionally, the bill orders the first overhaul of U.S. foreign aid since 1961; requires quadrennial State Department reviews of U.S. foreign operations; bolsters arms-control and nuclear non-proliferation programs; revamps export controls; expands protections for U.S. intellectual property and supports U.N. peacekeeping missions in Darfur, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., said “it is the Foreign Service that lives always full-time out in the ugly and dangerous parts of the world representing our interests, building alliances, monitoring and reporting on events that may affect our security and helping to defuse crises and tensions before they sometimes burst into armed conflict or war.”
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., said: “In trying to justify the enormous spending increases in this bill, supporters paint a picture of a hollowed-out shell of a State Department suffering from years of neglect.” Yet research shows “funding for the State Department and related agencies doubled from fiscal year 2000 through 2008.”
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Olver, Neal (MA),
McGovern, Frank (MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey
(MA), Capuano, Lynch
Voting no: None
Not voting: Delahunt
DISPUTE OVER IRAN: Voting 174 for and 250 against, the House on June 10 defeated a Republican motion to scrap the entire foreign affairs bill (HR 2410, above) and replace it with a measure using international economic sanctions to block foreign investments and deliveries of refined-oil products that help sustain Iran’s nuclear programs.
Dan Burton, R-Ind., said: “The State Department has not had an authorization bill since fiscal year 2003, and it has continued to operate. While the authorization is important, stopping Iran from attaining a nuclear weapon is far more important.”
Howard Berman, D-Calif., said the motion shows Republicans “are not serious about pursuing an effective strategy to stop Iran from developing a nuclear-weapons capability....”
A yes vote backed the GOP motion.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: None
Voting no: Olver, Neal (MA), McGovern, Frank
(MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey (MA), Capuano,
Lynch, Delahunt
Not voting: None
DOCUMENTARY ON AFGHANISTAN: Voting 178 for and 254 against, the House on June 10 refused to block dissemination in the United States of a Voice of America documentary that depicts how Afghanistan’s poppy and heroin industry fuels its economy and provides the Taliban with financial support. The underlying bill (HR 2410) waives the 1948 Smith-Mundt law so that the federally produced “A Fateful Harvest” can be shown to U.S. audiences. The law was originally intended to keep federal officials from airing Cold War propaganda domestically.
Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Fla., said “laws have been on the books for 60 years that prohibit the executive branch from distributing government-sponsored information campaigns domestically.”
Ron Kline, D-Fla., said U.S. efforts to wean Afghan agriculture from poppy dependence “undermine the Taliban. Most Americans cannot see this for themselves. That is why the release of this film is so important.”
A yes vote backed the amendment.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Frank (MA)
Voting no: Olver, Neal (MA), McGovern, Tsongas,
Tierney, Markey (MA), Capuano, Lynch, Delahunt
Not voting: None
TOBACCO REGULATION: Voting 307 for and 97 against, the House on June 12 gave final congressional approval to a bill (HR 1256) launching Food and Drug Administration regulation of tobacco products, with the cost to be paid by fees on tobacco manufacturers and importers. The bill empowers the FDA to regulate cigarette ingredients, require public disclosure of those ingredients, limit cigarette advertising, require health warnings to cover at least half of each side of a cigarette package and put the burden on manufacturers to verify health claims.
A yes vote was to send the bill to President Obama.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: John Olver, D-1, Richard
Neal, D-2, James McGovern, D-3, Barney Frank,
D-4, Niki Tsongas, D-5, John Tierney, D-6, Edward
Markey, D-7, Michael Capuano, D-8, Stephen Lynch,
D-9, William Delahunt, D-10
Voting no: None
Not voting: None
AID TO PAKISTAN: Voting 234 for and 185 against, the House on June 11 authorized $10.5 billion in U.S. economic and military aid to Pakistan through 2014. The bill (HR 1886) puts the Department of State in charge of the funding and sets benchmarks for Pakistan to meet. The bill provides $6 billion to bolster Pakistan’s civilian institutions and economy, $2.9 billion for counter-insurgency efforts and $1.6 billion in general military aid. Now awaiting Senate action, the bill signals growing U.S. concern over the stability of Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal.
Howard Berman, D-Calif., said that to prevent a “nightmare scenario” in Pakistan, “we need to forge a true strategic partnership with Pakistan” and “work to make Pakistan a source of stability in a volatile region. (This bill) is designed to help achieve these critical goals.”
David Dreier, R-Calif., said the bill “ties the hands of our military and attempts to micromanage (U.S. government) efforts from 7,000 miles away. This is a counterproductive and potentially fatal error to make.”
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Olver, Neal (MA),
McGovern, Frank (MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey
(MA), Capuano, Lynch
Voting no: None
Not voting: Delahunt
GOP ALTERNATIVE: Voting 173 for and 246 against, the House on June 11 defeated a Republican alternative to HR 1886 (above) that differed mainly by putting the Department of Defense in charge of implementing the bill.
Candice Miller, R-Mich., said: “The Department of State should not be taking the lead in this vital issue. It should be the Department of Defense.”
Barbara Lee, D-Calif., said U.S. security “hinges upon much more than military might. Instead, it hinges upon the success of diplomatic and development efforts around the globe.”
A yes vote backed the Republican alternative.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: None
Voting no: Olver, Neal (MA), McGovern, Frank
(MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey (MA), Capuano,
Lynch
Not voting: Delahunt
PAKISTAN BENCHMARKS: Voting 164 for and 245 against, the House on June 11 defeated a Republican motion to strip HR 1886 (above) of its conditions on military aid to Pakistan. Those benchmarks link the aid to Pakistan’s progress in areas such as turning back the Taliban offensive and securing its nuclear arsenal. The bill places no benchmarks on its $6 billion in non-military aid.
Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said: “Our focus has to be national security....It has to say, Pakistan, we are a partner, not your mother. We are not going to hold your hand in this. We are going to be your equal partner in your fight on terror.”
Howard Berman, D-Calif., said that in previous aid deliveries to Pakistan, “The lack of end-use monitoring has meant that we have been arming the Taliban, because they steal the guns we provide and use them against our forces and the Afghan forces....”
A yes vote backed the GOP motion.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: None
Voting no: Olver, Neal (MA), McGovern, Frank
(MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey (MA), Capuano,
Lynch
Not voting: Delahunt
SENATE
TOBACCO REGULATION: Voting 79 for and 17 against, the Senate on June 11 passed a bill (HR 1256) to begin federal regulation of tobacco products. Under the bill (HR 1256), the Food and Drug Administration would regulate cigarette ingredients; require public disclosure of those ingredients; restrain cigarette marketing to children; require health warnings to cover at least half of each side of a cigarette package, and require manufacturers to verify health claims. The bill would pre-empt state tobacco laws, require compliance by tribal governments and pay for itself with new fees on tobacco manufacturers and importers.
Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., called the bill an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans “coming together in common cause to make a difference for literally millions of people in our country for years and years and years to come.”
Kay Hagan, D-N.C., said the alternative plan (below) was better because it ensures the government “can adequately regulate tobacco and protect the 12,000 tobacco farmers and 65,700 employees in tobacco-related industries in North Carolina.”
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: John Kerry, D
Voting no: None
Not voting: Edward Kennedy, D
SUBSTITUTE TOBACCO PLAN: Voting 36 for and 60 against, the Senate on June 9 defeated an alternative to HR 1256 (above) that sought to locate federal tobacco regulation in the Department of Health and Human Services rather than the Food and Drug Administration. The HHS agency would not have the FDA’s authority to ban carcinogens from tobacco products but could regulate tobacco advertising. The agency would promote less harmful nicotine-delivery devices, such as smokeless tobacco, as a means of lessening addiction.
Sponsor Richard Burr, R-N.C., said: “If you want to reduce the prevalence of youth smoking, vote for the substitute. If you want to reduce the rate of death and disease, vote for (it). Don’t just listen to me, listen to public health experts and authors who now have written on this issue.”
Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said Burr’s measure “fails to give the authority to remove harmful ingredients in cigarettes...doesn’t go far enough in protecting children and has weaker and less effective health warnings as well.”
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