WASHINGTON - Here’s how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the week of Oct. 12.
HOUSE
HOMELAND-SECURITY BUDGET: Voting 307 for 114 against, the House on Oct. 15 approved the conference report on a $44.1 billion Department of Homeland Security budget for fiscal 2010, up 6.5 percent from 2009. The bill (HR 2892) funds agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard. The bill prevents Guantanamo Bay prisoners from being transferred to U.S. soil except for court proceedings, and bars the release of photos and videos showing U.S. mistreatment of prisoners overseas since 9/11.
In part, the bill provides $1 billion for installing explosive-detection units at airports; $950 for protecting cities against attacks; $810 million for firefighters; $800 million for physical and electronic fencing on the Mexican border; $400 million to protect government computer systems against cyber attacks and $122 million for air-cargo screening.
David Price, D-N.C., said the bill “establishes strict safeguards on the movement of Guantanamo’s detainees, and if the administration chooses to address their cases in U.S. courts, (it) ensures that that will be done with due consideration, planning, and forethought.”
Ken Calvert, R-Calif., complained that the bill only extended for three years the E-Verify program by which employers determine the legality of immigrant workers. “I think the American people would support a permanent reauthorization of E-Verify,” he said.
A yes vote was to approve the conference report.
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
Voting no: William Delahunt, D-10
Not voting: None
GUANTANAMO PRISONERS: Voting 193 for and 224 against, the House on Oct. 15 defeated a GOP bid to prevent funds in HR 2892 (above) from being used to release Guantanamo Bay prisoners into the United States for court appearances or any other purpose.
Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said the motion “will keep these terrorists off American soil, out of our federal civilian courts, and in a place that is far more appropriate given their status as enemy combatants....”
David Price, D-N.C., said the motion “exalts these (detainees) above the most savage prisoners in the U.S., saying we just can’t handle...these dangerous people in our court system. This, I would say, emboldens the terrorists....”
A yes vote backed the motion.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: None
Voting no: Olver, Neal (MA), McGovern, Frank
(MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey (MA), Capuano,
Lynch, Delahunt
Not voting: None
REGIONAL AIRLINE SAFETY: Voting 409 for and 11 against, the House on Oct. 14 passed a bill (HR 3371) setting higher training and skill standards for pilots of the regional airlines that link smaller cities to hubs. The bill is a response to the 50-fatality crash last February of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo in which investigators are focusing on pilot inexperience and fatigue.
The bill requires pilots to have at least 1,500 hours of flight time to fully qualify for airline jobs, up from today’s 250-hour minimum. But a loophole allows hours spent in certain high-caliber flight-school training to be counted toward the threshold. The bill also raises federal standards for training in the operation of de-icing and emergency equipment, addresses pilot fatigue and requires applicants to disclose failed flight tests to prospective employers. The bill, which awaits Senate action, also sets new safety and training rules for pilots of the largest airlines.
Jerry Costello, D-Ill., said regional airlines “have been involved in the last six fatal U.S. airline accidents....It is time to strengthen pilot-training requirements and qualifications.”
No member spoke against the bill.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Olver, Neal (MA),
McGovern, Frank (MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey
(MA), Capuano, Lynch, Delahunt
Voting no: None
Not voting: None
IRAN INVESTMENTS: Voting 414 for and six against, the House on Oct. 14 removed federal hurdles that keep state and local governments from emptying their portfolios of stock in companies that are invested in or provide services to Iran’s energy sector. The bill (HR 1327) discounts the Department of State’s argument that such disinvestment hampers the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. The bill clears the way for non-federal governments to disinvest from organizations that have at least $20 million invested in the Iranian energy sector or sell at least $20 million in services or equipment to that sector. The bill awaits Senate action.
Barney Frank, D-Mass., said: “Nuclear weapons in the hands of the Iranian regime would be a terrible thing for the world to have to deal with.” He said the bill does not enable states to make foreign policy but gives them “the right to control their own funds.”
Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, questioned the value of increasing pressure on Iran at a time when there are “signs of progress” that diplomacy might contain its nuclear ambitions.
No member spoke against the bill.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Olver, Neal (MA),
McGovern, Frank (MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey
(MA), Capuano, Lynch, Delahunt
Voting no: None
Not voting: None
SENATE
ENERGY, WATER APPROPRIATIONS: Voting 80 for and 17 against, the Senate on Oct. 15 sent President Obama the conference report on a bill (HR 3183) to appropriate $33.5 billion for energy, water and nuclear programs in fiscal 2010. In part, the bill provides $6.4 billion for maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile; $5.6 billion for environmental clean-up at nuclear sites; $5.4 billion for Army Corps of Engineers public works; $4.9 billion for research into long-term energy needs; $2.1 billion to counter the spread of nuclear arms overseas; $311 million for clean-vehicle technologies; $225 million for solar energy and $172 million for upgrading the nation’s electrical grid.
Additionally, the bill funds the administration’s decision to permanently bar nuclear waste disposal at Yucca Mountain in Nevada and establishes a commission to evaluate alternatives for disposing of the nation’s radioactive waste.
Carl Levin, D-Mich., lauded the bill’s funding of “important energy projects in Michigan that will advance the development of...advanced batteries and energy-storage systems, plug-in hybrid vehicles, solar and photovoltaic systems, wind energy, biomass and energy efficiency.”
Tom Coburn, R-Okla., objected to language that would prevent public disclosure of certain budget reports that agencies are required to send to Congress. He said this “hides from the American people information to which they are entitled.”
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