Congressional roll call for week of April 27

WASHINGTON -- Here’s how area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes the week of April 27:

HOUSE

2010-2014 FEDERAL BUDGET: Voting 233 for and 193 against, the House on April 29 adopted the conference report on a five-year Democratic budget (S Con Res 13) that for 2010 projects $3.4 trillion in spending, a $1.2 trillion deficit, $284 billion in interest payments on federal debt and $130 billion for war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The budget sets “reconciliation” rules allowing President Obama’s health-care and student-loan initiatives to pass the Senate with 51 votes if agreements with Republicans are not reached by Oct. 15. The fiscal plan puts caps on discretionary spending and applies pay-as-you-go rules to entitlement-spending increases and new tax cuts.

George Miller, D-Calif., said the budget “will help us rebuild our middle class and turn our looming crises -- energy, health care and education -- into opportunities for prosperity, and it will create a new era of accountability, honesty and transparency for taxpayers.”

Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called the budget “a huge gusher of new spending chased by ever-higher taxes which never actually catch up with that spending, which results in a record level of new borrowing. More debt will accumulate under this coming presidency than under all prior presidencies combined.”

A yes vote was to adopt the Democratic budget.

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

HATE CRIMES PROSECUTIONS: Members on April 29 voted, 249 for and 175 against, to expand the federal law against hate crimes to include offenses based on sexual orientation, gender or disability, as well as the existing categories of race, color, religion and national origin. The bill (HR 1913), which awaits Senate action, authorizes federal grants and law-enforcement resources to help state and local officials combat hate crimes. The law targets crimes of violence but not free speech.

Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said hate crimes “aim to terrorize, intimidate and oppress an entire class of people. They are assaults not just on those victims but on an entire community. When the perpetrators of these acts are not held accountable, we suffer as a nation.”

Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said the bill could have a chilling effect on “religious leaders or members of religious groups” who “may hesitate to discuss their personal beliefs about homosexuality or gay marriage for fear of criminal investigation.”

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

DEATH PENALTY: Voting 185 for and 241 against, the House on April 29 defeated a bid to add offenses against members of the armed services, law enforcement officers and the elderly to the list of hate crimes covered by HR 1913 (above) and to require the execution of those convicted of committing hate crimes.

Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said he was “spat at and on after Vietnam, when I was at Fort Riley, Kans., and we were ordered not to wear our uniforms off post in our platoon because of violence that was being done to service members. It still happens.”

John Conyers, D-Mich., said: “Members of the armed services are not victims of bias-based prejudice or hatred. To the contrary, they are honored for their service to our nation, with national holidays in their honor, memorials and other economic benefits, all of which are deserved.”

A yes vote was to adopt 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

CREDIT CARD RULES: Voting 357 for and 70 against, the House on April 30 sent the Senate a bill (HR 627) imposing pro-consumer rules on credit cards. The bill bans due-date gimmickry; allows cardholders to set personal credit limits above which transactions cannot be processed; sets 18 as the minimum age for obtaining a card in most circumstances; prohibits changes in contract terms until renewal, and requires 45 days’ notice of rate increases while allowing existing balances to be paid at the previous rate.

Additionally, the bill limits the use of outside credit information as a basis for increasing percentage rates; bans charges on balances attributable to accrued interest on debt that has been paid; limits the issuance of subprime “fee harvester” cards to those with poor credit ratings, and permits cardholders to pay down high-interest-rate balances ahead of other balances.

Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said: “This is not a bill that takes away consumer choice or that infringes on anyone’s rights. It simply says it is not right to be deceptive, to be unfair or to engage in anticompetitive practices.”

Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said that as a result of the bill, “People who are doing it right, who are working hard, trying to pay their bills, are going to be forced to bail out those who don’t. This bill will take us back to...a bygone era where everybody paid higher interest rates....”

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-, William Delahunt, D-10

Voting no: None

Not voting: None

GOP STUDY REQUEST: Voting 164 for and 263 against, the House on April 30 defeated a Republican bid to delay the effective date of HR 627 (above) until the Federal Reserve certifies it would not reduce the flow of credit to small businesses.

Peter Roskam, R-Ill., said that if the bill “has an adverse impact on small business, then we have failed. If this has an adverse impact on the biggest job creators in our economy, then we have failed.”

Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., said “the small-business community has already spoken,” with the National Federation of Independent Businesses and The National Small Business Association having endorsed the bill.

A yes vote was to delay the bill pending a Federal Reserve study.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: None

Voting no: Olver, Neal (MA), McGovern, Frank

(MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey (MA), Capuano,

Lych, Delahunt

Not voting: None

SENATE

2010-2014 BUDGET: Voting 53 for and 43 against, the Senate on April 29 gave final approval to a five-year Democratic budget (S Con Res 13) that accommodates most of President Obama’s requests, including his proposals for revamping health care, student loans and energy policies. The budget projects $3.4 trillion in spending and a $1.2 trillion deficit for 2010. The plan did not require a presidential signature and took effect immediately.

The budget extends President Obama’s middle-class tax cuts as well as Bush-era cuts such as expanded child-tax credits and relief from the marriage penalty, while allowing President Bush’s cuts for wealthy taxpayers to expire. The budget is designed to cut this year’s deficit of $1.75 trillion to $523 billion by 2013 but relies on not-yet-specified revenue to do so.

The ten largest spending categories for 2010 are Social Security ($701 billion), defense ($606 billion), income security ($540 billion), Medicare ($450) billion), health ($389 billion), debt service ($284 billion), veterans ($106 billion), education and training ($140 billion), transportation ($96 billion) and commerce and housing credit ($89 billion).

Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said the Bush administration “slammed this economy into the ditch. President Obama is put in the position of the cleanup crew. It is not pretty or easy, and it is going to be a difficult challenge....”

Judd Gregg, R-N.H., said: “Yes, (Obama) inherited tough times. But the issue is not what he inherited. The issue is what he is going to bequeath, what he is going to leave the next generation.”

A yes vote was to adopt the budget plan.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: John Kerry, D

Voting no: None

Not voting: Edward Kennedy, D

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS CONFIRMATION: The Senate on April 28 confirmed, 65 for and 31 against, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, 60, as the 21st secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Sebelius, a Democrat, was backed by all 56 Democrats and independents who voted and by nine Republicans.

Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., objected to Republicans’ two-months stall of the nomination. “President Obama won the election. This is his choice to lead (the department) and to deal with the myriad of other problems we must grapple with as a country.”

Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said every American is entitled to health care “that best fits his or her needs” under “a treatment regimen crafted and tailored by his or her own physician, not by a Washington bureaucrat,” but “I do not believe (Sebelius) is sufficiently committed to these same principles.”

A yes vote was to confirm Sebelius,

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Kerry

Voting no: None

Not voting: Kennedy

BANKRUPTCY, MORTGAGES: Voting 45 for and 51 against, the Senate on April 30 refused to permit bankruptcy judges in Chapter 13 proceedings to rework delinquent mortgages on main residences. The amendment allowed intervention if the mortgage was issued no later than 2008 on a home valued under $729,000 and borrower-lender attempts at refinancing had failed. The vote occurred during debate on a bill (S 896) still in debate that is aimed at saving millions of troubled mortgages. This amendment would have applied to up to 1.7 million mortgages.

President Obama asked Congress to add this “cramdown” provision to his anti-foreclosure program, and the House went along.

Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., asked: “How do we look ourselves in the mirror if we have voted...hundreds of billions of dollars to save the banks...and turn our backs on homeowners, middle-class people who are suffering because of the fallout of these bad financial decisions?”

Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said the amendment would lead to “higher interest rates for home loans and fewer Americans who will be able to afford to buy a house -- not what we need to end the housing crisis.”

A yes vote was to allow mortgage intervention by bankruptcy judges.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: John Kerry, D

Voting no: None

Not voting: Edward Kennedy, D

FINANCIAL CRIMES: Voting 92 for and four against, the Senate on April 28 passed a bill (S 386) toughening federal laws against financial crimes such as mortgage and securities fraud. The bill also broadens the False Claims Act, under which private citizens can file fraud suits on behalf of the government and receive a large share of any recovered funds. The bill awaits House action.

In part, the bill expands the definition of “financial institution” covered by fraud and money-laundering statutes to include mortgage lenders other than traditional banks; authorizes $490 million over two years for hiring 700 FBI agents, prosecutors and forensic analysts to address white-collar fraud; bolsters protections against fraud in stimulus spending and the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), and stipulates that money-laundering statutes cover “proceeds” rather than just “profits.”

Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the bill is needed because in recent years “unscrupulous individuals found housing and financial markets that were lax in oversight enforcement and regulation” and committed “fraud against homeowners, lenders, and businesses....”

Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said “We don’t have ex post facto laws, so everything this bill does has no application” to crimes already committed. “We don’t need new laws on the books. What we need to do is enforce the laws we have today.”

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Kerry

Voting no: None

Not voting: Kennedy

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