Congressional roll call for week of May 18

WASHINGTON -- Here’s how area members of Congress voted in the week ending May 22.

HOUSE

CREDIT-CARD RULES: Voting 361 for and 64 against, the House on May 20 passed a bill (HR 627) changing a wide range of credit-card practices in ways that benefit consumers. The bill freezes interest rates on new accounts for one year and locks in promotional rates for six months. Credit-card firms then would have to give 45 days notice of rate increases and could apply new rates retroactively only to balances at least 60 days in arrears. (See Senate issue below for additional provisions.)

President Obama was to sign the bill by weeks end. The bills rate-notice rules will take effect in August and the other changes in February 2010.

Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said: It’s about time that we reined in the abusive practices of credit-card companies. For too long, (they) have squeezed consumers through every scheme imaginable.

Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, said the bill has a version of price controls for late fees. It restricts the ability of credit card companies to engage inrisk-based pricing and will ultimately force the good customers to yet, again, bail out the not-so-good customers.

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

GUNS IN PARKS: Voting 279 for and 147 against, the House on May 20 approved language in HR 627 (above) ensuring the right to bear loaded guns in the National Park System and National Wildlife Refuge System if the bearer is otherwise qualified to carry weapons. The provision seeks to counter a federal judge’s recent ruling against Bush administration rules that permit loaded weapons in federal parks and refuges.

Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said: The real winners in this amendment are law-abiding Americans who will no longer be treated as criminals, even though they’re good people.

Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., said adding gun rights to a bill designed to help American families during an economic crisis shows an ignorance of the seriousness of (the) crisis and a disregard for the needs of its consumers.

A yes vote backed the gun amendment.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: None

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

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

Lynch, Delahunt

Not voting: None

AT-RISK MORTGAGES: Voting 367 for and 54 against, the House on May 19 passed a bill (S 896) revamping the 2008 Hope for Homeowners Program, which encourages lenders to refinance at-risk mortgages into 30-year, fixed-interest loans in return for Federal Housing Administration backing of the new loans. President Obama signed the bill into law May 20.

This bill softens eligibility terms for borrowers and increases federal incentives for lenders, with $2.3 billion of its cost covered by the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The bill also extends FDIC insurance on bank deposits to $250,000 per person per institution through 2013.

Ike Skelton, D-Mo., said: Reducing foreclosures and stabilizing the housing market are key to turning around America’s economy.The bill is also good for small town banks and for all Americans who keep their savings in a bank or credit union.

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

Voting no: None

Not voting: Delahunt

FINANCIAL CRIMES: Voting 338 for and 52 against, the House on May 18 passed a bill (S 386) toughening federal laws against mortgage and securities fraud and nearly doubling federal personnel for investigating and prosecuting financial crimes. The bill also would establish a commission of six Democratic appointees and four Republican appointees, armed with subpoena power, to investigate the ongoing economic crisis and recommend preventive steps. President Obama signed the bill into law May 20.

Robert Scott, D-Va., said the bill would combat the financial fraud that contributed to causing and worsening our nation’s mortgage crisis, as well as other financial schemes such as securities fraud, ID theft, and organized retail theft.

Michael Burgess, R-Texas, said the bills investigative commissionis little more than a fig leaf to provide some measure of congressional cover. When do we get the report? December of 2010. Conveniently timed a month after the next election.

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

FEDERAL AVIATION BUDGET: Voting 277 for and 136 against, the House on May 21 passed a bill (HR 915) authorizing $70 billion for federal aviation programs through fiscal 2012. In part, the bill provides $39.3 billion for operating the Federal Aviation Administration, $16.2 billion for airport improvements and $13.4 billion for modernizing the air-traffic control system.

The bill shifts FedEx Express drivers from the jurisdiction of the Railway Labor Act to the National Labor Relations Act, making it easier for them to organize into a union. FedEx is not a union shop.

The bill directs the FAA to negotiate a new contract with PATCO, the air traffic controllers union, and requires binding arbitration if an agreement is not reached within 45 days.

Additionally, the bill gives airports authority to increase taxes on passengers, raises taxes on aviation fuel and requires foreign stations that service U.S. aircraft to meet U.S. standards for criminal background checks on employees and drug and alcohol testing.

Jmes Oberstar, D-Minn., said the bills historic funding levels will accelerate air-traffic control modernization while sustaining air service to smaller cities.

Jhn Mica, R-Fla., called it a horrible precedent for Congress to be dictating binding arbitration at a time when President Obama is using his influence to spur the PATCO contract negotiations.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

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,

D9, William Delahunt, D-10

Voting no: None

Not voting: None

TOBACCO COMMERCE: Voting 397 for and 11 against, the House on May 21 passed a bill (HR 1676) requiring sellers of large quantities of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco in interstate commerce to comply with state tax laws and register with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE). Under the bill, the bureau could inspect the premises of those using the Internet, phone or mail to distribute or sell more than 10,000 cigarettes or 500 cans of smokeless tobacco per month. The bill awaits Senate action.

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

CREDIT-CARD RULES: The Senate on May 19 voted, 90 for and five against, to impose pro-consumer rules on credit-card firms. In addition to provisions noted in the House item above, the bill (HR 627) requires credit cards to apply payments to the highest-interest portion of cardholder debt, limits the issuance of subprime “fee harvester” cards to those with poor credit ratings, and requires statements to be mailed 21 days in advance of the due date.

President Obama was to sign the bill into law by weeks end.

The bill prohibits changes in contract terms until renewal; bans due-date gimmickry; allows cardholders to set personal credit limits above which transactions cannot be processed and sets 21 as the minimum age for obtaining a card in most circumstances.

Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said cardholders have a right not to be deceived, misled, or ripped-off by unfair and arbitrary practices that have become all too common within the credit-card industry.

No opponent spoke against the bill.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: John Kerry, D

Voting no: None

Not voting: Edward Kennedy, D

GARY GENSLER CONFIRMATION: Voting 88 for and six against, the Senate on May 19 confirmed Gary Gensler, 51, as chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees futures trading in oil, natural gas and farm products and may be called on to regulate derivatives. Debate centered on whether Gensler would be a tough watchdog, given his Wall Street background and opposition while in the Clinton administration to oversight of credit default swaps and other derivatives.

Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said: We need a chairman of the CFTC who will enforce our laws, reform our regulatory system and guard us against fraud and abuse. I have full confidence that Gary Gensler is up to this challenge.

Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., questioned whether Gensler would assume the couragehe will need to (take on) very powerful financial institutions which have so much control over what goes on here in Congress. In fact, this may be (his) `Nixon in China moment.

A yes vote was to confirm Gensler.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Kerry

Voting no: None

Not voting: Kennedy

WAR APPROPRIATIONS: Voting 86 for and three against, the Senate on May 22 passed a bill (HR 2346) to appropriate $91.3 billion through Sept. 30 to fund U.S. war actions and international programs and respond to natural disasters at home.

The bill provides $76 billion for the Pentagon, two-thirds of which would fund combat in Afghanistan and Iraq; $11.9 billion for international programs run mainly by the Department of State; $1.5 billion for addressing pandemic flu epidemics; $1.2 billion for recovery from U.S. natural disasters such as wildfires, floods and hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and $700 million for international food aid.

Additionally, the bill helps finance Pakistani counterinsurgency efforts; sends aid to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon; funds economic development and rule-of-law institutions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and funds global efforts against AIDS and malaria.

The bill must be reconciled with a $96.7 billion House version.

Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said the bill “responds to the requirements of our men and women in uniform and to members of our population who have been ravaged by natural disasters.

Russ Feingold, D-Wis., objected to the bill’s lack of funds to shutter the Guantanamo Bay military prison, calling it vital to our national security that we close this prison, which is a recruiting tool for our enemies.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: John Kerry, D

Voting no: None

Not voting: Edward Kennedy, D

GUANTANAMO BAY: Voting 90 for and six against, the Senate on May 20 stripped HR 2346 (above) of $80 million requested by the Obama administration for closing the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The bill still contains language preventing the release of any of the approximately 240 Guantanamo prisoners into the United States for trials.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said: These men are exactly where they belong -- locked up in a safe and secure prison and isolated many miles away from the American people, who want these men kept out of their backyards and off the battlefield.

Asst. Majority Leader Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said: I do not recall SenatorMcConnell, or any other Republican, protesting when the Bush administration released hundreds of Guantanamo detainees, some of whom have actually been involved in acts of terrorism since they were released.

A yes vote was to remove the funding.

MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Kerry

Voting no: None

Not voting: Kennedy

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