WASHINGTON - Here’s how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending Feb. 5.
HOUSE
NATIONAL DEBT LIMIT: The House on Feb. 4 voted, 217 for and 212 against, to raise the national debt limit by $1.9 trillion to $14.29 trillion and thus extend Treasury borrowing authority until early 2011. The new debt limit was later joined with a pay-as-you-go budget bill (below) and the combined measure (H Res 45) was sent to President Obama for his signature.
Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., said Republicans in recent years “grew annual spending by over 8 percent. They passed the largest expansion of entitlements without paying for it. They started and didn’t pay for two wars. And they gave and did not pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. Collectively, these actions added $8 trillion to the national debt.”
Geoff Davis, R-Ky., said: “Washington has a spending problem. It’s time to end it. And these days, it seems more like an addiction. Instead of more broken promises to cut spending and reduce the deficit, it’s past time for President Obama and Democratic leaders to respond to the American people to end this tyranny of runaway spending in Washington.”
A yes vote was to raise the federal debt limit.
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
`PAY AS YOU GO’: Voting 233 for and 187 against, the House on Feb. 4 added pay-as-you-go budget discipline to HJ Res 45 (above). Under “pay-go,” proposed tax cuts or entitlement-spending increases must be offset by tax increases or entitlement cuts elsewhere in the budget. If not offset, they need 60 votes in the Senate and a majority vote in the House for approval. Pay-go was a staple of congressional budgeting throughout the 1990s but dropped in 2002 mainly to clear the way for President Bush’s tax cuts. Republicans usually oppose pay-go as a deterrent to tax cuts.
John Spratt, D-S.C., said pay-go “is proven to work. It reins in new entitlement spending. It reins in tax cuts as well. Both tend to be long lasting, easy to pass, hard to repeal....At its core is a commonsense rule that everyone can understand: When you are in a hole, stop digging.”
Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said: “Forty percent of the entire budget is exempt from pay-go. It does not do a thing at all to reduce the deficits. In fact...it locks in the deficits at current levels, and it doesn’t address the spending crisis....It sounds good. When you look at the details, it accomplishes nothing.”
A yes vote was to enact “pay as you go.”
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Olver, Neal (MA),
McGovern, Frank (MA), Tsongas, Tierney, Markey
(MA), Capuano, Lynch, Delahunt
Voting no: None
Not voting: None
CYBERSECURITY PROGRAMS: Voting 422 for and five against, the House on Feb. 4 sent the Senate a bill (HR 4061) to fund National Science Foundation programs for upgrading cybersecurity instruction and research on U.S. campuses. The bill authorizes $396 million over five years in NSF grants for research to help governments and the private-sector better secure their computer systems. The bill also authorizes $94 million over five years in scholarships for students who study cybersecurity and commit to public-service employment in the field after graduation.
Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said: “Every critical (U.S.) infrastructure is tied to cybernetworks. Whether it be our utilities, our power grids, our financial institutions, whether it be air traffic controllers, virtually every sector is tied to the networks, to the Internet, and, therefore, is vulnerable.” He said U.S. military networks also are vulnerable to enemy hackers.
Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who voted against the bill, expressed concern that some of the funds could be earmarked to favored recipients rather than awarded through competition.
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
PATRICIA SMITH CONFIRMATION: Voting 60 for and 37 against, the Senate on Feb. 4 confirmed New York Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith as Department of Labor solicitor. As the department’s top lawyer, she will be responsible for enforcing U.S. labor laws in areas such as job discrimination, workplace safety and adherence to wage-and-hour requirements. Senate Republicans delayed the nomination for nine months. They criticized as overzealous a program she originated in New York, known as Wage and Hour Watch, which uses volunteers from unions and community groups to monitor employers’ compliance with payroll laws.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said: “Commissioner Smith is a well-qualified nominee who has decades of experience working on labor issues,” adding that “if some senators oppose the strong enforcement of laws to protect American workers, they can vote against the nomination.”
Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., referring to New York’s Wage and Hour Watch Program, said “the proactive enforcement of labor law should be vigilantly looking for violations and vigilantly looking for correction,” not seeking to shut down small businesses.
A yes vote was to confirm Smith.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Paul Kirk, D, John
Kerry, D
Voting no: None
Not voting: None
MARTHA JOHNSON CONFIRMATION: Voting 82 for and 16 against, the Senate on Feb. 4 ended a Republican filibuster against the nomination of Martha N. Johnson to head the General Services Administration. She was then confirmed 96-0. Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., had blocked her nomination since June 2009 in a dispute with the GSA over federal office space in Kansas City that did not involve Johnson. The 12,000-employee GSA manages federal office buildings and leased space, oversees the civil service and conducts the government’s procurement of goods and services, among other duties.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the nomination “has been stalled ...since June 8 due to the opposition of a single Republican senator....The will of the Senate and the needs of the American people are held hostage by a single senator.”
The 16 Republican senators who voted to continue the filibuster, including Bond, did not speak against Johnson.
A yes vote was to advance the nomination.
MASSACHUSETTS Voting yes: Kirk, Kerry
Voting no: None
Not voting: None
