“House OKs bill on 9/11 responders” |
| House OKs bill on 9/11 responders Posted: 26 Dec 2010 12:48 AM PST WASHINGTON — Here's how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the legislative week ending Dec. 22. House 9/11 RESPONDERS' FUND: By a vote of 206 for and 60 against, with 168 members absent, the House on Dec. 22 sent President Obama a deficit-neutral, $4.2 billion bill (HR 847) establishing a fund to benefit tens of thousands of individuals who developed health problems as a result of their clean-up work at the World Trade Center site after 9/11. The bill would provide $2.7 billion for economic compensation and $1.5 million for ongoing medical care over five years. The bill would be paid for by increasing certain U.S.-visa fees and imposing fees on certain foreign firms that receive U.S. government contracts for providing goods and services abroad, such as in Afghanistan and Iraq. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said: "The heroes of 9/11 ... rushed into the burning buildings, and they worked in a toxic environment for weeks and months. ...They have suffered for their service to this country by getting sick, by dying, by being sick. It is now up to us to see that the United States honors its heroes (and) not turn its back on those who served us." Objecting to the bill's overseas procurement fees, Kevin Brady, R-Texas, said: "Levying additional taxes on companies that support American troops is both illogical and dangerous." A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: G.K. Butterfield, D-1; Bob Etheridge, D-2; David Price, D-4; Larry Kissell, D-8; Melvin Watt, D-12; Brad Miller, D-13 Voting no: Virginia Foxx, R-5; Sue Myrick, R-9 Not voting: Walter B. Jones Jr., R-3; Howard Coble, R-6; Mike McIntyre, D-7; Patrick McHenry, R-10; Heath Shuler, D-11 FOOD-SAFETY RULES: Voting 215 for and 144 against, the House on Dec. 21 sent President Obama a bill (HR 2751) that would greatly expand Food and Drug Administration authority over hundreds of thousands of firms that handle raw and processed foods, including farms with annual sales above $500,000. The bill (S 510) gives the FDA new power to prevent food-borne illnesses and expands its authority to react to outbreaks of disease. The bill requires domestic and foreign companies that supply food to U.S. consumers to pay $500 annual registration fees to the FDA, take adequate steps to prevent contamination, and submit to periodic government inspections. Additionally, the bill gives the FDA more power to recall contaminated foods and quarantine areas that produce them. The agency's expanded mission would be financed by registration and inspection fees along with congressional appropriations projected to total $1.4 billion over five years. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said: "Congress has demonstrated that food safety is a bipartisan issue. Food-borne illness outbreaks can strike each and every one of us. In recent years, foods we never would have imagined to be unsafe, everything from spinach to peanut butter, have sickened an untold number of Americans. It is time, once and for all, to enact this legislation. " Frank Lucas, R-Okla., said the bill "will lead to huge regulatory burdens on ... farmers and ranchers. It will raise the cost of food for our consumers, and it contains very little that will actually contribute to the goal of food safety. It gives the Food and Drug Administration lots of additional authorities with no accountability." A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller Voting no: Foxx, Myrick, McHenry Not voting: Jones, Coble AMERICA COMPETES ACT:Voting 228 for and 130 against, the House on Dec. 21 sent President Obama a bill (HR 5116) authorizing $46 billion over three years for the America Competes Act. The act funds a wide range of science and technology programs run by federal agencies, universities and the private sector. Begun in 2007, the law is designed to help the U.S. maintain its global leadership in technology and innovation. Daniel Lipinski, D-Ill., said: "As unemployment remains painfully high, and we see our students falling behind in math and science, Americans are asking: What can be done to make our future better? Although today's bill won't gain big headlines, it is a critical step forward. This approach to research, education, and innovation will lead to a better-prepared and better-educated domestic workforce." Paul Broun, R-Ga., said: "The Democrats are using this lame-duck session to continue pursuing their rejected agenda. This is no different than a CEO being fired and continuing to make major decisions for the company that he was just fired from for another two months....(This bill) is the perfect example of why we need to end lame- duck legislation. It contains reckless spending and misguided policy initiatives." A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Price, McIntyre, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller Voting no: Foxx, Myrick, McHenry Not voting: Jones, Coble STOPGAP 2011 BUDGET: Voting 193 for and 165 against, the House on Dec. 21 sent President Obama a "continuing resolution" (HR 3082) to fund government operations until March 4. This means that for the first six months of fiscal 2011, discretionary programs, which account for about one-third of federal spending, will be funded at essentially their fiscal 2010 levels. In one notable policy change, the bill implements the president's order to freeze federal workers' salaries. The catchall appropriations bill due in March, which will bear more of a Republican stamp than this one, likely will prevail until the start of fiscal 2012 on Oct. 1. Jared Polis, D-Colo., said: "If we do not act now, the federal government will shut down tonight at midnight, something that I hope no one in our body desires." Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said: "Christmas is almost here, and we are no closer to having a budget for this fiscal year — that began in October — than we were last Christmas." A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Price, Kissell, Shuler, Watt, Miller Voting no: Foxx, McIntyre, Myrick, McHenry Not voting: Jones, Coble Senate NEW START TREATY: Voting 71 for and 26 against, the Senate on Dec. 22 reached the two-thirds majority it needed to ratify the New START arms-reduction treaty between the United States and Russia. The treaty limits each nation's nuclear arsenal to 1,550 warheads, down from 2,200 at present, and its number of missile-launchers and heavy bombers for delivering nuclear weapons to 700, down from today's cap of 1,600. The limits must be met within seven years. The treaty also restores on-site inspections that lapsed when the 1991 START Treaty expired in December 2009. The new treaty places no limits on U.S. missile defenses or non-nuclear weaponry. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., said: "Russia is a country of interest. ... But when you look at countries that are developing nuclear weapons, we need Russia's help and the international community working with us to make sure we prevent countries such as Iran from becoming nuclear weapon states. The ratification of this treaty will help us in those political efforts." Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., objected to the limited number of Senate amendments to the treaty: "Is there any purpose for us being here? If every argument is, well, we do not dare change it because the Russians would disagree, so we would have to renegotiate it, maybe that suggests that there was not such a hot job of negotiating this treaty in the first place." A yes vote was to ratify the treaty. Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D Voting no: Richard Burr, R TEMPORARY 2011 BUDGET: Voting 79 for and 16 against, the Senate on Dec. 21 sent the House a bill (HR 3082, above) to temporarily fund the federal government until March 4, at which time the new 112th Congress will take up another temporary, catchall spending bill. These stopgap measures, which affect the one-third of the budget that is discretionary spending, are needed because the 111th Congress failed to enact any of the 12 regular appropriations bills. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said the bill "will avoid a government shutdown, which would be a terrible thing for the American people. That is the last thing any responsible member of this body should wish for." No senator spoke against the bill. A yes vote was to pass the bill. Voting yes: Hagan Voting no: Burr This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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