House votes

Democratic Reps. Michael Michaud and Tom Allen

Vote 1: Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (HR 976): The House on Sept. 24 modified and accepted the Senate amendments to a bill sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., that extends health care to children. President Bush has said he will veto the bill. Proponents said the program will expire at the end of the month unless it is reauthorized, potentially leaving millions of children with no health care. Opponents said funding for the program is not stable since much of it comes from a declining revenue source, a tax on tobacco. They argued the bill will lead to government control of the health care system. The vote was 265 yeas to 159 nays.

YEAS: Michaud, Allen

Vote 2: Continuing Appropriations (HJ Res. 52): The House on Sept. 26 passed a resolution sponsored by Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., that continues funding for six weeks for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Justice and the District of Columbia and other entities where an appropriations bill has not been completed. Proponents said the resolution is necessary to keep the government functioning. Opponents said the end of the fiscal year is days away, but while the House has done its job, no conference committees have been set up with the Senate to resolve differences. They pointed out that Democrats had chastised Republicans last year for not passing appropriations bills and the new majority finds itself now in a similar position. The vote was 404 yeas to 14 nays.

YEAS: Michaud, Allen

Vote 3: Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act (HR 3121): The House on Sept. 27 passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., that increases the amount the national flood insurance program can borrow from $20.8 billion to $21.5 billion; allows a 15 percent increase in premiums; and allows for the purchase of insurance to cover damage from wind in addition to flooding. Proponents said it is impossible to tell after a storm what damage has been caused by wind as opposed to rain. Opponents said adding wind coverage will expand the properties that can be covered by the insurance, creating a possible burden for the agency and taxpayers. The vote was 263 yeas to 146 nays.

YEAS: Michaud, Allen

Vote 4: Small Business Investment Expansion Act (HR 3567): The House on Sept. 27 passed a bill sponsored by Rep. Jason Altmire, D-Pa., that revamps certain investment programs at the Small Business Administration to allow small businesses that receive venture capital to participate in SBA programs; emphasizes programs that fund businesses in low-income areas; and establishes an angel investment program that supports fledgling companies. Proponents said that rules at the SBA are outdated because they prohibit companies that use venture capital funding from participating. Opponents said that the programs are too costly and that angel groups have said that government interference with the independent investors could disturb the market. The vote was 325 yeas to 72 nays.

YEAS: Michaud, Allen

Senate votes

Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins

Vote 1: Water Resources Development Act, Conference Report (HR 1405): The Senate on Sept. 24 accepted the joint House-Senate conference report on a bill that authorizes $23 billion in projects on waterways, coastlines, dams and ecosystems. The bill includes $7 billion to restore the Mississippi River outlet on the Gulf of Mexico, enhance protective barriers around New Orleans to withstand a major hurricane and to restore wetlands. Included in the bill are funds for additional restoration work on The Everglades, dam projects on the upper Mississippi River and flood protection and dam projects in California. The bill calls for an independent review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill. Proponents said the bill authorizes critical projects and while it is expensive, one has not been passed in seven years. Opponents said that the diluted elements of the review procedures are insufficient. They argued that the bill was too expensive with $2 billion in projects added in conference that were not reviewed by the Senate. The vote was 81 yeas to 12 nays.

YEAS: Snowe, Collins

Vote 2: Splitting Iraq into States: The Senate on Sept. 25 passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., to the Defense Department Authorization bill (HR 1585) that expresses the sense of Congress that the Iraqi government should convene a conference to split the country into three semi-autonomous states in a federal system based on ethnicity. The north would be a Kurdish state, with the south Shia and the west Sunni. The resolution is not binding, but urges Iraq to adopt a federalist model similar to the solution used in Bosnia.

The vote was 75 yeas to 23 nays.

YEAS: Snowe, Collins

Vote 3: Labeling Iranian Revolutionary Guard a Terrorist Group: The Senate on Sept. 25 accepted an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., to the Defense Department Authorization bill (HR 1585) that called on the White House to label the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group. Proponents said the Iranian government has been training and providing equipment to Iraqi insurgents. They argued the designation will allow for greater economic sanctions. Opponents said the measure could be construed as an authorization to initiate a war with Iran. The vote was 76 yeas to 22 nays.

YEAS: Snowe, Collins

Vote 4: Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (HR 976): The Senate on Sept. 27 accepted the House amendments to the Senate amendments on a bill that extends health care to children. The White House has said it will veto the bill. Proponents said the bill will expand coverage to 6.6 million children. They argued that families without medical coverage often use the emergency room for non-life threatening illness, which is more costly than a doctor’s visit. The vote was 67 yeas to 29 nays.

YEAS: Snowe, Collins

Vote 5: Increasing Government Debt Limit (HJ Res. 43): The Senate on Sept. 27 passed a resolution that increases the amount the government can borrow by $850 billion to $9.18 trillion. Proponents said since the Treasury Department has borrowed to the limit, there is no choice but to raise the amount that can be borrowed to pay the nation’s bills. Opponents argued that Congress is acting irresponsibly by neither cutting spending nor raising taxes. The vote was 53 nays to 42 nays.

YEAS: Snowe, Collins

Vote 6: Continuing Appropriations (HJ Res. 52): The Senate on Sept. 27 passed a bill that continues funding for government operations for fiscal 2008 at the general levels of fiscal 2007 for those agencies that have not had other appropriations bills clear Congress and become law.

YEAS: Snowe, Collins

Compiled by Targeted News Service for the Bangor Daily News.