Congressman Platts Votes Against Senate Amnesty Bill
On June 27, 2007, the House Republican Conference-which consists of all Republican Members elected to the United States House of Representatives-voted 114 to 23 to disapprove of Senate legislation which would have provided amnesty for illegal immigrants. Congressman Platts voted with the majority of his colleagues in disapproving of the Senate legislation. His statement regarding the bill can be found in last month's e-newsletter (http://www.house.gov/platts/enews/2007-06.shtml).
The House Democratic Caucus-which consists of all Democratic Members elected to the House of Representatives-has not officially taken a position on this issue, nor has the full House ever voted on it. Subsequent to the vote of the House Republican Conference, an attempt in the Senate to move the amnesty bill towards passage failed by a vote of 46 to 53.
House Considers Appropriations Measures
In June, Congress voted to pass several appropriations measures for fiscal year 2008. Many of these measures were criticized for containing irresponsible increases in spending, including a 14% increase in funding for the Department of Homeland Security, a 10% increase for the Department of State and foreign aid, a 7% increase in spending on general government operations, and a 4% increase in spending on Congress itself.
Congressman Platts voted against all of the aforementioned appropriations bills. His statement regarding the Homeland Security bill is posted on the web site (http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/pa19_platts/FY08DHS.shtml).
Congressman Platts did vote in favor of two appropriations measures: One bill would increase spending on national parks and environmental programs by 4.5%; another would increase spending on veteran's programs by 12%. In doing so, he emphasized the need for fiscal restraint elsewhere in the federal government in order to accommodate these increases.
Web Site Redesigned
A new version of the web site for Congressman Todd Platts was launched at the beginning of July. The new version is intended to help constituents more easily navigate the web site to find information useful to them. For example, constituents can now move the cursor over a tab (such as the "Helping You" tab) and immediately view a drop-down list of subcategories (ranging from "Adoption" to "Travel Abroad"). The new web site also posts information on how to look up Congressman Platts' voting record. Simply select "Roll Call votes" under "Todd's Record."
(http://www.house.gov/platts/index.shtml)
Last Month
The following is a list of some other key votes taken by the United States House of Representatives during the month of June of 2007:
Congressional Pay Raise (H.Res. 517)
The House voted 244-181 to block an amendment from being added to the appropriations bill for general government operations in fiscal year 2008. The amendment would have stopped an automatic 2.7% increase in Member pay scheduled for January 2008. Congressman Platts voted against blocking the amendment, and therefore voted against the 2.7% increase in Member pay.
"Fairness Doctrine" (H. Amdt. 484)
The House voted 309-115 to adopt an amendment to the appropriations bill for general government operations. The amendment prevents the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from re-instating the so-called "Fairness Doctrine," which used to prohibit any television or radio broadcaster from airing opinions on controversial issues unless equal time was given to both sides of the issue. Critics of the Fairness Doctrine maintain that it chills the free expression of opinions, violating the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. Congressman Platts voted in favor of H. Amdt. 484 and therefore against the Fairness Doctrine.
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