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Christopher's
Votes - March, 2005
Arts, Immigration, Social Services and
Other Domestic Issues
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(46) HR 27: Job Training Reauthorization - Religious
Preferences
March 02, 2005 - Scott, D-Va., amendment that would
strike the provision in the bill that would permit faith-based
organizations to use religion as a factor in hiring decisions.
Rejected 186-239
Vote: Yea
Budget, Taxes and the Economy
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(71) HR 1268: Fiscal 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
- Ruling of the Chair
March 15, 2005 - Motion to sustain the ruling of the chair that
upheld the Lewis, R-Calif., point of order against the Filner,
D-Calif., amendment on grounds that it would constitute unauthorized
legislation on an appropriations bill. The Filner amendment
would provide an additional $3.1 billion for the Veterans' Health
Administration and designate it as emergency spending.
Motion agreed to 224-200
Vote: Yea
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(78) H Con Res 95: Fiscal 2006 Budget Resolution - Previous
Question
March 16, 2005 - Putnam, R-Fla., motion to order the previous
question (thus ending debate and possibility of amendment) on
adoption of the resolution (H Res 154) to provide for House
floor consideration of the concurrent resolution that would
set broad spending and revenue targets over the next five years.
Motion agreed to 230-202
Vote: Yea
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(79) H Con Res 95: Fiscal 2006 Budget Resolution –
Rule
March 16, 2005 - Adoption of the rule (H Res 154) to provide
for House floor consideration of the concurrent resolution that
would set broad spending and revenue targets over the next five
years.
Adopted 228-196
Vote: Yea
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(82) - H Con Res 95: Fiscal 2006 Budget Resolution -
Increased Spending
March 17, 2005 - Obey, D-Wis., amendment that would increase
fiscal 2006 spending levels by $15.8 billion, including $8 billion
for education, training and social services programs, $2 billion
for health care, $1 billion for low-income programs, $2.9 billion
for veterans' health care and $1.7 billion for homeland security.
It also would instruct the Ways and Means Committee to increase
fiscal 2006 revenue by $25.8 billion by reducing tax cuts for
those earning more than $1 million. It would reduce the deficit
by $10 billion.
Rejected 180-242
Vote: Nay
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(83) H Con Res 95: Fiscal 2006 Budget Resolution - Republican
Study Committee Substitute
March 17, 2005 - Hensarling, R-Texas, amendment no. 2 that would
call for an additional $58 billion reduction in mandatory spending,
for a total reduction of $125 billion over five years. It would
reduce non-defense and non-homeland discretionary spending by
2 percent, instead of the 1 percent called for in the resolution.
It would provide reconciliation protection for all $106 billion
in tax cuts called for in the resolution.The substitute would
establish new budgetary points of order on certain emergency
spending and certain waivers to the Budget Act, and require
roll call votes on legislation authorizing or appropriating
more than $50 million.
Rejected 102-320
Vote: Nay
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(85) H Con Res 95: Fiscal 2006 Budget Resolution - Congressional
Black Caucus Substitute
March 17, 2005 - Watt, D-N.C., amendment that would
increase fiscal 2006 spending levels by $36.3 billion, including
$23.9 billion for education and job training and $7.8 billion
for homeland security and veterans' programs. It would reduce
the deficit by $4 billion. It also would call for action to
rescind tax cuts for individuals making more than $200,000 in
gross income, close several tax loopholes and reduce funding
for the ballistic missile defense program.
Rejected 134-292
Vote: Nay
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(86) H Con Res 95: Fiscal 2006 Budget Resolution - Motion
to Rise
March 17, 2005 - Blumenauer, D-Ore., motion to rise from the
Committee of the Whole.
Motion rejected 101-313
Vote: Nay
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(87) H Con Res 95: Fiscal 2006 Budget Resolution - Democratic
Substitute
March 17, 2005 - Spratt, D-S.C., amendment that would institute
pay-as-you-go rules requiring tax cuts and mandatory spending
increases be offset, while eliminating $68.6 billion in cuts
to mandatory spending. It would call for $4.5 billion more for
education and training, $1.6 billion for veterans and $2.9 billion
for environmental protection and conservation programs. It also
would call for spending levels that would eliminate deficits
and produce a balanced budget by fiscal 2012.
Rejected 165-264
Vote: Nay
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(88) H Con Res 95: Fiscal 2006 Budget Resolution –
Adoption
March 17, 2005 - Adoption of the concurrent resolution that
would set broad spending and revenue targets over the next five
years. The resolution would allow up to $843 billion in discretionary
spending for fiscal 2006, plus $50 billion for operations in
Iraq. It would call for $68.6 billion in cuts in mandatory spending
over five years and tax cuts totaling $106 billion over five
years, $45 billion of which would be protected under reconciliation
rules. Defense spending would increase by 4 percent over the
fiscal 2005 level, to $439 billion, and non-defense spending
would be cut by 1 percent, to $404 billion.
Adopted 218-214
Vote: Nay
Business, Trade and Consumer Affairs
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(45) HR 27: Job Training Reauthorization - Small Business
Loans
March 02, 2005 - Velazquez, D-N.Y., amendment that would allow
unemployed workers to use funds from personal re-employment
accounts to cover the borrower guarantee costs of 7(a) loans
used to start a small business.
Rejected 202-221
Vote: Nay
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(47) HR 27: Job Training Reauthorization - Recommit
March 02, 2005 - Kildee, D-Mich., motion to recommit the bill
to the Education and the Workforce Committee with instructions
to add language that would provide financial assistance equal
to the trade adjustment assistance program for job training,
job searching or relocation costs for veterans returning from
active duty in Iraq and to workers who are unemployed because
their jobs were moved offshore.
Motion rejected 197-228
Vote: Nay
Congress and Federal Elections
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(49) - HR 841: Continuity of Congress - Sixty-day Election
Deadline
March 03, 2005 - Millender-McDonald, D-Calif., amendment that
would extend the deadline for conducting special elections under
the bill from 45 days to 60 days after the Speaker's announcement.
Rejected 192-228
Vote: Nay
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(51) HR 841: Continuity of Congress - Recommit
March 03, 2005 - Conyers, D-Mich., motion to recommit the bill
to the House Administration Committee with instructions to add
language that would require states to distribute election personnel
and equipment equally when conducting special elections.
Motion rejected 196-223
Vote: Nay
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(52) HR 841: Continuity of Congress - Passage
March 03, 2005 - Passage of the bill that would require special
elections to fill vacant House seats within 49 days of a catastrophe
that kills at least 100 House members. If a regularly scheduled
election is planned to fill a vacant House seat within 75 days
of the House Speaker's announcement of the vacancies, then no
special election for that seat is required. Parties would be
required to nominate their candidates within 10 days of the
House Speaker's announcement.
Passed 329-68
Vote: Yea
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(53) Procedural Motion - Journal
March 08, 2005 - Approval of the House Journal of Monday, March
7, 2005.
Approved 378-29
Vote: Yea
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(54) H Res 133: Committee Funding Extension –
Adoption
March 08, 2005 - Ney, R-Ohio, motion to suspend the rules and
adopt the resolution that would extend funding authority for
House committees at current levels from April 1 through April
30.
Motion agreed to 406-0
Vote: Yea
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(61) Procedural Motion – Journal
March 10, 2005 - Approval of the House Journal of Wednesday,
March 9, 2005.
Approved 365-39
Vote: Yea
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(70) H Res 153: Ethics Task Force - Motion to Table
March 15, 2005 - Lewis, R-Calif., motion to table (kill) the
Pelosi, D-Calif., privileged resolution that would require the
Speaker of the House to appoint a bipartisan task force, with
equal representation of Republicans and Democrats, to make recommendations,
by May 2, 2005, to restore public confidence in the House ethics
process.
Motion agreed to 223-194
Vote: Yea
Crime, Drugs and Judicial Affairs
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(50) HR 841: Continuity of Congress - Lawsuit Deadline
March 03, 2005 - Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, amendment that would
require that any lawsuit challenging the Speaker's announcement
that more than 100 vacancies in the House exist must be filed
within five days, rather than two days, of the announcement.
It would allow any citizen of the district, or any group of
citizens, to intervene in support or opposition to the challenge.
Rejected 183-239
Vote: Nay
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(90) S 686: Schiavo Medical Care - Passage
March 21, 2005 - Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., motion to suspend
the rules and pass the bill that would give the parents of Theresa
Marie Schiavo, a severely brain-damaged Florida woman, the right
to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle
District of Florida alleging that Schiavo's rights related to
life-sustaining medical treatment have been violated under the
Constitution or federal law.
Motion agreed to 203-58
Vote: Nay
Defense and National Security
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(69) HR 1268: Fiscal 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
- Previous Question
March 15, 2005 - Cole, R-Okla., motion to order the previous
question (thus ending debate and possibility of amendment) on
adoption of the rule (H Res 151) and a Cole amendment to the
rule. The rule would provide for House floor consideration of
the bill that would appropriate $81.3 billion in fiscal 2005
supplemental spending for military operations and reconstruction
in Iraq and Afghanistan and for disaster assistance to victims
of the December 2004 tsunami. The Cole amendment would waive
points of order against provisions in the bill that would increase
death benefits for U.S. troops by $88,000 and life insurance
for U.S. military personnel by $150,000.
Motion agreed to 220-195
Vote: Yea
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(72) HR 1268: Fiscal 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
- Contracting Investigation
March 15, 2005 - Tierney, D-Mass., amendment that would
provide $5 million to establish a select committee to investigate
reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, including contracting
procedures, protection against money laundering, and the allocation
of contracts to foreign companies and small businesses.
Rejected 191-236.
Vote: Nay
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(73) HR 1268: Fiscal 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
- Embassy Funding
March 15, 2005 - Upton, R-Mich., amendment that would
prohibit funds in the bill from being used for the security,
construction and maintenance of U.S. embassies. The underlying
bill would provide $592 million to construct a new embassy compound
in Baghdad.
Adopted 258-170
Vote: Nay
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(75) HR 1268: Fiscal 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
- Torture Policy
March 16, 2005 - Markey, D-Mass., amendment that would
prohibit the use of funds in the bill to contravene U.S. laws
implementing the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
Adopted 420-2
Vote: Yea
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(76) HR 1268: Fiscal 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
- Recommit
March 16, 2005 - Hooley, D-Ore., motion to recommit
the bill to the Appropriations Committee with instructions to
add language that would increase funding for military health
care by $100 million and transitional job training for military
personnel by $50 million.
Motion rejected 200-229
Vote: Nay
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(77) HR 1268: Fiscal 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
– Passage
March 16, 2005 - Passage of the bill that would appropriate
$81.4 billion in fiscal 2005 supplemental spending for military
operations and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan and for
disaster assistance to victims of the December 2004 tsunami.
The bill would provide $15.5 billion for military personnel,
$37.5 billion for operations and maintenance, $18.2 billion
for procurement, $1.3 billion for reconstruction in Afghanistan
and $4.6 billion for new combat brigades under the Army's force-restructuring
plan. The bill, as amended, would prohibit funds in the bill
from being used for the security, construction and maintenance
of U.S. embassies, such as one in Iraq. It also would provide
$656 million for tsunami relief and recovery, and $222 million
to reimburse the U.S. military for its tsunami-relief operations.
Passed 388-43
Vote: Yea
Education
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(55) H Res 122: Language Study - Adoption
March 08, 2005 - Porter, R-Nev., motion to suspend the rules
and adopt the resolution that would express the sense of the
House that language study contributes to the intellectual and
social development of a student, the economy and security of
the nation.
Motion agreed to 396-0
Vote: Yea
Environment, Energy, Science and Technology
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(80) HR 1270: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks –
Passage
March 16, 2005 - Chocola, R-Ind., motion to suspend the rules
and pass the bill that would extend the 0.1-cent tax rate on
motor vehicle fuels sold in the United States to fund the Leaking
Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund through Oct. 1, 2005.
Motion agreed to 431-1
Vote: Yea
Executive Branch, Federal Buildings, and
D.C.
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(40) H Con Res 5: Sarah Winnemucca Statue - Adoption
March 01, 2005 - Ney, R-Ohio., motion to suspend the rules and
adopt the concurrent resolution that would accept a statue of
American Indian rights advocate Sarah Winnemucca into the National
Statuary Hall in the Capitol. It also would authorize the state
of Nevada to use the Capitol Rotunda for a presentation ceremony
March 9, 2005.
Motion agreed to 418-0
Vote: Yea
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(41) H Con Res 63: Holocaust Remembrance - Adoption
March 01, 2005 - Ney, R-Ohio, motion to suspend the
rules and adopt the concurrent resolution that would authorize
the use of the Capitol Rotunda for a ceremony on May 5, 2005,
to commemorate victims of the Holocaust.
Motion agreed to 416-0
Vote: Yea
Foreign Affairs
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(43) HR 912: Abuse Safeguards for Aid Organizations
– Passage
March 02, 2005 - Smith, R-N.J., motion to suspend the rules
and pass the bill that would require humanitarian aid organizations
to adopt safeguards to protect women and children from sexual
exploitation and abuse before receiving U.S. disaster assistance.
The bill would require the president to provide Congress with
two reports on the implementation of the bill.
Motion agreed to 416-0
Vote: Yea
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(66) H Res 135: Democracy Commission - Adoption
March 14, 2005 - Barrett, R-S.C., motion to suspend
the rules and adopt the resolution that would establish the
House Democracy Assistance Commission which would provide advice
to members and staff of newly-formed parliaments in emerging
democracies.
Motion agreed to 386-2
Vote: Yea
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(67) H Res 101: Hezbollah Terrorist Designation - Adoption
March 14, 2005 - Barrett, R-S.C., motion to suspend
the rules and adopt the resolution that would urge the European
Union (EU) to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization
to prohibit any EU funding to the group. It also would condemn
Hezbollah's terrorist attacks and the group's continued support
of Palestinian terrorist organizations.
Motion agreed to 380-3
Vote: Yea
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(68) S 384: Interagency Working Group Extension - Passage
March 14, 2005 - Shays, R-Conn., motion to suspend
the rules and pass the bill that would extend through December
2006, the term of the Nazi War Crimes and Japanese Imperial
Government Records Interagency Working Group, which works to
locate and declassify Nazi war criminal records.
Motion agreed to 391-0
Vote: Yea
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(74) HR 1268: Fiscal 2005 Supplemental Appropriations
- Aid for Saudi Arabia
March 15, 2005 - Weiner, D-N.Y., amendment that would prohibit
funds in the bill from being used for assistance to Saudi Arabia.
Rejected 196-231
Vote: Nay
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(81) H Con Res 98: China-Taiwan Relations – Adoption
March 16, 2005 - Smith, R-N.J., motion to suspend the rules
and adopt the concurrent resolution that would express the sense
of Congress that the March 14, 2005, passage of an anti-secession
law by China is of grave concern to the United States because
it provides a legal justification for the use of force against
Taiwan.
Motion agreed to 424-4
Vote: Yea
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(84) H Con Res 32: Syrian Occupation of Lebanon - Adoption
March 17, 2005 - Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., motion to suspend the
rules and adopt the concurrent resolution that would express
the sense of Congress that Lebanon is a captive country and
that its occupation by Syria represents a long-term threat to
the security of the Middle East and U.S. efforts to promote
political and economic liberalization in the region.
Motion agreed to 419-1
Vote: Yea
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(89) H Con Res 18: Syrian Human Rights Abuses - Adoption
March 17, 2005 - Smith, R-N.J., motion to suspend the
rules and adopt the concurrent resolution that would condemn
the Syrian government's gross violations of internationally
recognized human rights, while calling on the international
community to adopt a resolution at the upcoming session of the
U.N. Commission on Human Rights detailing the human rights record
of Syria.
Motion agreed to 402-3
Vote: Yea
Labor
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(42) HR 27: Job Training Reauthorization - Rule
March 02, 2005 - Adoption of the rule (H Res 126) to provide
for House floor consideration of the bill that would reauthorize
the Workforce Investment Act, consolidate several programs
into block grants for states and allow faith-based providers
of job training activities to use religion as a factor in
hiring decisions.
Vote: Yea
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(44) HR 27: Job Training Reauthorization - Youth Employment
Programs
March 02, 2005 - Kildee, D-Mich., amendment that would strike
the provision in the bill that would limit the portion of a
state's funds used for youth employment programs to 30 percent
of its allotment.
Rejected 200-222
Vote: Yea
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(48) HR 27: Job Training Reauthorization - Passage
March 02, 2005 - Passage of a bill that would reauthorize
the Workforce Investment Act, consolidate several programs into
block grants for states and allow faith-based providers of job
training activities to use religion as a factor in hiring decisions.
It would combine the funding for adults, dislocated workers
and employment services into a single $3 billion block grant
program. The measure would authorize a demonstration program
to create personal unemployment accounts under which an unemployed
individual would receive a voucher worth up to $3,000 for job-training
and other services.
Passed 224-200
Vote: Yea
Transportation
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(56) HR 3: Surface Transportation Reauthorization -
Oil and Gas Hours-of-Service Exemptions
March 09, 2005 - Conaway, R-Texas, amendment no. 2 that would
exempt commercial drivers working in field operations for the
natural gas and oil industry from hours-of-service rules issued
by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in September,
2003.
Rejected 198-226
Vote: Nay
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(57) HR 3: Surface Transportation Reauthorization -
Agriculture Hours-of-Service Exemptions
March 09, 2005 - Moran, R-Kan., amendment no. 4 that would expand
exemptions from hours-of-service rules for agricultural commodities
to include livestock, food, feed, fiber and other farm products.
Adopted 257-167
Vote: Yea
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(58) HR 3: Surface Transportation Reauthorization -
Vehicle Length Exemption
March 09, 2005 - Osborne, R-Neb., amendment no. 6 that would
exempt Nebraska from vehicle length restrictions of 65 feet
and increase the limit to 81.5 feet for custom harvesters operating
in the state during the harvesting of certain crops.
Adopted 236-184
Vote: Yea
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(59) HR 3: Surface Transportation Reauthorization -
New Interstate Tolls
March 09, 2005 - Kennedy, R-Minn., amendment no. 8 that would
authorize new tolls on any existing toll road or newly constructed
lane on the interstate system to manage congestion or address
air pollution problems. It also would allow an unlimited number
of new, toll-eligible express traffic lanes.
Rejected 155-265
Vote: Nay
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(60) HR 3: Surface Transportation Reauthorization -
Rental Company Liability
March 09, 2005 - Graves, R-Mo., amendment no. 10 that would
bar so-called "vicarious liability" under state law
for car- and truck-rental companies for injuries and damage
caused by vehicles they rent, provided there is no negligence
or criminal wrongdoing by the company.
Adopted 218-201
Vote: Yea
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(62) HR 3: Surface Transportation Reauthorization -
Low-Income Toll Reductions
March 10, 2005 - Tom Davis, R-Va., amendment no. 2 that would
eliminate provisions in the bill that require states to allow
low-income individuals to pay reduced tolls if the states charge
tolls on high-occupancy vehicle lanes or participate in the
congestion-pricing or construction toll programs.
Adopted 224-201
Vote: Yea
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(63) HR 3: Surface Transportation Reauthorization -
Urban Area Grants
March 10, 2005 - Pitts, R-Pa., amendment no. 8 that would authorize
urban areas with populations that recently exceeded 200,000
people to use grants under the Urban Area Formula Grants mass
transit program to cover 50 percent of equipment and facilities
operating costs in fiscal 2005 through fiscal 2007, and 25 percent
for such costs in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009.
Adopted 228-197
Vote: Yea
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(64) HR 3: Surface Transportation Reauthorization -
Recommit
March 10, 2005 - Higgins, D-N.Y., motion to recommit the bill
to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with
instructions to add language that would increase funding in
the bill to $318 billion, while providing offsets by eliminating
certain tax provisions for companies that move jobs and operations
offshore.
Motion rejected 190-235
Vote: Nay
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(65) HR 3: Surface Transportation
Reauthorization - Passage
March 10, 2005 - Passage of the bill that would authorize
$283.9 billion for federal-aid highway, mass transit, safety
and research programs from fiscal 2004 to 2009. The funding
total includes $225.5 billion in guaranteed spending for highways,
$52.4 billion for mass transit and other public transportation
programs, and $11.1 billion for members' projects. The bill,
as amended, would include 92.6 percent of total highway funding
in the calculation of a state's minimum guarantee of rate-of-return
on their contributions to the Highway Trust Fund.
Passed 417-9
Vote: Yea
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