How your U.S. lawmaker voted
WASHINGTON - Here’s how the state’s members of Congress voted on major roll calls in the week ending Friday.
House
Jobs lost to trade
By a vote of 264-157, the House on Wednesday sent the Senate a bill (HR 3920) expanding Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and extending the program to include workers in service industries and some government employees. Established in 1962, TAA provides cash assistance, job training, education and continued health insurance to people who lose their jobs as a result of global trade. The bill would renew the program for five years at a projected cost of $8.6 billion.
In general, TAA beneficiaries are eligible for up to 104 weeks of cash payments after 26 weeks of unemployment compensation. The program is now designed mainly to help manufacturing and agricultural workers. The bill increases from 60 days to 90 days the notification period required of companies in advance of plant closings or substantial layoffs, and it provides tax incentives to spur economic development in communities harmed by foreign trade.
Voting yes: Jay Inslee, D-1; Rick Larsen, D-2; Brian Baird, D-3; Norm Dicks, D-6; Jim McDermott, D-7; Adam Smith, D-9.
Voting no: Doc Hastings, R-4; Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-5; Dave Reichert, R-8.
Republican plan
By a vote of 196-226, the House on Wednesday defeated a Republican alternative to HR 3920 (above). The GOP plan differed, in part, by keeping TAA off-limits to service-industry and government workers, emphasizing job-training more than cash assistance and providing more generous tax credits for obtaining health insurance.
Voting yes: Hastings, McMorris Rodgers, Reichert.
Voting no: Inslee, Larsen, Baird, Dicks, McDermott, Smith.
Hard-rock mining royalties
By a vote of 244-166, the House on Thursday sent the Senate a bill (HR 2262) to assess royalties on miners of hard-rock minerals such as gold, silver and uranium on federal land. The bill would update a 135-year-old law that authorized royalty-free mining to speed settlement of the West. The bill sets royalties of 8 percent on new claims and 4 percent on existing claims, with the proceeds allocated to cleaning up abandoned mines. It sets stricter environmental rules for mining on federal land, extends reclamation rules to cover oil-shale claims and authorizes user fees on mining claims.
Voting yes: Inslee, Larsen, Baird, Dicks, McDermott, Reichert, Smith.
Voting no: Hastings, McMorris Rodgers.
Senate
Children’s health insurance
By a vote of 64-30, the Senate on Thursday sent President Bush a new version of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill that he vetoed Oct. 3. The measure (HR 3963) limits SCHIP enrollment to families earning up to three times the poverty level, or nearly $62,000 for a family of four; bars children of illegal immigrants from SCHIP; and phases out coverage for adults other than pregnant women. The bill renews SCHIP for five years at a cost of $60 billion, up $35 billion from current levels, and covers the added cost by raising federal tobacco taxes from 39 cents per cigarette pack to $1 per pack.
SCHIP is a federally funded, state-run discretionary-spending program designed mainly for children from families that are not poor enough to receive Medicaid but unable to afford private health insurance.
Voting yes: Maria Cantwell, D; Patty Murray, D.
Amtrak revival budget
By a vote of 70-22, the Senate on Tuesday authorized an $11.4 billion six-year budget for Amtrak, nearly 50 percent over current spending. The bill (S 294) authorizes $10 billion for operating subsidies, capital improvements and debt retirement, and $1.4 billion in matching grants to help states provide intercity service. Awaiting House action, the bill requires Amtrak to reduce its losses by 40 percent but repeals a 1997 mandate for eventual profitability. Established in 1971, Amtrak has routes that connect 500 communities in 46 states. The agency’s taxpayer subsidy for 2008 is projected at $1.4 billion.
Voting yes: Cantwell, Murray.
Food and beverage subsidies
By a vote of 24-67, the Senate on Tuesday defeated an amendment to S 294 (above) requiring Amtrak to stop providing food and beverages on any route where those services lose money.
Voting no: Cantwell, Murray.
Roll Call Report Syndicate