Where The Rubber Meets The Road (8/4)

As reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer last Sunday, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week:

House

• Indian nuclear deal. Voting 359-68, the House approved an administration plan Wednesday to sell U.S. nuclear technology and fuel to India for civilian purposes even though India has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The bill (HR 5682) requires India to separate civilian and military nuclear programs, open its civilian program to international inspection, and restrict nuclear exports. The bill is now before the Senate.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Michael G. Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.) and H. James Saxton (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.) and Curt Weldon (R., Pa.).

There are times when I wish Chris Smith wasn’t such an anti-choice zealot, because he actually casts some good votes at times, including this one. And I can’t imagine that Allyson Schwartz would have supported this because of her ties to the Jewish community, who apparently don’t trust India (though Israel doesn’t abide by the treaty either).

Most shocking of all to me, though, was Curt Weldon’s fleeting moment of sensibility. I attribute this to the fact that he has visited that area of the world extensively (including 30 visits to Russia), a country towards whom I believe he would harbor a greater allegiance than India. Somehow I think Curt’s buddy Vlad doesn’t want to see anyone else infringing on his nuclear turf, as it were.

As stated in this Counter Punch article, the biggest problem I have is that Dubya is rewarding India for thumbing its nose at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, though it’s not as if Dubya actually cares about treaties and conventions either, as we know all too well by now.

I thought this excerpt from the Counter Punch article was important.

The nuclear weapons states, starting with the United States, have failed to uphold their obligations in Article VI (which promises, as a matter of "inalienable right," full access to peaceful forms of nuclear technology for non-weapons states) to pursue in good faith negotiations on nuclear disarmament, and beyond even this, to seek general and complete disarmament. The World Court in The Hague back in 1996 unanimously called upon nuclear weapons states to regard Article VI as a solemn legal obligation. Most non-nuclear weapons states have been upset about this failure for years. It is long past time that they do something.

I couldn’t agree more (and everyone who voted “yes” for this apparently doesn’t care about treaty obligations either).

• Iran nuclear containment. Voting 192-235, the House Wednesday defeated a bid to block a new U.S. nuclear deal with India (HR 5682, above) until India declares support for U.S. efforts in the United Nations to prevent Iran from acquiring weapons of mass destruction.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Schwartz and Smith.

Voting no: Castle, Dent, Pitts, Saxton and Weldon.

Nice to see that Weldon returned to wingnut territory with this “No” vote – I can relax a bit now.

• Guns in disaster zones. Voting 322-99, the House on Tuesday passed a bill (HR 5013) making it illegal for police, the National Guard, and other public-safety personnel to confiscate legal firearms in official disaster zones. The bill gives citizens standing to bring suits directly against first responders who take their guns.

A yes vote was to send the bill to House-Senate conference.

Voting yes: Castle, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Pitts, Saxton, Smith and Weldon.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Fattah and Schwartz.

If you drill down from this link, you’ll find that this bill was introduced by Rep. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana (what, no middle name?) because, according to the bill’s text, some individuals who were caught in the Hurricane Katrina disaster had their firearms illegally taken from them in violation of their property rights and Jindal’s (and the NRA’s, of course) interpretation of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

I would really be interested to find out if this really happened, or if this is more innuendo along the lines of helicopters being shot at by looters after Katrina hit that was reported by Faux News and other freeper outlets that could not be substantiated. I would accept a link to most major corporate news sources, including CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post, or the New York Times.

• Electronic medical records. Voting 270-148, the House on Thursday approved federal guidelines to help the U.S. health-care system convert its paper to electronic files that could be instantly shared over the Internet by doctors, hospitals and insurance companies. The Republican-drafted bill (HR 4157) gives the industry at least three years to set technical standards for sharing medical information. The bill contains no substantial federal funding on the rationale that the conversion will pay for itself through efficiencies.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Castle, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Pitts, Saxton, Schwartz, Smith and Weldon.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Fattah and Holden.

• Medical-records privacy. Voting 198-222, the House Thursday defeated a Democratic alternative to HR 4157 (above) containing stricter privacy controls over medical records - giving patients the right of consent for the electronic release of their records and assuring that they will be notified if the information is lost, stolen or misused. The measure also required data encryption to protect networks against hackers.

A yes vote backed the Democratic alternative.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Holden and Schwartz.

Voting no: Castle, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Pitts, Saxton, Smith and Weldon.

Just remember, ladies and gentlemen; the next time you are denied coverage for a routine procedure because the charge is not considered “reasonable and customary” or it is “part of a pre-existing condition” that was covered before, or if you start receiving unwanted solicitations for medical services, or if you find that your electronic files are mysteriously missing the next time you seek care from a service provider, you can thank the Repugs for this boneheaded legislation.

So files can be shared “instantly” even though it could take three years to define standards? And this will pay for itself through “efficiencies”?

Idiots!

Senate

• Minors' abortions. Voting 65-34, the Senate passed a bill Tuesday (S 403) making it a federal crime to transport a minor to another state for an abortion to evade a law in her home state requiring parental notification of planned abortions. The bill sets maximum penalties of $100,000 or one year in jail for those providing the transportation. The bill must be reconciled with a stricter House-passed version.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.) and Rick Santorum (R., Pa.).

Voting no: Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), Robert Menendez (D., N.J.) and Arlen Specter (R., Pa.).

This is a tough one. I’m a parent of a son, and it’s honestly hard for me not to support legislation that keeps a parent involved in a decision like this (from a health-care perspective alone).

The problem is that the laws banning abortion in other states that are emerging (most infamously in South Dakota) are SO AWFUL that there MUST be recourse for a young woman in need of an abortion. As far as I’m concerned, this is a result of the anticipated overruling of Roe v. Wade (which WILL come with this court, unfortunately – Justice Anthony Kennedy is the only person who could stand in the way of the Bushites).

I know there’s a lot more to be said on this, but this is where I come down. However, the fact that, as stated, this bill must be reconciled somehow with the House bill means that we still have a window of opportunity to do something.

• Sex education. Voting 48-51, the Senate on Tuesday defeated an amendment to S 403 (above) that sought to authorize federal grants to promote sex education as a deterrent to teen pregnancies. In part, the instruction would cover the use of contraceptives and the pill.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Biden, Carper, Lautenberg, Menendez and Specter.

Voting no: Santorum.

Of course they did; that actually makes sense, so they COULDN'T pass it, could they?

And isn’t Little Ricky just too precious the way he keeps “hearting” the base (if you’ve long since grown completely sick of this character and utterly disgusted with him as I and many others have, click here).

• Gulf of Mexico drilling. Voting 86-12, the Senate on Wednesday advanced a bill (S 3711) to open about 8.34 million acres in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.

The acreage is projected to hold as many as 1.26 billion barrels of oil and 5.83 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The bill sets a 125-mile buffer zone between the Florida coast and the drilling area. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas would receive 37.5 percent of royalties paid by energy companies, with the Treasury and the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund receiving the rest.

A yes vote was to advance the bill.

Voting yes: Carper, Santorum and Specter.

Voting no: Lautenberg and Menendez.

Not voting: Biden.

That reminds me; I wonder how Mikey’s meeting about alternative energy sources went today (nice to see that the Senate is taking that option so seriously also, isn’t it?).

This week. The Senate will continue to debate a bill opening areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling. The House is in recess until Sept. 5.

For information on how to contact your member of Congress, go here.