Where The Rubber Meets The Road (1/12/07)

As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week (not a lot going on - yet - and the Senate cast no votes).

Ethics rules. Members approved, 430-1, new ethics rules (H Res 6) including ones to bar members from riding on corporate jets, accepting meals from lobbyists, and receiving gifts worth more than $50 from lobbyists, with a $100 annual limit from any source.

All Philadelphia-area members voted for the new ethics rules.

By the way, the lone “No” vote on ethics reform came from Repug Dan Burton of Indiana, and this Wikipedia article contains some interesting stuff on Burton.

In 1997, Burton was accused of demanding a $5,000 contribution from a Pakistani lobbyist. When the lobbyist was unable to raise the funds, Burton complained to the ambassador for the Bhutto government and later threatened to make sure "none of his friends or colleagues" would meet with the lobbyist or his associates.

In 1998, Burton admitted to fathering a child outside of his marriage.

That same year, his investigation of campaign fundraising irregularities during the 1996 Presidential campaign ground to a halt when it was revealed that his staff had doctored transcripts of prison phone calls made by former Clinton administration official Webster Hubbell.

In 2006, he fought against extending the Voting Rights Act for minorities.

However, to be fair, Burton does advocate for breast cancer research and has pushed for an investigation into a possible link between vaccines and autism (I’ve found Wikipedia’s articles to be generally good, but I don’t understand the reference to “the mainstream medical establishment not considering a link between mercury and autism”…that needs further explanation).

Earmarks, pay-as-you-go. Members voted, 280-152, to end the secret "earmarking" of spending items and tax breaks. The measure, part of H Res 6 (above) also restores pay-as-you-go rules that require tax cuts and spending hikes to be offset elsewhere in the budget.

A yes vote was to adopt the spending rules.

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.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.) and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.) and H. James Saxton (R., N.J.).

Good to see most of the Repugs doing the right thing for a change (and congratulations to Patrick and Admiral Joe for starting off on the right foot with this), though Pancake Joe Pitts used this as an opportunity to add to his odious record (I hope the methane dispensers in Lancaster County who voted for this joke last November are happy with themselves).

Minority rights. The House blocked, 222-197, a Republican bid to add Democratic reform proposals from 2006 to House operating rules for the 110th Congress (H Res 6, above). Republicans sought to add a "Minority Bill of Rights" that House Democrats championed while in the minority.

A yes vote was to block introduction of last year's "minority bill of rights."

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

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

Not voting: Gerlach.

The lesson? Don’t lose elections and subsequently lose your power.

Ah, how sweet the victory…

This week. The House will vote on 9/11 Commission proposals, raising the minimum wage, expanding stem-cell research and requiring federal leverage to lower Medicare drug prices. The Senate will debate a minimum-wage hike and ethics reforms.

I’m sure that, given the House’s “100 Hours” agenda, next week’s list of votes will be more extensive.