Where The Rubber Meets The Road (7/27/07)

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.

(Back after a one-week hiatus...)

House

Police, firefighter unions: Members granted, 314-97, limited union rights to police, firefighters, corrections officers and other public-safety personnel in all states. It authorizes bargaining over wages and benefits but which bars strikes and lockouts.

A yes vote was to pass the bill (HR 980).

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.), H. James Saxton (R., N.J.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.)

Not voting: Joe Sestak (D., Pa.)

So just remember – in addition to everything else Joe Pitts opposes, he also opposes the right of all public safety personnel to compete for a livable wage, even though they put their lives on the line for us every day.

Abortion dispute: Members refused, 189-231, to block funds for Planned Parenthood in the Health and Human Services budget (HR 3043). The group is one of many that get U.S. family-planning funds but are banned from using them for abortion.

A yes vote backed the funds denial.

Voting yes: LoBiondo, Pitts, (Tim) Murphy, Saxton and Smith.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, Schwartz and Sestak (and Patrick Murphy).

Wait a minute…

Patrick Murphy voted to block federal funding for Planned Parenthood??

This is truly peculiar at the very least for someone who professes to support a woman’s right to choose (actually, it’s pretty shocking). I was reminded of Patrick’s past support of Planned Parenthood from this post during the prior campaign for the U.S. House where he defeated Mikey Fitzpatrick (no word yet on what Saint Mikey will do, but I’m inclined to think he’ll run again).

It’s bad enough that there are Democrats out there who are running away from the gun issue because they believe it is political suicide. I seriously hope that Patrick is not going to do that for women’s issues (which, really, are family issues affecting all of us) because of the same mistaken belief. And I don’t think this is a “Blue Dog Democrat” thing because Tim Holden actually cast a good vote for a change.

Sad to say Patrick has lined up with a zealot like Rosemary Overberger on this issue, but apparently, that is what has happened.

Senate

Withdrawal from Iraq: The Senate failed, 52-47, to get 60 votes for advancing a mandate that President Bush start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq within 120 days and finish the pullout of all but a residual force by April 30, 2008.

A yes vote on the bill (HR 1585) backed the mandate over GOP opposition.

Voting yes: Joseph Biden (D., Del.), Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.).

Voting no: Arlen Specter (R., Pa.)

Now, always and forever, I have only this to say…screw you, Arlen.

Student loans: Senators voted, 78-18, to cut subsidies of firms that lend to students by $18 billion over five years and allocate the savings mostly to the direct benefit of students. The measure caps student-loan payments at 15 percent of discretionary income.

All Philadelphia-area senators voted to pass the bill (HR 2669).

Bankers' loan plan: Senators defeated, 35-62, an alternative to HR 2669 (above) that was favored by bankers but opposed by student groups. A yes vote backed a plan to reduce lenders' subsidies by $2.4 billion less than in the underlying bill and provide smaller increases in Pell Grants.

All Philadelphia-area senators voted against the bill.

And above everyone else, we can thank Dems Ted Kennedy and Dick Durbin for these legitimate reforms (re: the last two pieces of legislation).