Where The Rubber Meets The Road (6/12/09)

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 (I don't have much this week, but here it is).

House

Family leave. Voting 258-154, the House passed a bill (HR 626) providing federal employees with additional benefits under the Family and Medical Leave Act. The bill would entitle civil servants to four to eight weeks of paid leave to care for a newly born, adopted, or fostered child. Such leave is now available to civil servants without pay. The bill awaits Senate action.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: John Adler (D., N.J.), Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), and Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.).

I guess the hope here is that states will follow the lead of the feds on this and allow the additional paid time also, but I wouldn’t count on that.

GOP leave plan. Voting 157-258, the House defeated a Republican amendment to strip HR 626 (above) of its new category of paid leave. Instead, federal workers could use accrued sick leave to care for new family members.

A yes vote backed the GOP plan.

Voting yes: Castle, Dent, Gerlach, and Pitts.

Voting no: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

Transportation security. Voting 397-25, the House approved a two-year budget of $15.7 billion for the Transportation Security Administration. The bill (HR 2200) awaits Senate action.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

Not voting: Adler and Fattah.

Senate

Federal tobacco regulation. Voting 84-11, the Senate agreed to take up a House-passed bill (HR 1256) that would begin federal regulation of tobacco products. Under the bill, the Food and Drug Administration would regulate cigarette ingredients; require public disclosure of those ingredients; restrain cigarette marketing to children; require health warnings to cover at least half of each side of a cigarette package; and require manufacturers to verify health claims.

A yes vote was to begin debate.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Ted Kaufman (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), and Arlen Specter (D., Pa.).

And here is an update – look for this to be signed into law at long last (and never forget the 1994 sham perpetrated by these white-collar criminals seen below, claiming that cigarettes weren’t addictive when their own studies had been telling them that it was for at least the last 30 years!).

This week, the House debated foreign policy and special aid to Pakistan, while the Senate resumed (and concluded) debate on tobacco regulation. Both chambers were scheduled to vote on a $91.3 billion bill to fund war and foreign affairs through Sept. 30.