Where The Rubber Meets The Road (8/14/09)

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 (the House has already begun its recess).

(I have absolutely nothing to add, by the way, but here's the summary anyway - I'm not going to pick on Tom Carper for a vote about milk price supports.)

Sonia Sotomayor. Voting 68-31, the Senate on Thursday confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor as the 111th justice of the Supreme Court. Sotomayor fills the seat vacated by Justice David H. Souter, who retired in June.

A yes vote was to confirm Sotomayor.

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

"Cash for clunkers." Voting 60-37, the Senate on Thursday sent President Obama a bill (HR 3435) appropriating $2 billion to extend "cash for clunkers" funding at least through Labor Day. Under the program, consumers can trade vehicles getting 18 miles per gallon or less for vouchers worth $3,500 to $4,500 to be applied to the purchase of a new, more fuel-efficient vehicle. The program exhausted its original $1 billion appropriation in less than two weeks.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

All Philadelphia-area senators voted yes.

Deficit dispute. Voting 46-51, the Senate on Thursday defeated an amendment that would have required the $2 billion cost of HR 3435 (above) to be offset by spending cuts elsewhere in the budget. The sum was already offset by cuts in renewable-energy loan guarantees in the 2009 economic stimulus, but critics called that a gimmick.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

All Philadelphia-area senators voted no.

Farm and food budget. Voting 80-17, the Senate on Tuesday approved $23.1 billion in discretionary spending and $100.9 billion in mandatory spending for agriculture, food, and nutrition programs in fiscal 2010. The bill (HR 2997) would appropriate $2.3 billion for the Food and Drug Administration, fund a growing demand for government food aid during the recession, increase international food aid, and raise price supports for dairy farmers.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

All Philadelphia-area senators voted yes.

Milk price supports. Senators on Tuesday voted 60-37 to raise dairy price supports by $1.50 per hundred pounds of milk, adding $350 million to the cost of HR 2997 (above). The measure would help dairy farmers nationwide cut losses attributed to global recession, but it set the stage for likely increases in the retail cost of milk.

A yes vote was to raise milk price supports.

Voting yes: Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez and Specter.

Voting no: Carper.

Both houses of Congress are now officially in recess until the week of Sept. 7.