Where The Rubber Meets The Road (10/16/09)

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 (and I also posted here).

House

2010 military budget. Voting 281-146, the House authorized a $680 billion defense budget (HR 2647) for fiscal 2010 that includes $130 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $27.9 billion for military health care. The bill was opposed mainly over its expansion of the federal hate-crimes law to cover offenses based on sexual orientation, gender or disability.

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.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), and Joe Sestak (D., Pa.).

Voting no: Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Once more, Smith and Pitts care about human rights for straight people only, and I know Gerlach ran the risk of supporting the dreaded “homosexual agenda” if he had voted Yes, but on the other hand, I don’t think it’s going to look too good in campaign ads when fellow Repug gubernatorial candidate Tom Corbett claims that Gerlach didn’t “support the troops” here by voting against the defense budget.

But then again, anyone who really thinks Gerlach will be PA’s next governor must also think Pancake Joe is actually a moderate anyway.

Guantanamo Bay prisoners. Voting 208-216, the House defeated a Republican bid for firmer measures in HR 2647 (above) against transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States. The motion proposed an absolute ban on prisoner transfers to U.S. soil, in contrast to language in the underlying bill that makes transfers possible 45 days after President Obama has given Congress a plan to close the military prison.

A yes vote backed the GOP motion.

Voting yes: Adler, Castle, Dent, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Pitts, and Smith.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Murphy, Schwartz, and Sestak.

Chalk this up as another rather interesting vote for “Democrat” Tim Holden, as well as John Adler (as I’ve said a zillion times, move these people stateside and isolate them; just don’t let them communicate with anyone – this town want them in the worst way, and I say, let ‘em have them).

Rep. Charles Rangel. Voting 246-153, the House referred to the ethics panel a Republican bid to unseat Rep. Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. This measure (HR 805) blunted a separate GOP motion to immediately remove Rangel because of official and personal misconduct he has publicly acknowledged.

A yes vote backed the Democratic-sponsored motion.

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

Voting no: Castle, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Pitts, and Smith.

Not voting Voting "Present": Dent.

I have to admit that defending Charles Rangel is not uppermost on my “To Do” list; I cannot understand how someone can somehow forget to report about half a million dollars of income and still remain in charge of the House Ways and Means Committee, to say nothing of escaping jail.

Still, I think it’s pretty funny that the Repugs are trying to remove Rangel from heading Ways and Means for “official and personal misconduct” considering that they once tried to implement the rule change described here in November 2004 in order for former House Majority Leader Tom (“Dancing With The Stars”) DeLay to keep his leadership post even if he had been indicted (the House Repugs later rescinded the rule). Also, here is another example of DeLay receiving unconscionably favorable editorial treatment, IMHO.

Senate

2010 military appropriations. Voting 93-7, the Senate approved $636.3 billion in military appropriations for fiscal 2010, including $128.2 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $28.3 billion for service members' health care. The bill (HR 3326) funds a 2.9 percent military pay raise; caps production of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet; funds C-17 cargo jets over Pentagon objections; provides $7.7 billion for the National Missile Defense, and authorizes 1.425 million active-duty troops and 844,500 reservists.

While the House bill above authorizes the defense budget, this bill would actually spend the money.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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.).

Military contractors. Voting 68-30, the Senate banned military contracts under HR 3326 (above) to companies that deny employees the right to sue over alleged workplace mistreatment. This would end, at least for fiscal 2010, the standard practice of contractors requiring workers to submit grievances to mandatory arbitration and forgo lawsuits.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

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

Not voting: Specter.

As noted here, this amendment was sponsored by Sen. Al Franken in response to the heart-wrenching story of Jamie Leigh Jones, the gang-raped KBR contractor (and by the way, here are the 30 alleged homo sapiens who voted against it, trying their best to legitimize some of the most repugnant behavior imaginable carried out in our name and on our dime).

Update 10/17/09: And by the way, to learn more about why all this matters, click here.

Update 10/23/09: If this is true, then it's time to retire, Sen. Inouye.