Where The Rubber Meets The Road (10/30/09)

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).

(By the way, this is another slow week - I've got just about nuthin' here.)

House

Coast Guard budget. Voting 385-11, the House passed a bill (HR 3619) authorizing $10 billion for the Coast Guard in fiscal 2010, about two-thirds of which would fund core missions such as conducting searches and rescues, combating drug smugglers, and defending the U.S. coast against terrorist threats. The bill, which increases Coast Guard personnel by 1,500 positions to a force of 47,000, 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.), 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.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Solar energy. Voting 310-106, the House authorized $2.18 billion between fiscal 2011-2015 for Department of Energy programs to develop solar-energy technologies. The bill (HR 3585) establishes a long-term partnership among the federal government, the private sector, and universities to develop and market solar technologies, in the same way that federal funds and policies have been used to nurture the U.S. semiconductor industry in recent decades.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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

Voting no: Pitts.

This link was embedded in the Wordpress post from today, and the letter available from the link tells us of Al Gore’s actual involvement in the Internet, as opposed to that ridiculous quote that was bandied about all over the place back when he ran for president against a certain clueless governor from Texas.

The reason why I’m including it is because the partnership created in this vote is very much like the one that was formed among the same principal players (universities, government, businesses) back in the ‘90s, leading to the technological revolution that has become such a part of our lives that it’s hard to imagine a time when we lived without it. And hopefully, within the not-too-distant future, we’ll be using solar energy in a much, MUCH more efficient manner than we ever have before, and saying the same thing about that technology also.

And leave it to Joe Pitts to not realize that.

Senate

Medicare doctor payments. Voting 47-53, the Senate failed to reach 60 votes for advancing a bill (S 1776) that would avert a 21 percent cut next year in Medicare payments to doctors and 5 percent cuts in following years. The bill was opposed mainly because its cost of $247 billion over 10 years would be added to the national debt. The bill also sought to permanently change the formula for calculating Medicare payments to doctors.

A yes vote was to advance the bill.

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.).

2010 military budget. Voting 68-29, the Senate sent President Obama the final version of a $680 billion defense budget (HR 2647) for fiscal 2010 that includes $130 billion for war 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. The bill recommends a 3.4 percent military pay raise, would increase active-duty personnel by 40,200 troops to 1.41 million troops, would cap procurement of F-22 Raptor fighter jets, and would end the over-budget VH-71 White House helicopter program.

A yes vote was to adopt the conference report.

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

Homeland-security budget. Voting 79-19, the Senate sent Obama the conference report on a $44.1 billion Department of Homeland Security budget for fiscal 2010. The bill (HR 2892) funds agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Coast Guard. The bill prevents Guantanamo Bay prisoners from being transferred to U.S. soil except for court proceedings, and bars the release of photos and videos showing U.S. mistreatment of prisoners overseas since 9/11.

A yes vote was to approve the conference report.

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

This week, the House took up the conference report on the Interior Department's 2010 budget, while the Senate debated an extension of jobless benefits and fiscal 2010 appropriations.