Where The Rubber Meets The Road (10/9/09)

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.

House

Energy, water appropriations. Voting 308-114, the House adopted the conference report on a bill (HR 3183) to appropriate $33.5 billion for energy, water, and nuclear programs in fiscal 2010.

A yes vote backed the conference report.

Voting yes: 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.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.) and Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.).

Not voting: John Adler (D., N.J.).

I haven’t made it through all of the 160 or so actions on this bill to validate my theory, but here it is anyway; my guess is that Rob Andrews voted No because funding was included here for dredging the Delaware River, which Andrews has long opposed partly due to the wildlife impact and also because shipping isn’t as big a deal for Delaware as it is for the port of Philadelphia (as a certain Snarlin’ Arlen Specter knows full well based on this). I’ll keep looking and update this if I can find out any other reason.

And as for Joe Pitts, as we know, he doesn’t need a reason to vote No in response to anything.

Guantanamo prisoners. Voting 258-163, the House urged the administration not to use funds in the 2010 Department of Homeland Security budget (HR 2892) to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to U.S. prisons. The nonbinding measure also recommended against any public release of photos showing U.S. military abuse of prisoners.

A yes vote backed the motion.

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

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

Not voting: Adler.

(Just an FYI...John Adler has been missing a few votes; I hope he's not too busy fundraising because his seat has been targeted by the Repugs..??)

I know this was smart politics by Patrick Murphy and Allyson Schwartz, but I still think this is a ridiculous non-issue. We would have no problem if we put the worst Guantanamo cases in solitary confinement; I’d be more concerned about them trying to communicate to a sleeper cell somewhere than I would about anything else. Basically, I don’t see how they’re more threatening than the individuals currently housed on our dime.

And as for the photos, if our people are obeying the law and their identities are protected, then I don’t really see how the photos could be such a problem.

Senate

Hearings on Afghanistan. Voting 60-39, the Senate agreed to conduct hearings on U.S. operations in Afghanistan after President Obama resets his policy there. The amendment was added to HR 3326. Obama is expected to respond by year's end to the military's request for tens of thousands of additional troops in Afghanistan, and Senate hearings would occur after his announcement.

A yes vote was to hold hearings after Obama's announcement.

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.).

C-17 funding dispute. The Senate refused, 34-64, to strip HR 3326 (above) of its $2.5 billion for buying 10 C-17 cargo planes not wanted by the Pentagon. The amendment sought to transfer the C-17 money to accounts that more directly support troops, their families, and combat operations. The politically popular C-17 is built mainly in California with suppliers in about 40 states.

A yes vote opposed C-17 funding.

Voting yes: Carper, Kaufman, and Specter.

Voting no: Casey, Lautenberg, and Menendez.

I can see Menendez and Lautenberg voting against this since it would have potentially impacted jobs as McGuire Air Force Base, and I assume Casey was thinking about jobs at the Defense Supply Center in Philadelphia, or Boeing in Ridley Park, Pa. – the C-17 is manufactured by McDonnell-Douglas, which merged with Boeing, just so you know.

And by the way, I understand the argument that it probably isn't logical to keep building these things. But I also understand the logic that it's important to keep people employed, especially now (more liberal hand-wringing, I know).

This week, the House took up the final versions of 2010 agriculture and homeland-security budgets, while the Senate debated 2010 appropriations bills.