Where The Rubber Meets The Road (11/6/09)

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 some videos here; not really able to do much more at the moment).

House

Interior Department budget. Voting 247-178, the House approved the conference report on a bill (HR 2996) to appropriate $32.2 billion for the Department of the Interior and other agencies in fiscal 2010. The figure is nearly 17 percent above 2009 outlays, with most of the increase allocated to restoring the Great Lakes, helping communities provide clean drinking water, suppressing wildfires, addressing climate change, and funding programs for American Indians.

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.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

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

Not voting: Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.).

This is the first vote that I can ever recall Patrick Murphy actually missing, and he had a great reason; as noted here (second item, and kudos to Rollins and Victorino for supporting the EFCA in the first one), his wife Jenni gave birth to their second child, Jack, last Monday, with big sister Maggie on hand also. Everyone is doing fine – congratulations all around!

Senate

Extended jobless benefits. Voting 87-13, the Senate advanced a bill (HR 3548) that would provide 20 more weeks of jobless checks for those whose current allotments have expired or soon will expire and who live in states with at least 8.5 percent unemployment. The bill provides 14 additional weeks of benefits for the long-term jobless in all other states. Jobless checks average $300 per week.

A yes vote was to begin debate on 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.).

Interior Department budget. Voting 72-28, the Senate sent President Obama the conference report on a bill (HR 2996, above) to appropriate $32.2 billion for the Department of the Interior and other agencies in fiscal 2010.

In addition to items noted above, the bill provides $1.5 billion for cleansing toxic-waste sites; $1.1 billion for the Bureau of Land Management; $761 million for the Smithsonian Institution; $475 million for restoring the Great Lakes; $385 million for addressing climate change; and $335 million for the National Foundation for the Arts and Humanities.

A yes vote backed the conference report.

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

This week, the House took up bills on health care, credit cards, and protecting chemical factories, while the Senate debated extended jobless benefits and a renewal of the home-purchase tax credit.