How they voted
Targeted News Service June 29, 2012 3:44PM
Updated: August 2, 2012 10:28AM
WASHINGTON — Here’s how U.S. Reps. Joe Donnelly and Peter Visclosky, Democrats, and U.S. Sens. Richard Lugar and Daniel Coats, Republicans, voted last week.
House
FUNDING WASHINGTON SUBWAY SYSTEM: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J., to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5972). The amendment would have eliminated $150 million of funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, popularly known as Metro. Garrett said taxpayer funding should not be provided for a transit system that “has a significant record of wasteful spending” and is plagued by service interruptions and poor management. An opponent, Rep. John W. Olver, D-Mass., said the funding was needed to improve safety. The vote, on June 26, was 160 yeas to 243 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, nay; Visclosky, nay
MORTGAGE COUNSELING: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif., to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5972). The amendment would have increased funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Counseling Assistance Program by $10 million and offset the increase with an identical cut to HUD’s operations and management account. Capps said local counseling agencies funded by the program were “among the most effective tools we have to help struggling families stay in their homes,” as counseling was “not only helping address the current foreclosure crisis, it’s also helping prevent future crises by helping homeowners find mortgages that they can afford and fully understand.” An opponent, Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa, said counseling was already available from many other more effective government programs, and “before we give additional resources to HUD’s Housing Counseling, we need to make sure HUD has the capability to effectively implement this program.” The vote, on June 26, was 184 yeas to 218 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, yea
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5972). The amendment would have cut funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grants program by $396 million. Chaffetz said the cut, which would have resulted in maintaining funding for the program at fiscal 2012 levels, was necessary discipline given the size of the rising national debt. An opponent, Rep. John W. Olver, D-Mass., said the program helped cities and towns meet housing needs, which directly created jobs and performed vital social services. The vote, on June 27, was 157 yeas to 267 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, nay; Visclosky, nay
AFFORDABLE HOUSING GRANTS: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5972). The amendment would have cut $200 million of funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME investment program of providing block grants to state and local governments in order to create affordable housing for low-income households. Flake said HOME was a dysfunctional program that lacked rules, safeguards, and a tracking system to ensure that its grants were spent wisely. An opponent, Rep. John W. Olver, D-Mass., said the HOME program has been reformed and that its grants “provide needed jobs in our communities; they ease the unemployment in the construction sector; they produce housing; and they don’t end up costing the taxpayers any money.” The vote, on June 27, was 178 yeas to 242 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, nay; Visclosky, nay
PORT SECURITY COOPERATION: The House passed the Securing Maritime Activities through Risk-based Targeting for Port Security Act (H.R. 4251), sponsored by Rep. Candice S. Miller, R-Mich. The bill would authorize measures to improve the cooperation and efficiency of port security programs at agencies of the Homeland Security Department, including Customs and Border Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard. Miller called the bill “a step toward smarter security that encourages DHS to become more efficient, better integrated, and more closely coordinated amongst its component industry and international partners.” The vote, on June 28, was 402 yeas to 21 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, yea
GAPS IN PORT SECURITY: The House passed the Gauging American Port Security Act (H.R. 4005), sponsored by Rep. Janice Hahn, D-Calif. The bill would require the Homeland Security Secretary to conduct a study of gaps in port security and propose a strategy for fixing the gaps. Hahn said: “By focusing on the specific dangers that threaten our port security, we can begin, I believe, to develop effective solutions to ensure that our Nation is prepared.” The vote, on June 28, was 411 yeas to 9 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, yea
FAST AND FURIOUS: The House passed a resolution (H. Res. 711), sponsored by Rep. Darrell E. Issa, R-Calif., recommending that the House hold in contempt Attorney General Eric Holder for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena requesting documents related to the Justice Department’s Fast and Furious initiative that allowed Mexican drug cartels to illegally import firearms from the U.S. Issa said the documents would help answer “questions on a myriad of areas related to Operation Fast and Furious,” including evidence related to the 10 months during which Justice denied the existence of Fast and Furious. An opponent, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said the resolution was “riddled with errors and is motivated by partisan politics,” and Congress had no evidence that Holder “authorized, condoned, or knew about gunwalking,” or that he covered up Fast and Furious. The vote, on June 28, was 255 yeas to 67 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, nay
ENFORCING FAST AND FURIOUS SUBPOENAS: The House agreed to a resolution (H. Res. 706), sponsored by Rep. Darrell E. Issa, R-Calif., authorizing the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to make judicial proceedings to enforce subpoenas requiring Attorney General Eric Holder to submit information about the Justice Department’s Fast and Furious initiative that allowed Mexican drug cartels to illegally import firearms from the U.S. Issa said the resolution was necessary because of “the Attorney General’s flat refusal to any longer cooperate with this committee.” An opponent, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said the subpoenas were “partisan and political,” and the committee should instead negotiate with Holder to obtain information about Fast and Furious. The vote, on June 28, was 258 yeas to 95 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, nay
Senate
FDA REAUTHORIZATION: The Senate agreed to the House amendment to the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (S. 3187), sponsored by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa. The bill would reauthorize and extend the FDA’s user-fee programs for prescription drugs and medical devices and establish user-fee programs for generic drugs and biosimilars. Harkin said the bill “will ensure that the FDA has the resources to speed market access to drugs and devices while continuing to ensure patient safety,” including measures to speed approval of generic drugs that lower the cost of medications. The vote, on June 26, was 92 yeas to 4 nays.
Votes: Coats, yea; Lugar, yea
