How they voted
August 4, 2012 5:52PM
Updated: September 6, 2012 6:23AM
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
PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTEES: The House has passed the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act (S. 679), sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The bill would eliminate the requirement that the Senate approve presidential appointees for a dozen government boards and positions in various agencies. The vote, on July 31, was 261 yeas to 116 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, yea
FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND TAX DEBTS: The House has passed the Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act (H.R. 828), sponsored by Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah. The bill would bar people with seriously delinquent tax debts from employment in the federal government. The vote, on July 31, was 263 yeas to 114 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, yea
ABORTIONS IN WASHINGTON: The House has rejected the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 3803), sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. The bill would have barred abortions in the District of Columbia after a fetus is 20 weeks old, with an exception provided to save the life of a pregnant woman. The vote, on July 31, was 220 yeas to 154 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, nay
DEMOCRATIC TAX CUT PLAN: The House has rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., to the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act (H.R. 8). The amendment would have extended through 2013 the tax cuts for income, dividends and capital gains established in 2001 and 2003, for married couples with annual income below $250,000 and individuals with annual income below $200,000. The vote, on Aug. 1, was 170 yeas to 257 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, nay; Visclosky, yea
REPUBLICAN TAX CUT PLAN: The House has passed the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act (H.R. 8), sponsored by Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich. The bill would extend through 2013 the tax cuts for income, dividends and capital gains established in 2001 and 2003. The vote, on Aug. 1, was 256 yeas to 171 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, nay
SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN: The House has agreed to the Senate amendment to the Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Human Rights Act (H.R. 1905), sponsored by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. The bill would establish sanctions against Iran with the goal of halting Iran’s effort to develop nuclear weapons and its support for terrorist groups. The vote, on Aug. 1, was 421 yeas to 6 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, yea
TAXES AND GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: The House has passed a bill (H.R. 4365), sponsored by Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-N.Y., that would change the tax code to clarify that accounts in the government’s Thrift Savings Plan held by government employees are subject to being garnisheed by the IRS in order to recover unpaid taxes. The vote, on Aug. 1, was 414 yeas to 6 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, yea
DEMOCRATIC TAX REFORM PLATFORM: The House has rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter, D-N.Y., to the Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act (H.R. 6169). The amendment would have stated the findings of Congress that tax reform legislation should enact a more progressive tax code, repeal the alternative minimum tax, cut tax rates for American manufacturers, and expand incentives for small businesses. The vote, on Aug. 2, was 176 yeas to 246 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, nay; Visclosky, yea
CONSIDERATION OF TAX REFORM: The House has passed the Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act (H.R. 6169), sponsored by Rep. David Dreier, R-Calif. The bill would provide for expedited consideration by Congress of a bill that would establish two individual income tax brackets, cut the corporate income tax, and repeal the alternative minimum tax. The vote, on Aug. 2, was 232 yeas to 189 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, nay; Visclosky, nay
AID TO LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS: The House has passed the Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act (H.R. 6233), sponsored by Rep. Frank D. Lucas, R-Okla. The bill would direct the Agriculture Secretary to provide assistance payments to ranchers that have seen excessive livestock deaths this year due to drought and other factors, and offset the cost of the payments by cutting spending under the Conservation Stewardship Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The vote, on Aug. 2, was 223 yeas to 197 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, nay
INTERNET GOVERNANCE: The House has agreed to a resolution (H. Con. Res. 127), sponsored by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., to express the sense of Congress that government officials should advance a position that clearly articulates U.S. policy to promote a global Internet free from government control and governed by the multi-stakeholder model that currently governs the Internet. The vote, on Aug. 2, was unanimous with 414 yeas.
Votes: Donnelly, yea; Visclosky, yea
ADJOURNING CONGRESS: The House has rejected a resolution (S. Con. Res. 56), sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, that would have provided for the conditional adjournment of Congress until Sept. 10. An opponent, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, said adjournment would have allowed Congress to go on its August break with “no jobs agenda, no tax cuts for the middle class, no farm bill, no Violence Against Women Act, no cybersecurity strategy, no balanced, bipartisan plan to prevent the sequester.” The vote, on Aug. 2, was 150 yeas to 265 nays.
Votes: Donnelly, nay; Visclosky, nay
Senate
TENTH CIRCUIT JUDGE: The Senate has rejected a motion to end debate on the nomination of Robert E. Bacharach as U.S. Circuit Judge for the 10th Circuit. The vote, on July 30, was 56 yeas to 34 nays.
Votes: Coats, nay; Lugar, nay
CYBERSECURITY ACT: The Senate has rejected a motion to end debate on the Cybersecurity Act (S. 3414), sponsored by Sen. Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn. The bill would have established standards for protecting against cyberattacks against communications networks, the electricity grid, and other infrastructure systems. The vote, on Aug. 2, was 52 yeas to 46 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to end debate.
Votes: Coats, yea; Lugar, yea
PAYING FOR AFRICA TRADE BENEFITS: The Senate has rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (S. 3326). The amendment would have paid for the $200 million cost of extending trade benefits to countries in sub-Saharan Africa by rescinding unobligated balances for trade programs at various agencies. The vote, on Aug. 2, was 40 yeas to 58 nays.
Votes: Coats, yea; Lugar, nay
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE IN MICHIGAN: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Gershwin A. Drain to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan. The vote, on Aug. 2, was 55 yeas to 41 nays.
Votes: Coats, yea; Lugar, nay
