Area Votes in Congress

WASHINGTON - Here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress voted on major issues last week:

House

Bipartisan health-care changes. Voting 392-37, the House on Thursday passed a bill (HR 2) drafted by Republican and Democratic leaders that would set higher reimbursement levels based on quality of care for doctors who treat Medicare patients. The bill would also extend the Children's Health Insurance Program for two years on a budget of $39.7 billion and fund rural and urban community health centers for two years at a cost of $7.2 billion.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where it stands a chance of passage.

Voting yes: Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), John Carney (D., Del.), Matt Cartwright (D., Pa.), Ryan Costello (R., Pa.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Michael Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Tom MacArthur (R., N.J.), Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.), Donald Norcross (D., N.J.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

10-year Republican budget. Voting 228-199, the House on Wednesday approved a 10-year Republican fiscal plan (H Con Res 27) that seeks to balance the federal budget by fiscal 2024. This blueprint rules out tax increases and relies on mostly unspecified tax and spending cuts to reach balance, leaving decisions affecting trillions of dollars to House committees.

A yes vote was to adopt the Republican budget.

Voting yes: Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, MacArthur, Meehan, Pitts, and Smith.

Voting no: Boyle, Brady, Carney, Cartwright, Fattah, LoBiondo, and Norcross.

Democratic budget plan. By a vote of 160-264, the House on Wednesday defeated a Democratic budget that differed from the main GOP plan (H Con Res 27, above) by not seeking balance while spending far more for education, job training, early childhood intervention, scientific and medical research, transportation, infrastructure repair, environmental protection, and other domestic programs.

Norcross said the Democratic budget would "create jobs by investing in research and infrastructure, properly fund a strong national defense, and make good on our promise to our seniors by strengthening [Medicare] and Social Security."

A yes vote was to adopt the Democratic budget.

Voting yes: Boyle, Brady, Cartwright, Fattah, and Norcross.

Voting no: Carney, Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Meehan, Pitts, and Smith.

Conservatives' budget plan. Voting 132-294, the House on Wednesday defeated a 10-year budget authored by the conservative Republican Study Committee that would reach balance three years earlier than the mainstream GOP budget (H Con Res 27) would envision. This plan proposed deep cuts in domestic discretionary spending and entitlement programs. It would repeal the Affordable Care Act, and, unlike the mainstream GOP budget, it offered a replacement health-care law.

A yes vote was to adopt the Republican Study Committee budget.

Voting yes: Pitts.

Voting no: Boyle, Brady, Carney, Cartwright, Costello, Dent, Fattah, Fitzpatrick, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Meehan, Norcross, and Smith.

Progressives' budget plan. Voting 96-330, the House on Wednesday defeated an alternative to H Con Res 27 (above) offered by the Congressional Progressive Caucus. With an emphasis on helping middle- and low-income families and workers, this "People's Budget" proposed to begin universal pre-K education, end tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas, permanently extend the earned-income and child tax credits, raise taxes on the wealthy, increase funding for education and job-training programs, relieve student debt, increase spending to repair roads and bridges, raise the minimum wage, and expand the use of renewable energy to address climate change. This budget did not increase military spending or seek to reach balance over 10 years.

A yes vote was to adopt the Progressive Caucus budget.

Voting yes: Brady and Fattah.

Voting no: Boyle, Carney, Cartwright, Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Meehan, Norcross, Pitts, and Smith.

Black Caucus budget plan. Voting 120-306, the House on Wednesday defeated an alternative to H Con Res 27 (above) offered by the Congressional Black Caucus. This plan would reduce annual deficits by $1.9 trillion over 10 years while ending the sequester and robustly funding programs for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) as well as programs to boost road and bridge construction, small businesses, manufacturing, affordable housing, job training, voting rights, and the social safety net. This plan would increase the minimum wage and raise taxes on the wealthy, and unlike the mainstream GOP budget, it would continue traditional fee-for-service Medicare.

A yes vote was to adopt the Black Caucus budget.

Voting yes: Boyle, Brady, Cartwright, Fattah, and Norcross.

Voting no: Carney, Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Meehan, Pitts, and Smith.

Senate

10-year Republican budget. Voting 52-46, the Senate on Thursday approved a Republican-drafted budget (S Con Res 11) for fiscal 2016-2025 that would boost military spending, repeal the Affordable Care Act, retain traditional Medicare, prohibit tax increases, slash spending for entitlement and domestic programs, convert Medicaid and food stamps to state-run block-grant programs, and require an unspecified reform of the tax code.

A yes vote was to adopt the Republican budget.

Voting yes: Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).

Voting no: Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Chris Coons (D., Del.), and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.).

Student-loan refinancing. Voting 46-53, the Senate on Wednesday defeated an amendment to S Con Res 11 (above) that would allow up to 40 million borrowers to refinance their student loans down to interest rates prevailing in the 2013-14 academic year. Those now holding Stafford undergraduate loans at 6.8 percent or higher, for example, could refinance to 3.86 percent. To offset its $5 billion-plus annual cost, the amendment would impose a 30 percent minimum tax on households with at least $1 million in income from salaries and/or investments.

A yes vote was to make room for the 10-year GOP budget for student-loan refinancing.

Voting yes: Booker, Carper, Casey, Coons, and Menendez.

Voting no: Toomey.

Ban on carbon tax. The Senate on Thursday voted 58-42 to give the Republican budget (S Con Res 11, above) authority to prohibit federal taxation of carbon emissions from sources such as coal.

A yes vote was to prohibit a federal tax on carbon emissions.

Voting yes: Toomey.

Voting no: Booker, Carper, Casey, Coons, and Menendez.

Same-sex spousal rights. Voting 57-43, the Senate on Thursday adopted an amendment ensuring that the Republican budget (S Con Res 11, above) grants all legally married same-sex spouses equal access to spousal Social Security and veterans' benefits regardless of whether the state where they live holds same-sex unions to be legal.

A yes vote was to adopt an amendment in behalf of legally married same-sex couples.

Voting yes: Booker, Carper, Casey, Coons, and Menendez.

Voting no: Toomey.

Seven days' paid sick leave. Voting 61-39, the Senate on Thursday amended the Republican budget (S Con Res 11, above) so that it would not impede any new law entitling workers to seven days' paid sick leave per year. At present, the Family and Medical Leave Act allows qualified workers 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave per year.

A yes vote was to adopt an amendment in behalf of paid sick leave.

Voting yes: Booker, Carper, Casey, Coons, Menendez, and Toomey.

Road repairs vs. tax breaks. Voting 45-52, the Senate on Tuesday defeated a Democratic amendment that sought to allocate an additional $478 billion over 10 years in the Senate budget resolution (S Con Res 11) to road and bridge repairs, with the increased spending to be offset by the elimination of certain corporate tax breaks.

A yes vote backed more spending for road and bridge repairs paid for by the elimination of corporate tax breaks.

Voting yes: Booker, Carper, Casey, Coons, and Menendez.

Voting no: Toomey.

Ahead. Congress is in Passover-Easter recess until the week of April 13.