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Area Votes in Congress

WASHINGTON - Here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress voted on major issues last week: House Additional screening of Syrian refugees. Voting 289-137, the House on Thursday passed a bill (HR 4038) requiring the heads of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence to clear each refugee applicant from Syria

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

House

Additional screening of Syrian refugees. Voting 289-137, the House on Thursday passed a bill (HR 4038) requiring the heads of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security and the director of national intelligence to clear each refugee applicant from Syria and Iraq before he or she can be admitted to the United States. These steps would expand an existing screening process that requires clearances by seven departments and agencies and takes an average of two years per refugee to complete.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where it is likely to face a Democratic-led filibuster.

Voting yes: John Carney (D., Del.), Ryan Costello (R., Pa.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Michael Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Tom MacArthur (R., N.J.), Pat Meehan (R., Pa.), Donald Norcross (D., N.J.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Brendan Boyle (D., Pa.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Matt Cartwright (D., Pa.), and Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.).

No pause in refugee resettlement. Voting 180-244, the House on Thursday defeated a Democratic motion to HR 4038 (above) that would require extensive additional screening of Syrian and Iraqi refugee applicants while not suspending or shutting down the administration's ongoing resettlement program.

A yes vote backed tighter scrutiny of Syrian and Iraqi refugee applicants without stopping the U.S. resettlement program.

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

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

Congressional audit of Federal Reserve. Voting 241-185, the House on Thursday passed a bill (HR 3189) authorizing the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, to conduct an audit of the Federal Reserve System, with authority to inspect internal communications among Fed governors and staff.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where it is likely to fail.

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

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

Discrimination in auto lending. Voting 332-96, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 1737) that would halt Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulation of auto loans with discriminatory interest rates. The agency says it has authority under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act over indirect (third-party) auto lending in which minorities are charged higher rates than similarly qualified white customers. But critics say the 2010 Dodd-Frank law prohibits the agency from regulating auto dealerships.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Boyle, Brady, Cartwright, Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, LoBiondo, MacArthur, Meehan, Norcross, Pitts, and Smith.

Voting no: Carney and Fattah.

Protecting banks against lawsuits. The House on Wednesday voted, 255-174, to grant protection against most consumer lawsuits to community banks and credit unions issuing risky home loans if they keep the loan in their portfolio. In part, the bill (HR 1210) would protect institutions making loans to borrowers who have excessive debt-to-income ratios or fail to fully document their repayment ability.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

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

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

Predatory loans to military personnel. Voting 184-242, the House on Wednesday defeated a Democratic motion to allow consumer lawsuits to proceed under HR 1210 (above) against lenders alleged to have made predatory home loans to active-duty military personnel and veterans.

A yes vote was to adopt the motion, which, had it prevailed, would have immediately amended the bill.

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

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

Contracts for veterans, minorities, women. Voting 285-138, the House on Tuesday passed a bill (HR 1694) that would enable veteran-owned businesses to compete against women- and minority-owned businesses in a program that sets a goal of awarding 10 percent of Department of Transportation infrastructure projects to disadvantaged businesses.

Fitzpatrick said the bill would put "the most trained workforce in history on the job of rebuilding our nation's roads and bridges."

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

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

Voting no: Brady, Carney, Cartwright, and Fattah.

Senate

To kill rule on carbon emissions. Voting 52-46, the Senate on Tuesday adopted a measure (SJ Res 24) that would kill a new EPA rule to limit carbon emissions by natural gas- and coal-fired power plants. The bill targets the so-called Clean Power Plan, which would allow each state to develop its own means of complying with federally set limits on carbon discharges from plants that generate electricity.

A yes vote was to send the measure to the House, which is expected to send it to President Obama, who has promised a veto.

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.).

Ahead. Congress is in recess until the week of Nov. 30, when the Senate will debate tighter controls on refugee programs. The House schedule for that week is yet to be announced.