Area Votes in Congress

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

House

Tax-break extensions. Voting 241-181, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 4213) to extend through 2010 a $31 billion package of temporary tax credits and other fiscal incentives that benefit a multitude of U.S. businesses, farms, units of government, schools, charities, individuals, nonprofit organizations, religious institutions, and other recipients.

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.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), and Joe Sestak (D., Pa.).

Voting no: Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Catchall 2010 budget. Voting 221-202, the House sent the Senate a $447 billion catchall spending bill (HR 3288) for 2010 composed of six appropriations bills that Congress has failed to enact individually. Covering the fiscal year that began in October, the bill would fund military construction projects; dozens of independent agencies in areas such as financial regulation and disaster relief; and the budgets of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Commerce, State, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development.

The bill also would clear $650 billion in fiscal 2010 entitlement spending for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and veterans' benefits.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Holden, Murphy, Schwartz, and Sestak.

Voting no: Adler, Castle, Dent, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Pitts, and Smith.

Financial rules. Voting 223-202, the House passed a bill (HR 4173) that would increase federal regulation of the financial-services industry, establish an independent agency to protect financial consumers, and provide congressional review of Federal Reserve policies. The bill awaits Senate action.

The new Consumer Financial Protection Agency would protect consumers against abusive home-lending and credit-card practices but would be barred from regulating auto dealerships and community banks.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Holden, Murphy, Schwartz, and Sestak.

Voting no: Castle, Dent, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Pitts, and Smith.

Senate

Abortion dispute. Voting 54-45, the Senate rejected an amendment to bar federally subsidized private insurance plans from covering abortions and prohibit individuals who receive government premium subsidies from buying plans that cover abortion. The bans would have applied even if a woman were to use her own money to buy the policy. The amendment to health-care legislation (HR 3590) went beyond "Hyde Amendment" language already in the bill that would bar federal funding of abortions except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother.

A yes vote was to kill the amendment.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), and Arlen Specter (D., Pa.).

Voting no: Bob Casey (D., Pa.) and Ted Kaufman (D., Del.).

Insurance executives' pay. Voting 56-42, the Senate failed to reach 60 votes needed to pass an amendment to limit the compensation of health-insurance executives. The amendment to HR 3590 (above) sought to reduce from $1 million to $400,000 annually the amount of executive-compensation packages that firms could deduct as a business expense.

Lautenberg said: "This amendment will not tell insurance companies what they can pay their executives. They can pay them whatever they choose to. But only $400,000 annually can be treated as an expense. That is what the president makes."

A yes vote was to cap executive pay.

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

Voting no: Carper

Medicare at home. Voting 41-53, the Senate refused to strip HR 3590 (above) of its $43 billion slowdown in spending growth over 10 years for a program that delivers Medicare services at the patient's home. The proposed cuts would help pay the $848 billion cost of the bill while securing the Medicare trust fund.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting no: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

Medicare advantage. Voting 42-57, the Senate defeated a motion to reduce taxpayer subsidies of Medicare Advantage plans by $120 billion over 10 years. The savings would be used to help pay for the pending $848 billion health bill (HR 3590) and secure the Medicare trust fund.

A yes vote opposed Medicare Advantage cuts.

Voting no: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez and Specter.

This week. The House will consider the 2010 defense budget and a jobs measure, while the Senate will debate the defense budget and health care.