Area Votes in Congress

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

House

Middle-class tax cuts. Voting 234-188, the House passed a bill (HR 4853) to extend beyond Dec. 31 Bush-era tax cuts on the first $200,000 of income for singles and the first $250,000 of income for couples filing jointly. This would add a projected $3 trillion to U.S. debt over 10 years. The bill did not address Bush-era cuts on incomes above $250,000 that also are set to expire Dec. 31. The bill also sought to extend certain tax breaks for small-businesses and temporarily limit the creep of the Alternative Minimum Tax.

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.).

School meals, child nutrition. Voting 264-157, the House sent President Obama a deficit-neutral bill (S 3307) reauthorizing antihunger programs for young people through fiscal 2015. The bill extends school lunch and breakfast programs with increased federal subsidies; renews the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program; automatically qualifies Medicaid children for free meals at school, and sets national standards to rid school cafeterias and vending machines of junk food and sugary beverages. The bill's $4.5 billion, 10-year cost would be offset by cuts in the Food Stamps budget.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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

Voting no: LoBiondo, Pitts, and Smith.

Charles Rangel censure. Voting 333-79, the House formally censured (H Res 1737) Rep. Charles Rangel (D., N.Y.) for a pattern of unethical conduct.

A yes vote was to censure Rangel.

Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Castle, Dent, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

Voting no: Brady and Fattah.

Stopgap budget. Voting 239-178, the House sent the Senate a bill (HJ Res 101) to fund the executive, judicial, and legislative branches through Dec. 18 and thus avert a government shutdown. Democrats will attempt to pass a "continuing resolution" to fund the government at fiscal 2010 levels until Sept. 30, 2011. Republicans, who take control of the House next year, are seeking a shorter extension.

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.

Senate

Food-safety rules. Voting 73-25, the Senate passed a bill that would greatly expand Food and Drug Administration authority over hundreds of thousands of firms that handle raw and processed foods, including farms with annual sales above $500,000. The bill (S 510) gives the FDA new power to prevent food-borne illnesses and expands its authority to react to outbreaks of disease.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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

Congressional earmarks. Voting 39-56, the Senate defeated an amendment to S 510 (above) to bar congressional earmarks for the next three years. Earmarking is the practice of individual lawmakers rather than executive-branch agencies determining how specific appropriations or tax benefits will be allocated.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

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

Millionaires' taxes. Voting 53-37, the Senate failed to reach 60 votes needed to end GOP blockage of a Democratic bid to raise taxes Jan. 1 on millionaires and billionaires. The amendment to HR 4853 sought to permanently block an extension of Bush-era tax cuts on incomes of $1 million and above while permanently extending current rates for incomes up to $999,999.

A yes vote opposed tax-cut extensions for millionaires.

Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Coons, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

Middle-class tax cuts. Voting 53-36, the Senate failed to get 60 votes needed to end GOP blockage of a House-passed bill (HR 4853) to extend beyond Dec. 31 the Bush-era tax cuts on the first $200,000 of singles' income and the first $250,000 of couples' income. This would add a projected $3 trillion to U.S. debt over 10 years. The bill did not address Bush-era cuts on incomes above $250,000 that also are set to expire Dec. 31.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Coons, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

This week. Both chambers may hold further votes on tax cuts. The Senate will take up the 2011 defense budget and may also debate a repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military, the New START arms-reduction treaty, and the DREAM Act, giving children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.