Area Votes in Congress

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

House

9/11 responders' fund. By a vote of 206-60, with 168 members absent, the House sent President Obama a deficit-neutral, $4.2 billion bill (HR 847) establishing a fund to benefit tens of thousands of individuals who developed health problems as a result of their cleanup work at the World Trade Center site after 9/11.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: John Adler (D., N.J.), Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Not voting: Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.) and Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.).

Food-safety rules. Voting 215-144, the House sent Obama a bill (HR 2751) 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 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: Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Holden, Murphy, Schwartz, and Sestak.

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

Not voting: Adler.

America Competes Act. Voting 228-130, the House sent Obama a bill (HR 5116) authorizing $46 billion over three years for the America Competes Act. The act funds a wide range of science and technology programs run by federal agencies, universities, and the private sector. Begun in 2007, the law is designed to help the United States maintain its global leadership in technology and innovation.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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

Voting no: LoBiondo and Pitts.

Not voting: Adler.

Stopgap 2011 budget. Voting 193-165, the House sent Obama a "continuing resolution" (HR 3082) to fund government operations until March 4. This means that for the first six months of fiscal 2011, discretionary programs, which account for about one-third of federal spending, will be funded at essentially their fiscal 2010 levels. In one notable policy change, the bill implements the president's order to freeze federal workers' salaries.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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

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

Not voting: Adler.

Senate

New START Treaty. Voting 71-26, the Senate reached the two-thirds majority it needed to ratify the New START arms-reduction treaty between the United States and Russia. The treaty limits each nation's nuclear arsenal to 1,550 warheads, down from 2,200 at present, and its number of missile-launchers and heavy bombers for delivering nuclear weapons to 700, down from today's cap of 1,600. The limits must be met within seven years. The treaty also restores on-site inspections that lapsed when the 1991 START treaty expired in December 2009.

A yes vote was to ratify the treaty.

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.).

Temporary 2011 budget. Voting 79-16, the Senate sent the House a bill (HR 3082, above) to temporarily fund the federal government until March 4, at which time the new 112th Congress will take up another temporary, catchall spending bill. These stopgap measures, which affect the one-third of the budget that is discretionary spending, are needed because the 111th Congress failed to enact any of the 12 regular appropriations bills.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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

Ahead. The 111th Congress has adjourned. The 112th Congress will convene Jan. 5.