WASHINGTON – Here’s how Maine’s members of Congress were recorded on major roll call votes in the week ending March 28.

HOUSE Crimes on children

Voting 410 for and 14 against, the House on March 26 passed a bill (HR 1104) that toughens penalties for federal crimes involving the kidnapping, molestation and murder of children and expands wiretapping authority in probes into sex crimes against children. The bill authorizes a doubling, to $40 million, of the annual federal grant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and connects state and local Amber Alert programs into a federal network bolstered by grants to states (next issue).

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Rep. Tom Allen, D, voted yes. Rep. Michael Michaud, D, voted yes.

Amber Alert dispute

Voting 218 for and 198 against, the House on March 26 blocked a bid by Democrats for speedy action on Amber Alert legislation. They said the procedural move could quickly put the popular, Senate-passed measure on President Bush’s desk and into law. But the GOP leadership wanted to keep it as one part of a controversial bill (HR 1104, above) that faces slow going in the Senate. The Amber Alert measure would link programs for publicizing child abductions into a national network overseen by the Department of Justice. Issued by the news media and highway signs soon after a child has been taken, the alerts may help to catch kidnappers before they inflict harm.

A yes vote opposed taking up Amber Alert as a free-standing bill.

Allen and Michaud voted no.

SENATE

2004-2013 budget

Voting 56 for and 44 against, the Senate on March 26 approved a budget plan for fiscal 2004-2013 that caps new White House tax cuts at $350 billion, down from the $726 billion proposed by President Bush and voted by the House. For fiscal 2004, the measure (S Con Res 23) projects spending of $2.2 trillion, including $100 billion for war in Iraq, and a $287 billion deficit. It provides large spending increases for defense and homeland security while restraining most non-entitlement domestic programs. It allows $400 billion over ten years for a Medicare prescription drug benefit and bans oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. A House-Senate conference now takes up the measure.

Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said: “We need to contain…spending. We have another growth (tax-cut) plan this year. We need not follow that European model that has stilted their economy. It is the time of less taxes, less regulations, and a greater commitment to the free market….”

A yes vote was to adopt the GOP budget.

Sen. Susan Collins, R, voted yes. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R, voted yes.

Bush tax plan

The Senate on March 25 voted, 51 for and 48 against, to reduce President Bush’s latest tax-cut request from $726 billion to $350 billion over ten years, with the $376 billion in savings allocated to Social Security obligations. This occurred during debate on S Con Res 23 (above).

Don Nickles, R-Okla, said the amendment “would cut the growth out of the growth package….The president has a package that will help create jobs, put people to work, encourage investment and encourage real growth in our economy. We need that.”

A yes vote was to more than halve presidential tax cuts.

Collins voted no. Snowe voted yes.

Responders vs. tax cuts

Voting 47 for and 51 against, the Senate on March 25 defeated a bid to transfer $6 billion in fiscal 2004 from President Bush’s tax cuts to deficit reduction and programs for police, fire and emergency units. The amendment to S Con Res 23 (above) would have raised the 2004 allocation for first responders to $6.5 billion. The GOP budget allocates $28 billion for homeland security, including first responders, in 2004.

Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said what Leahy “did not tell us” is that the amendment is a $6 billion tax increase.

A yes vote was to spend more on first responders and less on tax cuts.

Collins and Snowe voted no.

Education vs. tax cuts

The Senate on March 25 rejected, 46 for and 53 against, an amendment to S Con Res 23 (above) to shift $24 billion over ten years from President Bush’s tax cuts to education. Backers said this could extend the life of several endangered programs, while foes said the budget plan already contained ample increases for education.

A yes vote was to spend more on education and less on tax cuts.

Collins and Snowe voted no.

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