WASHINGTON – Here’s how Maine’s members of Congress were recorded on major roll call votes in the week ending Jan. 23.

HOUSE Catholic schools

Voting 398 for and one against, the House on Jan. 21 approved a measure (H Res 492) honoring the contributions of Catholic elementary and secondary schools. This expressed House support for Catholic Schools Week Jan. 25-31. The negative vote was cast by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., who immediately told colleagues he had voted “in error” against a measure he supports.

Peter Hoekstra, R-Mich., said Catholic schools will educate “over 2.5 million students this year, serving a diverse group of students from many social and economic backgrounds,” graduating 99 percent of their enrollment and sending 97 percent to post-secondary education.

No member spoke against the measure.

A yes vote was to honor Catholic schools.

Rep. Tom Allen, D-1, voted yes. Rep. Michael Michaud, D-2, voted yes.

SENATE

$820 billion measure

Voting 65 for and 28 against, the Senate on Jan. 22 sent President Bush a bill (HR 2673) providing $373 billion in discretionary spending and $447 billion in entitlement payments for eleven Cabinet-level departments, several agencies and the District of Columbia. The 1,200-page, lump-sum budget is needed because Congress failed to pass seven of the 13 appropriations bills that run the government.

Along with funding basic governmental functions, the bill increases spending for global efforts against AIDS, gives federal workers a 4.1 percent pay raise, begins a school voucher program in the District of Columbia, funds the first $1 billion budget for running the House and provides nearly $11 billion for about 7,900 pork-barrel projects.

The bill continues a ban on citizen travel to Cuba, blocks country-of-origin meat labeling, approves new rules that will deny overtime pay to many white-collar workers and raises the share of U.S. households that a media conglomerate can reach with its TV stations.

The bill reduces from 90 days to 24 hours the required period for preservation of firearms sales records for inspection by federal law enforcement agents and blocks a proposed requirement that dealers begin conducting annual inventories.

Christopher Bond, R-Mo., said that without passage of the bill, “the Veterans Benefits Administration would have to cut 500 full-time employees. Such a reduction would be catastrophic to the timeliness of claims processing and the expeditious delivery of benefits such as pensions to the needy, education benefits, and home loans.”

Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the bill’s easing of gun controls will aid “terrorists who want firearms. If the record of their purchases is destroyed in 24 hours, if there is no requirement for an inventory of weapons…we are setting out a situation that can be exploited, not just by criminals but by people with even more malign designs on this country.”

A yes vote was to approve the conference report.

Sen. Susan Collins, R, voted yes. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R, voted no.

Budget filibuster

Voting 61 for and 32 against, the Senate on Jan. 22 ended a Democratic filibuster against HR 2673 (above). Senators then sent the bill to President Bush.

Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said: “What is happening around here, if you do not get your way, instead of voting on a bill, you threaten to filibuster.”

Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said President Bush “said that he was going to change the tone in Washington, he changed that tone all right. It is the worst that I have seen in my more than 51 years in Congress.”

A yes vote was to advance the bill.

Collins voted yes. Snowe voted no.

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