Here’s how area members of Congress were recorded on major roll call votes in the week ending Oct. 17.

HOUSE
Syria sanctions

Voting 398 for and four against, the House on Oct. 15 sent the Senate a bill (HR 1828) imposing economic and diplomatic sanctions on Syria to penalize it for policies such as occupying Lebanon, developing chemical and biological weapons, deploying surface-to-air missiles and harboring terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah. The State Department supports the bill.

Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said the measure “will send a very clear message to (Syrian) President Assad and his fellow travelers along the “Axis of Evil.” The United States will not tolerate terrorism, its perpetrators or its sponsors and our warnings are not to be ignored.”

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting Yes: Tom Allen, D-1, Michael Michaud, D-2

Offshore drilling

Voting 229 for and 182 against, the House on Oct. 15 approved a non-binding request that a pending energy bill (HR 6) exclude any survey of oil and natural gas reserves in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf where drilling is now banned. The areas are situated off of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Florida and the entire East Coast. The bill setting national energy policy is now in House-Senate negotiation.

Lois Capps, D-Calif., called the proposed survey “just the first step (toward) drilling in these areas now off limits….where tens of millions of our citizens have made it clear that they do not want any more drilling.”

A yes vote was to kill the survey.

Voting Yes: Allen, Michaud

SENATE
Iraqi oil

Senators on Oct. 14 killed, 57 for and 39 against, an amendment to designate $20.3 billion for nation-building in Iraq as a loan to be repaid by Iraqi oil revenue, not a grant from U.S. taxpayers that would increase the national debt. This occurred during debate on a bill providing $87 billion in military and reconstruction funds for Iraq in fiscal 2004 (S 1689).

Under the amendment, Iraq would sell securities against the future oil proceeds. By July 2005, Iraq is expected to be pumping three million barrels of oil per day worth $16 billion annually in export value, according to debate.

A yes vote opposed designating the aid as a loan.

Voting Yes: Olympia Snowe, R, Susan Collins, R

Army troop strength

Voting 45 for and 52 against, the Senate on Oct. 15 failed to kill an amendment to enlarge the Army’s active-duty force by 10,000 troops to 490,000 troops. The expansion would be paid for initially out of a $1.9 billion discretionary fund controlled by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The vote occurred during debate on S 1689 (above). For all services, Congress has authorized 1.39 million active-duty troops.

Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said Gen. John Abizaid, the U.S. commander in Iraq, “clearly says that we do not need more troops in Iraq. We are beginning to reduce our troop presence in Iraq. We are presently at 138,000, down from 250,000.”

Jack Reed, D-R.I., said: “In Iraq, there are one million tons of ammunition that are not fully secured. Thousands of air defense shoulder-fired missiles are unaccounted (for) because we simply do not have the troops to cover all the places.”

A yes vote opposed the bid for more Army troops.

Voting Yes: Collins; Voting No: Snowe

Home front vs. Iraq

Voting 59 for and 35 against, the Senate on Oct. 14 tabled (killed) a bid to transfer $5 billion from nation-building in Iraq to programs at home. The amendment to S 1689 (above) sought to provide $1 billion for school construction, $1.8 billion for veterans’ health care, $103 million for community health centers and $2.1 billion for transportation projects and job creation.

A yes vote was to kill the amendment.

Voting Yes: Snowe, Collins

Ban on genetic bias

Voting 95 for and none against, the Senate on Oct. 14 passed a bill (S 1053) prohibiting health insurers, employers and others from discriminating on the basis of one’s genetic composition. For example, insurers could not charge higher premiums because of a predisposition to certain diseases and employers could not hire and fire on the basis of genetic testing. The issue is now before the House.

Judd Gregg, R-N.H., called S 1053 major civil rights legislation “that makes it possible to continue genetics research without people having to be concerned about the way their personal genetics information may be used.”

Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said: “Science has outpaced the law and Americans are worried….There is no information more personal and private than genetic information and no information more worthy of special protection.”

No senator spoke against the bill.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting Yes: Snowe, Collins