Legislative checkup, February 2007 (Congress)

I’m going to try to make this about a monthly or so series – of course, sometimes Congress takes long recesses and our General Assembly only operates from January through April (thank goodness) so this time of year is probably going to be the busiest. And because this part dealing with the Federal side turns out so long I’ll do this one tonight and the state one tomorrow.

The information comes from the THOMAS website run by the Library of Congress. This is probably one of the best uses of the Internet out there. It’s also going to save me a lot of time linking these since anyone else can just as easily look up their particular Congressman on these issues (it’s quite simple to do there! One case where the federal government gets things pretty much right.) I’m just doing this as a “compare and contrast.”

And I’ll begin in the House. Thus far my Congressman, Wayne Gilchrest (MD-1) has sponsored just one bill, which has 24 co-sponsors – mostly comprised of Congressmen whose districts lie within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. H.R. 16 is better known as the “Chesapeake Bay Restoration Enhancement Act of 2007.” This bill was assigned to committee upon introduction January 4 and has not made it out yet.

Across the border in Delaware, Mike Castle has been somehat busier, sponsoring three bills. None of these bills have made it out of their respective committees yet. H.R. 96 and H.R. 97 were both just moved into a subcommittee, so there’s been some action on those bills recently.

The three bills Castle has sponsored: H.R. 96, the “Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2007” (with 3 co-sponsors); H.R. 97, the “Accountability and Transparency in Ethics Act” (which has one co-sponsor), and H.R. 334, which “require the House of Representatives and the Senate to each establish a Subcommittee on Intelligence in the Committee on Appropriations, and for other purposes.” The “other purposes” include placing intelligence-related expenditures “on budget.” That bill has no co-sponsors.

Now I’ll turn my attention to our four Democrat Senators from Maryland and Delaware.

Maryland’s senior Senator, Barbara Mikulski, has sponsored just one bill thus far. S. 414 is the “Cloned Food Labeling Act” and languishes in committee.

Newly elected Senator Cardin has done a little bit more, offering two amendments to bills that were tabled. His one sponsored bill, S. 137, is the “Preserving Medicare for All Act of 2007”. This bill is also bottled up in committee.

Turning to the First State, their senior Senator’s been a busy beaver (when not running for President), sponsoring five Resolutions and five bills.

Joe Biden’s Concurrent Resolution on Iraq (S. Con. Res. 2) was shut out when it couldn’t attain cloture (on a 97-0 vote.) But S. Res. 24, which declared January 2007 as “National Stalking Awareness Month” passed by unanimous consent (with 2 co-sponsors). 

It was not as quick for S. Res. 30, a resolution “regarding the need for the United States to address global climate change through the negotiation of fair and effective international commitments” – it’s standing in committee. The same fate is true for S. Res. 64 (regarding expenditures of the Committee on Foreign Relations) and S. Res. 65, which “condemn(s) the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist and human rights advocate Hrant Dink.” Only S. Res. 30 has a co-sponsor.

Biden’s five bills are as follows: S. 345 is a “bill to establish a Homeland Security and Neighborhood Safety Trust Fund”; S. 368, the “COPS Improvements Act of 2007” (with 29 co-sponsors); S. 392, “To ensure payment of United States assessments for United Nations peacekeeping operations for the 2005 through 2008 time period”; S. 449 (with 4 co-sponsors) is a bill that adds regulations for state and local law enforcement agencies; and this week he introduced S. 534, “A bill to bring the FBI to full strength to carry out its mission.” Each of these bills is still in committee.

On the other hand, Senator Carper is a comparative back-bencher, having introduced just one amendment that was tabled to show for his month plus in the 110th Congress.

Now it’s on to the roll call votes. In the House:

• On H.R. 1, which implemented the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, Castle voted “aye” and Gilchrest “no” (passed 299-128).
• On H.R. 2, the “Fair Minimum Wage Act”, both Castle and Gilchrest voted “aye” (passed 315-116).
• On H.R. 3, the “Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act”, Castle voted “aye” and Gilchrest did not vote (passed 253-174).
• On H.R. 4, the “Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act”; again, Castle voted “aye” and Gilchrest “no” (passed 255-170).
• On H.R. 5, the “College Student Relief Act” (which lowered interest rates for student borrowers), both Castle and Gilchrest voted “aye” (passed 356-71).
• On H.R. 6, the “Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives” act, both Castle and Gilchrest voted “aye” (passed 264-163).
• On H.Res. 78, allowing the delegates from the District of Columbia and U.S. territories voting rights in the House, both Castle and Gilchrest voted “no” (passed 226-191).

So on 6 of the 7 votes here regarding “major” bills, Mike Castle voted with the majority Democrats. Are you sure you’re a Republican, Rep. Castle? Meanwhile, I’m not happy with Gilchrest on the minimum wage or energy bills where he voted with the Democrats.

The Senate votes are much easier. All four Senators voted as a block for the Democrat side in most instances (although Biden missed several of these votes.) The only exceptions were:

• On an amendment to S.B. 1 to permit travel hosted by preapproved 501(c)(3) organizations, Carper and Mikulski voted “aye”, Biden and Cardin voted “no” (passed 51-46).
• On another S.B. 1 amendment, this to “establish a Senate Office of Public Integrity”, Biden and Carper voted “aye” while Cardin and Mikulski voted “nay” (failed 71-27).
• Another S.B. 1 amendment “to prohibit authorized committees and leadership PACs from employing the spouse or immediate family members of any candidate or Federal office holder connected to the committee” was tabled. Sen. Mikulski was among those voting not to table the amendment (tabled 54-41). 

Because of its position as the “saucer that cools the steaming cup of coffee” (geez, what a terrible but often-used analogy) the Senate hasn’t seen the voting action that the House has; also, a number of their votes have been confirmation votes for various positions.

Tomorrow I’ll shift gears and look at our legislators’ roles in the Maryland General Assembly.