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HOUSE
OFFSHORE DRILLING, RENEWABLE ENERGY: Members voted, 236-189, to open Outer Continental Shelf expanses to energy drilling and devote a share of the royalties to developing renewable fuels. A yes vote was to pass a bill (HR 6899) to permit drilling beyond 50 or 100 miles off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
PENNSYLVANIA Voting yes: Robert Brady, D-1, Chaka Fattah, D-2, Jason Altmire, D-4, Joe Sestak, D-7, Patrick Murphy, D-8, Chris Carney, D-10, Paul Kanjorski, D-11, John Murtha, D-12, Allyson Schwartz, D-13, Mike Doyle, D-14, Tim Holden, D-17
Voting no: Phil English, R-3, John Peterson, R-5, Jim Gerlach, R-6, Bill Shuster, R-9, Charlie Dent, R-15, Tim Murphy, R-18, Todd Platts, R-19
Not voting: Joseph Pitts, R-16
GOP DRILLING PLAN: Members defeated, 191-226, a GOP alternative to HR 6899 (above) that allowed drilling as close as 25 miles off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, expanded drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, funded renewable fuels and promoted nuclear power. A yes vote backed the GOP plan
PENNSYLVANIA Voting yes: English (PA), Altmire, Peterson (PA), Gerlach, Shuster, Dent, Holden, Murphy, Tim; Platts
Voting no: Brady (PA), Fattah, Sestak, Murphy, Patrick; Carney, Kanjorski, Murtha, Schwartz, Doyle
Not voting: Pitts
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA GUNS: Voting 266 for and 152 against, the House on Sept. 17 sent the Senate a bill (HR 6842) removing most restrictions on gun possession in the District of Columbia. The bill is a response to a Supreme Court decision in June that struck down the city's ban on handgun ownership by residents other than law enforcement officers and its requirement that rifles, shotguns and other firearms be stored unloaded and locked or encased. The bill awaits Senate action.
The bill adds gun rights beyond those required by the court ruling, in part by removing restrictions on the ownership of military-style firearms such as .50 caliber sniper rifles and semi-automatic assault weapons; barring any D.C. law that would "unduly burden" gun ownership; permitting D.C. residents to cross state lines to buy firearms, and repealing the city's registration requirement for firearms.
John Dingell, D-Mich., said: "The only people in D.C. that (now) can own a firearm for almost all intents and purposes are criminals. Law-abiding citizens have enormous burdens in achieving ownership of a firearm. And so we have ... a well-armed group of thugs armed to the teeth, preying upon law-abiding citizens at their whim...."
Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said: "There is nothing in the Second Amendment that guarantees an individual's right to high-powered military assault rifles capable of firing more than 30 rounds without reloading....It is not our job to rewrite a law passed by the people elected in the District of Columbia if that law complies with the Constitution of the United States."
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
PENNSYLVANIA Voting yes: English (PA), Altmire, Peterson (PA), Gerlach, Patrick Murphy, Shuster, Carney, Kanjorski, Murtha, Dent, Holden, Tim Murphy, Platts
Voting no: Brady (PA), Fattah, Sestak, Schwartz, Doyle
Not voting: Pitts
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION: Members passed, 293-109, a bill to upgrade environmental education in U.S. schools. A yes vote backed a bill (HR 3036) authorizing $24 million for Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Education programs to further environmental education. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
PENNSYLVANIA Voting yes: Brady (PA), Fattah, English (PA), Altmire, Gerlach, Patric Murphy, Carney, Kanjorski, Murtha, Schwartz, Doyle, Dent, Holden, Platts
Voting no: Peterson (PA), Shuster, Tim Murphy.
Not voting: Sestak, Pitts
SENATE
2009 MILITARY BUDGET: Voting 88 for and 8 against, the Senate on Sept. 17 approved $612.5 billion in 2009 military spending, including $70 billion to fund war in Afghanistan and Iraq for part of the fiscal year. The bill (S 3001) sets a 3.9 percent military pay raise, bars permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq, bans premium or co-pay increases in the military health plan known as TRICARE and provides $5 billion in earmarks for senators' pet projects. The bill slightly raises active-duty personnel levels to 532,400 for the Army, 325,300 for the Navy, 316,770 for the Air Force and 194,000 for the Marines.
Sens. Barack Obama, D-Ill., John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Biden, D-Del., did not vote.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
PENNSYLVANIA Voting yes: Arlen Specter, R, Robert
Casey Jr., D
This week, the House will debate the 2009 defense budget and the rights of credit card holders, while the Senate will consider bills on offshore drilling and renewable-energy tax breaks. Both chambers will debate stopgap spending bills.
