Congressional roll call

Here’s how area members of Congress voted on major issues during the week ending Oct. 6.

HOUSE

ABORTION: Voting 237189, the House on Oct. 3 sent the Senate a GOP drafted bill (HR 36) that would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks of fertilization on the belief that the fetus can feel pain by then. This repudiates the medical standard in the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling, which holds that abortion is legal up to when the fetus reaches viability — usually after 24-to-28 weeks of pregnancy — and after viability if it is necessary to protect the health or life of the mother. Under Roe, viability occurs when the fetus can potentially survive outside the womb with or without artificial aid. This bill allows exemptions for victims of rape or incest and to save the mother’s life, thouigh rape victims must receive counseling and medical care at least 48 hours before the procedure to be exempted. Doctors who violate this law could be criminally prosecuted. A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where it faces a 60-vote hurdle.

John Faso, R-Kinderhook:

Yes

Sean Maloney, D-Cold Spring: No HEALTH EXEMPTION: Voting 187 in favor and 238

opposed, the House on Oct. 3 defeated a Democratic attempt to add a broad health exemption to HR 36 enabling women to legally have an abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy if it is necessary to protect their short- or long-term health. This went beyond the underlying bill’s narrowly drawn exemptions for instances of rape and incest or to save the life of the mother. A yes vote was to adopt the motion.

Faso: No Maloney: Yes 10-YEAR GOP BUDGET:

Voting 219-206, the House on Oct. 5 approved a 10year, largely nonbinding budget blueprint (H Con Res 71) that would set the stage for later legislative action to reduce corporate and individual taxes by $5.4 trillion; cut nondefense spending by $5.8 trillion; change Medicare to a voucher program; convert Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and food stamps to staterun block grant programs; repeal much of the DoddFrank financial regulation law; and devolve many K-12 education programs to state and local governments. The fiscal plan sets ground rules allowing the Senate to pass a tax cut bill by a simple-majority vote. It aims to produce a budget surplus by 2027 but offers few specifics for reaching that goal, leaving politically difficult decisions on slashing deficits up to House

committees. For fiscal 2018, which began Oct. 1, the budget would cap discretionary spending at $1.132 trillion, including $621 billion in nonemergency military outlays and $511 billion in nonmilitary spending. Entitlement programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ benefits, account for the remainder of the year’s $4.024 trillion budget, which includes a $472 billion deficit. A yes vote was to adopt the Republican budget. Faso: Yes

Maloney: No DEMOCRATIC BUDGET:

Voting 156 in favor and 268 opposed, the House on Oct. 5 defeated a Democratic alternative to H Con Res 71 (above) that called for increasing spending on domestic programs including education, infrastructure, housing, science, transportation and research and development; implementing comprehensive immigration reform; retaining Medicare and Medicaid as entitlement programs in the social safety net; improving the Affordable Care Act; raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans; closing corporate tax loopholes and putting domestic and foreign affairs spending on a par with military outlays. The Democratic budget would increase taxes by $2.7 trillion over 10 years and result in deficits of $447 billion in 2018 and $852 billion 2027. A yes vote was to adopt the

Democratic budget. Faso: No Maloney: No GOP STUDY COMMITTEE’S BUDGET: Voting 139 in favor and 281 opposed, the House on Oct. 5 defeated the most fiscally harsh of several 10-year budget plans pending before the chamber. Drafted by the conservative Republican Study Committee and aiming for balance in six years, this budget called for slashing trillions from federal spending, inflicting its deepest cuts on domestic and foreign affairs programs and entitlements including Medicare and Medicaid. This plan, which also called for changing Social Security and repealing the Affordable Care Act, was similar to the underlying GOP budget (H Con Res 71, above) in its proposed levels of tax cuts and military spending. A yes vote was to adopt the Republican Study Committee budget.

Faso: No Maloney: No BLACK CAUCUS BUDGET:

Voting 130 in favor and 292 opposed, the House on Oct. 4 defeated an alternative 10-year budget proposal by the Congressional Black Caucus. In contrast to the Republican budget (H Con Res 71, above), this plan would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans by $3.9 trillion and curtail tax provisions that favor the rich, using the new revenue to fund programs in areas including

K-12 and higher education, infrastructure, employment and healthcare. The Black Caucus budget also called for adding a public option to the Affordable Care Act, expanding Pell Grants, boosting historically black colleges and universities and reducing interest rates on student loans. The Black Caucus budget proposed a $497 billion fiscal 2018 deficit. A yes vote was to adopt the Congressional Black Caucus budget.

Faso: No Maloney: No PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS

BUDGET: Voting 108 in favor and 314 opposed, the House on Oct. 4 defeated a 10-year budget proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus as an alternative to H Con Res 71 (above). In part, the plan would use deficit spending and tax increases on wealthy Americans to finance an expansion of domestic programs. It called for investing $2 trillion in infrastructure and $1 trillion in early childhood education and universal child care; increasing the minimum wage and narrowing the pay equity gap; improving the Affordable Care Act while allowing states to adopt single-payer systems; implementing comprehensive immigration reform; public financing of federal campaigns; providing $200 billion in hurricane aid; and funding for student loan refinancing. The caucus said its budget plan would produce a fiscal 2018 deficit of $520 billion. A yes vote was to adopt the Progressive Caucus budget.

Faso: No Maloney: No

SENATE

FCC CONFIRMATION’: Voting 52-41, the Senate on Oct. 2 confirmed the nomination of Ajit V. Pai, 44, for a second five-year term on the Federal Communications Commission. He will continue to chair the five-member panel that regulates interstate communications ranging from radio to broadband Pai drew opposition, in part, over his plan to repeal the FCC’s “net neutrality” rule, which requires service providers such as Verizon and ComCast to treat all Internet traffic equally. Critics say repeal would lead to the creation of a tiered system including fast lanes for websites and apps willing to pay more for speedier delivery of their content. A yes vote was to confirm Pai.

Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.:

No Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.: No

COMING UP

The House this week will take up a bill providing $29 billion in post-hurricane disaster aid, while the Senate will debate the fiscal 2018 congressional budget resolution.