How your U.S. lawmakers voted

WASHINGTON — Here's how the state's members of Congress voted on major roll calls in the week ending Friday.

HOUSE

Presidential records access: By a vote of 333-93, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 1255) nullifying a 2001 executive order by President Bush impeding public and historians' access to presidential records. Bush's order empowers future and past presidents and vice presidents to deny or strictly limit access to their papers. This bill would reinvigorate a post-Watergate law making most White House documents publicly accessible without undue delay.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Jay Inslee, D-1; Rick Larsen, D-2; Brian Baird, D-3; Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-5; Norm Dicks, D-6; Jim McDermott, D-7; Dave Reichert, R-8; Adam Smith, D-9.

Voting no: Doc Hastings, R-4.

Freedom of Information Act: By a vote of 308-117, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 1309) requiring agencies to be more responsive to requests filed under the 1967 Freedom of Information Act. In part, the bill requires agencies to respond to requests within 20 days, establishes a public tracking system for monitoring pending requests, authorizes a government-wide ombudsman to mediate disputes over FOIA issues and codifies the presumption that information should always be released unless it falls into an exempted category such as personnel or national security.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Inslee, Larsen, Baird, McMorris Rodgers, Dicks, McDermott, Reichert, Smith.

Voting no: Hastings.

Presidential library donors: By a vote of 390-34, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 1254) requiring public disclosure of those who contribute more than $200 toward the funding of presidential libraries, which cost hundreds of millions of dollars to establish and rely on private contributions. The requirement would expire four years after a president leaves office.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Inslee, Larsen, Baird, Hastings, McMorris Rodgers, Dicks, McDermott, Reichert, Smith.

Whistleblower protections: By a vote of 331-94, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 985) extending whistleblower protections to civil servants at national-security agencies such as the FBI and CIA and to private-sector employees of government contractors.

The bill also would protect federal employees who blow the whistle on superiors seeking to suppress or distort scientific research for political reasons.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Inslee, Larsen, Baird, McMorris Rodgers, Dicks, McDermott, Reichert, Smith.

Voting no: Hastings.

Science whistleblowing: By a vote of 159-271, the House on Wednesday defeated an amendment to strip HR 985 (above) of whistleblower protections for government workers who allege their superiors are suppressing or misrepresenting science for political purposes.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Hastings, McMorris Rodgers.

Voting no: Inslee, Larsen, Baird, Dicks, McDermott, Reichert, Smith.

Federal contracts oversight: By a vote of 347-73, the House on Thursday passed a bill (HR 1362) to tighten federal contracting procedures with a focus on the sole-source awards that have figured into allegedly fraudulent contracts for work in Iraq. The bill requires agencies to publicize their reasons for awarding sole-source rather than competitively bid contracts and requires such contracts to expire when the emergency conditions used to justify them have abated.

The bill also requires automatic notification of Congress whenever a federal auditor uncovers at least $10 million in suspected fraud; tightens revolving-door rules against agency officials negotiating future employment with contractors; requires greater use of fixed-price rather than cost-plus contracts; and directs a beefing up of the federal procurement workforce.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Inslee, Larsen, Baird, Hastings, McMorris Rodgers, Dicks, McDermott, Reichert, Smith.

Campus military recruiting: By a vote of 309-114, the House on Thursday amended HR 1362 (above) to prohibit the award of federal contracts to colleges or universities that ban or impede on-campus military recruiting.

A yes vote backed the prohibition.

Voting yes: Inslee, Larsen, Baird, Hastings, McMorris Rodgers, Dicks, Reichert, Smith.

Voting no: McDermott.

SENATE

Iraq troop withdrawal: By a vote of 48-50, the Senate on Thursday defeated a binding measure (SJ Res 9) to start U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq within four months of enactment. The measure, which needed 60 votes for approval, suggested March 31, 2008, as the date for completing the pullout while leaving a residual force to protect American interests, train Iraqi forces and pursue terrorists.

A yes vote backed the resolution.

Voting yes: Maria Cantwell, D; Patty Murray, D.

Troop funding support: By a vote of 82-16, the Senate on Thursday approved a companion measure to SJ Res 9 (above) declaring opposition in advance to any spending cuts that would "endanger United States military forces in the field" in Iraq.

A yes vote backed the resolution.

Voting yes: Cantwell.

Voting no: Murray.

9/11 Commission reforms: By a vote of 60-38, the Senate on Tuesday passed a bill (S 4) to enact several outstanding recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and provide federal airport screeners with collective-bargaining rights but not the right to strike.

In part, the bill (S 4) would require more rigorous inspection of air cargo and passengers for explosives; establish an independent board with subpoena power to protect civil liberties against government policies; increase funding of systems that enable police, firefighters and other first responders to talk to one another; increase funding to protect rail transportation and chemical plants.

The bill also would require homeland-security grants to be awarded more on the basis of risk, not politics; establish programs reaching out to Arab youth and promoting economic development in Arab nations; and increase funding of programs to keep loose nuclear materials out of enemy hands.

A yes vote was to send the bill to House-Senate conference.

Voting yes: Cantwell, Murray.

Five-year sunset: By a vote of 60-38, the Senate on Tuesday tabled an amendment to sunset, or terminate, all provisions in S 4 (above) after five years as a way of forcing Congress to re-focus its attention at that time on homeland-security issues.

A yes vote opposed the sunset amendment.

Voting yes: Cantwell, Murray.

Roll Call Report Syndicate