How your U.S. lawmaker voted

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

House

Children's health

By a vote of 273-156, the House on Thursday failed to reach a two-thirds majority needed to override President Bush's veto of a bill (HR 976) renewing the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for five years at a cost of $60 billion, up $35 billion from current levels. The bill would increase federal tobacco taxes from 39 cents per pack to $1 per pack to pay for the expansion.

SCHIP is a discretionary spending program run by the states and designed mainly to provide private insurance for children of low-income families that are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid. About 92 percent of the children receiving coverage under this bill would be from families earning up to twice the federal poverty level. The bill would expand coverage from 6.6 million children to 9.8 million children and deny SCHIP eligibility to children of illegal aliens and adults.

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.

Confidential sources

By a vote of 398-21, the House on Tuesday voted to shield reporters from most attempts by federal authorities to compel them to reveal their confidential sources. The bill (HR 2102), which awaits Senate action, would not apply in cases where the government can establish that the unmasking of sources is necessary to help it solve a crime or investigate leaks of national-security secrets, or when the reporter witnesses or commits a crime.

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

Rail-safety upgrade

By a vote of 377-38, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 2095) setting tougher federal requirements for railroad safety, including a 12-hour maximum workday for train and signal personnel. The bill would rename the Federal Railroad Administration as the Federal Railroad Safety Administration and authorize a four-year, $1.1 billion budget for the agency.

Now awaiting Senate action, the bill would require railroads to submit plans for measures such as reducing worker injuries attributable to fatigue; safeguarding shipment of toxic substances through cities; protecting motorists at grade crossings; and stepping-up inspections of tracks and tunnels. The bill requires the Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board to monitor railroads' follow-through on their safety plans.

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

Not voting: Smith.

Internet-tax ban

By a vote of 405-2, the House on Tuesday passed a bill (HR 3678) that would extend until November 2011 the federal ban on state and local taxation of services that provide access to the Internet. The bill awaits Senate action.

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

Not voting: Inslee.

Senate

Mine-safety budget

By a vote of 89-4, the Senate on Thursday agreed to increase the Mine Safety and Health budget by $10 million to enable it to reduce its backlog of U.S. coal-mine inspections more quickly. This amendment increased the agency's budget to about $340 million in a 2008 appropriations bill (HR 3043) for the Department of Labor and other agencies.

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

Staph containment

By a vote of 90-3, the Senate on Thursday required the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to spend at least $5 million in HR 3043 (above) to contain a strain of staph bacteria now killing more Americans than the AIDS virus.

Known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the germ has proved invulnerable to standard antibiotics. It is responsible for 19,000 deaths annually, compared to about 12,500 AIDS-related deaths, according to debate.

Voting yes: Cantwell, Murray.

Roll Call Report Syndicate