How your U.S. lawmaker voted this week

WASHINGTON — Here's how the state's members of Congress voted on major issues in the week that ended Friday.

House

Extended jobless benefits

By a vote of 403-12, the House on Thursday sent President Obama a bill providing 20 more weeks of jobless checks for those losing current allotments in states with at least 8.5 percent unemployment. The bill provides 14 additional weeks of benefits for the long-term jobless in all other states. The $2.4 billion cost would be offset by payroll-tax increases on employers. Jobless checks average $300 a week.

The bill also extends for five months an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers that is set to expire Nov. 30 and increases income limits for eligibility from $150,000 to $225,000 for couples and from $75,000 to $150,000 for individuals. The bill creates a $6,500 credit for some homebuyers who already own homes.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Jay Inslee, D-1; Rick Larsen, D-2; Brian Baird, D-3; Doc Hastings, R-4; Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-5; Norm Dicks, D-6; Jim McDermott, D-7; Dave Reichert, R-8; Adam Smith, D-9.

Credit-card rules

By a vote of 331-92, the House on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 3639) giving credit-card firms a tighter deadline for starting pro-consumer policies enacted by Congress in May. Under the bill, reforms originally required to be in place by Feb. 22, 2010, would be advanced to Dec. 1. The rationale is that the sooner the rules take effect, the easier it will be for cardholders to cope with recession.

In part, the law enacted in May requires credit-card firms to apply payments to the highest-interest portion of cardholder debt; freezes interest rates on new accounts for one year and locks in promotional rates for six months; requires 45 days' notice of rate increases; prohibits changes in contract terms until renewal; bans due-date gimmickry; allows cardholders to set personal credit limits above which transactions cannot be processed; and sets 21 as the minimum age for obtaining a card in most circumstances.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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

Voting no: Hastings, McMorris Rodgers.

Federal Reserve

By a vote of 171-253, the House on Wednesday defeated a GOP bid to allow the Federal Reserve to veto the Dec. 1 deadline in HR 3639 and keep Feb. 22, 2010, as the date for starting credit-card reforms. The Fed is charged with overseeing credit cards under terms enacted by Congress.

A yes vote backed the GOP motion.

Voting yes: Hastings, McMorris Rodgers, Reichert.

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

Chemical-plant security

By a vote of 230-193, the House on Friday passed a bill (HR 2868) to permanently extend chemical-plant security requirements that otherwise would expire in October 2010. In part, the rules require some 6,000 facilities that manufacture or store chemicals to establish plans to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks, conduct background checks on employees and allow Department of Homeland Security inspections. The bill also requires public and private sewage-treatment facilities to put in place similar anti-terrorism measures.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Inslee, Larsen, Dicks, Smith.

Voting no: Baird, Hastings, McMorris Rodgers, Reichert.

Not voting: McDermott.

Israel, United Nations

By a vote of 344-36, the House on Tuesday denounced a United Nations report that charges Israel committed war crimes by inflicting heavy civilian casualties during war in Gaza last December and January. Prepared by South African jurist Richard Goldstone for the U.N. Human Rights Council, the report also charges Hamas with war crimes in its launching of rockets against Israeli civilians. The vote adopted H Res 867, a nonbinding measure.

A yes vote backed the resolution.

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

Voting no: Baird, McDermott.

Senate

Jobless benefits, tax breaks

By a vote of 98-0, the Senate on Wednesday sent the House a bill (HR 3548) that would provide at least 14 more weeks of jobless checks to the long-term unemployed in all states and 20 more weeks to people in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent.

In addition to the provisions noted above, the bill would allow large businesses to deduct net operating losses in five previous years, rather than two years under existing law. The bill also would allow certain small, indirect investors in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme to carry back their Madoff losses over five years.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

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

Justice Department budget

By a vote of 71-28, the Senate on Thursday sent to conference with the House a bill (HR 2847) appropriating $64.4 billion for the fiscal 2010 budgets of the Justice and Commerce departments, the National Aeronautics and Space Agency and several other agencies. The bill represents a 12 percent spending increase over 2009.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Cantwell, Murray.

9/11 prisoner trials

By a vote of 54-45, the Senate on Thursday killed an amendment to HR 2847 to prohibit the government from prosecuting 9/11 terrorism suspects in federal civilian courts. The amendment sought to require suspects such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged 9/11 architect, to be tried before military commissions. The Obama administration wants the option of either civilian or military trials for 9/11 suspects.

A yes vote was to kill the amendment.

Voting yes: Murray.

Voting no: Cantwell.

Roll Call Report Syndicate