Budget, Taxes, and the Economy
(20) HR 384: Troubled Asset Relief Program - Meeting Observation
January 15, 2009 - Hensarling, R-Texas, amendment that would remove the Treasury secretary's authority to delegate an observer to attend meetings of the board of directors of institutions the program assists. Rejected 151-274.
Vote: Nay
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(23) HR 384: Troubled Asset Relief Program - Previous Fund Usage Analysis
January 21, 2009 - Hinchey, D-N.Y., amendment that would require the Treasury Department to obtain information from the program's recipients on use of funds allocated under the program in 2008 and require the Treasury to conduct analysis of those funds within 30 days of the bill's
Vote: Yea
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(38) HR 1: Economic Stimulus - Question of Consideration
January 27, 2009 - Question of whether the House should consider the bill that would provide $815.8 billion for tax cuts and additional spending to stimulate the economy.
Vote: Nay
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(39) HR 1: Economic Stimulus - Question of Consideration
January 28, 2009 - Question of whether the House should consider the rule (H Res 92) to provide for House floor consideration of the bill that would provide $815.8 billion for tax cuts and additional spending to stimulate the economy.
Vote: Nay
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(42) House Vote 42 - HR 1: Economic Stimulus - Elimination of Appropriations
January 28, 2009 - Neugebauer, R-Texas, amendment that would strike all appropriations from the measure. Rejected 134-302.
Vote: Yea
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(44) HR 1: Economic Stimulus – Substitute
January 28, 2009 - Camp, R-Mich., substitute amendment that would provide tax credits to individuals who do not have access to group health insurance policies and buy individual policies. It would extend, through 2009, the $7,500 tax credit provided by a 2008 housing bill for first-time homebuyers, and require buyers to make a minimum of 5 percent down payment to be eligible. The amendment would allow businesses to carryback operating losses in 2008 and 2009 for five years, excluding companies that received funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program; extend unemployment insurance through 2009 and temporarily exempt unemployment insurance for taxes.
Vote: Yea
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(45) House Vote 35 - HR 1: Economic Stimulus – Rule
January 28, 2009 - Lewis, R-Calif., motion to recommit the bill to the Appropriations Committee with instructions that would provide $36 billion for highway infrastructure and $24 billion for the Army Corp. of Engineers, and strike more than $100 billion in funding for new or unauthorized programs. Rejected 159-270
Vote: Yea
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(46) HR 1: Economic Stimulus – Passage
January 28, 2009 - Passage of the bill that would provide, through fiscal 2019, $550 billion for upgrades to transportation, infrastructure, construction, health care programs, education and housing assistance, and energy efficiency projects, and $275 billion in personal and business tax credits. The measure would provide for a tax credit in 2009 and 2010 of up to $500 for individuals or $1,000 for married couples filing jointly, excluding individuals whose gross income exceeds $75,000 or $150,000 for joint returns. It would provide a temporary increase in earned income tax credit for families with three or more children, provide a partially refundable tax credit for higher education expenses and waive a repayment requirement enacted in a 2008 housing law for first-time homebuyers. The bill would permit businesses to carry back their operating losses in 2008 and 2009 for up to five years, excluding companies that received funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. It would overturn a 2008 IRS notice that allowed companies that acquired or merged with troubled banks to receive more favorable tax treatment for bad debts and losses assumed from acquiring banks.
Vote: Yea
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Business and Labor
(8) HR 12: Paycheck Equality - Passage
January 09, 2009 - Passage of the bill that would require employers seeking to justify unequal pay for male and female workers to prove that such disparities are job-related and required by a business necessity. It would bar retaliation by employers against employees who share salary information with their co-workers. Workers who won wage discrimination cases could collect compensatory and punitive damages.
Vote: Nay
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(9) HR 11: Wage Discrimination - Passage
January 09, 2009 - Passage of the bill that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to allow employees to file charges of pay discrimination within 180 days of the last received paycheck affected by the alleged discriminatory decision. The bill would clarify that an employee is entitled to up to two years of back-pay if it is determined that discrimination occurred.
Vote: Nay
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(26) HR 384: Troubled Asset Relief Program – Passage
January 21, 2009 - Passage of the bill that would set conditions on the use of the second $350 billion provided under a 2008 law to buy certain mortgage assets. It would require the Treasury to commit between $40 billion and $100 billion for foreclosure mitigation, require the Treasury to begin committing funds within a week of enactment to develop a plan to prevent and mitigate foreclosures on residential mortgages, and authorize the Treasury to provide assistance to domestic automobile manufacturers under the program. It would require fund recipients to report quarterly on the amount of lending and related activities attributable to the program's assistance and prohibit recipients from purchasing other financial institutions unless authorized by the Treasury.
Vote: Nay
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(27) H J Res 3: Troubled Asset Relief Program Disapproval – Passage
January 22, 2009 - Passage of the joint resolution that would prevent the release of the second half of the $700 billion provided under the 2008 financial industry bailout law.
Vote: Yea
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(37) S 181: Wage Discrimination – Passage
January 27, 2009 - Adoption of the rule (H Res 88) to provide for House floor consideration of the bill that would provide $815.8 billion for tax cuts and additional spending to stimulate the economy. Adopted 235-191.
Vote: Nay
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Congress/Federal Government
(1) Quorum Call - Call of the House
January 06, 2009 - Quorum was present with 428 members responding.
Vote: Present
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(2) Election of the Speaker
January 06, 2009 - Nomination of Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, for Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 111th Congress.
Vote: Nay
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(3) H Res 5: House Organizing Resolution - Motion to Commit
January 06, 2009 - Dreier, R-Calif., motion to commit the resolution that would set the rules for the 111th Congress to a select committee comprised of the majority and minority leaders language that would remove six-year term limits on committee chairmanships. Rejected 174-249.
Vote: Yea
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(4) H Res 5: House Organizing Resolution - Adoption
January 06, 2009 - Adoption of the resolution that would set the rules for the 111th Congress. It also would remove six-year term limits on committee chairmanships, allow exceptions to pay-as-you-go rules for provisions designated as emergency spending and allow bills that do not meet PAYGO requirements to be combined with other bills that have the offsets. Adopted 242-181.
Vote: Yea
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(5) HR 35: Presidential Records - Passage
January 07, 2009 - Towns, D-N.Y., motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would allow a former president to request that the current president claim executive privilege over the release of the past president's records, but not require the current president to assert the privilege.
Vote: Yea
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(6) HR 36: Presidential Libraries - Passage
January 07, 2009 - Towns, D-N.Y., motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would require fundraising organizations to report contributors whose donations to presidential libraries total $200 or more in a quarter. The measure would require the National Archives and Records Administration to post the information on a searchable public Web site.
Vote: Yea
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(12) H Res 50: Claiborne Pell Tribute - Adoption
January 13, 2009 - Hinojosa, D-Texas, motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would honor the life of former Rhode Island Sen. Claiborne Pell (1961-1997), who died Jan. 1, 2009, at age 90. Pell was the original sponsor of the legislation that created the Pell grant, a program that provides financial aid to college students.
Vote: Yea
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(13) H Res 43: Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute - Adoption
January 13, 2009 - Hinojosa, D-Texas, motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would encourage Americans to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through community service projects on Martin Luther King Day, and recognize the value of community service and volunteerism consistent with King's values and work.
Vote: Yea
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(18) H Res 40: Committee Program Oversight – Adoption
January 14, 2009 - Cardoza, D-Calif., motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would amend House rules to require congressional committees hold at least one meeting every 120 days on waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in government programs under the committee's jurisdiction. It also would require committees to hold hearings in any session in which they receive certain information indicating the programs are at high risk for abuse.
Vote: Yea
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Domestic Issues
(11) H Res 41: National Mentoring Month - Adoption
January 13, 2009 - Hinojosa, D-Texas, motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would support the goals and ideals of a National Mentoring Month, recognize those who volunteer to mentor children and encourage more people to volunteer as mentors.
Vote: Yea
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(29) House Vote 29 - H Res 58: University of Florida Football Team Tribute – Adoption
January 22, 2009 - Loebsack, D-Iowa, motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would commend the University of Florida football team for winning the Bowl Championship Series National Championship.
Vote: Yea
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(30) H Res 31: National Data Privacy Day – Adoption
January 26, 2009 - Welch, D-Vt., motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would support the designation of a "National Data Privacy Day," encourage state and local governments to observe the day with activities that promote awareness of data privacy and encourage data privacy education.
Vote: Yea
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(31) H Res 84: Tribute to Flight 1549 – Adoption
January 26, 2009 - Costello, D-Ill., motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would honor the actions of the pilot, crew and rescuers of the US Airways Flight 1549 that landed in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009, shortly after departing LaGuardia Airport in New York.
Vote: Yea
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(41) S 328: Digital Television Transition – Passage
January 28, 2009 - Boucher, D-Va., motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would postpone the date, from Feb. 17 to June 12, 2009, by which full-power television stations must cease analog broadcasts. It would extend, from March 31 to July 31, 2009, the period that households can obtain coupons for converter boxes. It also would allow low-power stations to submit compensation requests for the cost of purchasing conversion devices and require the Federal Communications Commission to extend license terms for the recovered analog spectrum. Rejected 258-168.
Vote: Yea
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Education
(7) HR 12: Paycheck Equality - Recommit
January 09, 2009 - Price, R-Ga., motion to recommit the bill to the Education and Labor Committee with an amendment stipulating employers found liable would not be required to compensate for expert fees in excess of $2,000 per hour in discrimination cases described in the measure. Rejected 178-240.
Vote: Yea
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(28) H Res 56: National Counseling Week – Adoption
January 22, 2009 - Loebsack, D-Iowa, motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would honor the contributions of school counselors in elementary and secondary schools, and encourage the observation of "National Counseling Week" with activities that promote awareness of the role school counselors play in students' lives.
Vote: Yea
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(36) S 181: Wage Discrimination – Commit
January 27, 2009 - McKeon, R-Calif., motion to commit the bill to the Education and Labor Committee. Rejected 176-250.
Vote: Yea
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Foreign Affairs and Immigration
(10) H Res 34: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - Adoption
January 09, 2009 - Berman, D-Calif., motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would express support and a commitment for the security of Israel, express that Hamas must end attacks against Israel and reiterate support for a resolution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict achieved through negotiations.
Vote: Yea
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Health Care
(15) HR 2: Children's Health Insurance - Recommit
January 14, 2009 - Deal, R-Ga., motion to recommit the bill to the Energy and Commerce Committee with instructions that it be reported back forthwith after replacing the text with language that would reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program for seven years, require states to insure 90 percent of children under 200 percent of the poverty level before expanding the program to higher income levels, increase restrictions on the eligibility of legal and illegal immigrants for the program, and pay for the expansion by making changes to the corporate tax code. Rejected 179-247.
Vote: Yea
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(16) HR 2: Children's Health Insurance - Passage
January 14, 2009 - Passage of the bill that would reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program at nearly $60 billion over four-and-a-half years, expanding the program by $35 billion. To offset the cost of the expansion, it would increase the tax on cigarettes by 61 cents to $1 per pack and raise taxes on other tobacco products. The measure would allow states to provide pregnant women and children of legal immigrants with coverage under the program. The bill would limit program eligibility to families earning three times the federal poverty level or less and would require states to phase out coverage of childless adults by October 2010.
Vote: Nay
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Housing
(19) HR 384: Troubled Asset Relief Program - Foreclosure Mitigation
January 15, 2009 - Frank, D-Mass., amendment that would require the Treasury to commit between $40 billion and $100 billion for foreclosure mitigation. The funds would come from the second $350 billion provided under a 2008 law to buy certain mortgage assets. The amendment would create an office within the Treasury Department to monitor whether the program's fund recipients are including minorities and women in management and other positions, would require recipients of the program's funds protect renters living in properties undergoing foreclosure and would allow the Treasury to apply the measure's executive compensation restrictions retroactively to institutions that have already received assistance under the program. Adopted 275-152.
Vote: Nay
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(21) HR 384: Troubled Asset Relief Program - HOPE for Homeowners
January 15, 2009 - Bachmann, R-Minn., amendment that would eliminate certain changes and additional funding for the HOPE for Homeowners program. Rejected 142-282.
Vote: Yea
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(22) HR 384: Troubled Asset Relief Program - Federal Reserve Disclosures
January 15, 2009 - Murphy, D-Pa., amendment that would require the Federal Reserve to disclose information regarding the agency's mortgage-backed securities purchase program. Adopted 426-0.
Vote: Yea
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Transportation and Homeland Security
(43) HR 1: Economic Stimulus - Amtrak Capital Grants
January 28, 2009 - Flake, R-Ariz., amendment that would strike language allowing the Transportation secretary to make certain capital grants to Amtrak.
Vote: Yea
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