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Voterama in Congress, week ending July 20, 2012
How Illinois lawmakers voted in Congress Week ending July 20
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Updated: July 27, 2012 4:04PM
House of Representatives
2013 Military Budget: Members passed, 326-90, a 2013 military budget of nearly $606 billion, including $87.7 billion for war in Afghanistan and other theaters and $35.1 billion for military health care. A yes vote was to send a budget containing a 1.7 percent military pay raise to the Senate. (HR 5856)
Defense-Spending Freeze: Members voted, 247-167, to freeze the core defense budget for fiscal 2013 at the 2012 level of $518 billion while protecting military health care and pay levels and $87.7 billion in war outlays from cuts. Eighty-nine Republicans and 158 Democrats backed the measure. A yes vote was to trim the 2013 defense budget (HR 5856) by $1 billion.
`Star Wars’ Budget: Members refused, 150-268, to cut the 2013 budget for the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Program by 7 percent to the $900 million level sought by the Pentagon. A yes vote was to cut a “Star Wars” system from the 1980s that has not yet been tested in fully simulated war conditions. (HR 5856)
Military Bands Budget: Members defeated, 166-250, a bid to cut spending next year for the 140 U.S. military bands from $388 million to $200 million and use the savings to lower the deficit. A yes vote backed a nearly 50 percent cut in the fiscal 2013 budget for military bands. (HR 5856)
Senate
Repatriating American Jobs: Senators failed, 56-42, to reach 60 votes for ending GOP blockage of a Democratic bill granting tax incentives to encourage companies to bring overseas jobs home or not send them abroad in the first place. A yes vote was to advance the bill (S 3364).
Disclose Act Filibuster: Senators failed, 51-44, to reach 60 votes for ending a Republican filibuster of a Democratic bill to require donors of $10,000 or more to presidential and congressional campaigns to be promptly identified to the public. A yes vote backed a bill known as the Disclose Act. (S 3369)
Key votes ahead
In the week of July 23, the House will debate bills to promote offshore drilling and cut red tape for small businesses, while the Senate will take up a bill to end Bush-era tax cuts for individuals with taxable incomes over $200,000 and for couples with incomes over $250,000.
