Area Votes in Congress

WASHINGTON - Here's how area members of Congress voted on major issues last week.

House

Military budget.

The House voted Thursday, 325-98, to authorize a $600.7 billion military budget (HR 4435) for fiscal 2015, including $74 billion for U.S. engagements in Afghanistan; $5 billion for other overseas actions; nearly $60 billion for active-duty and retiree health care; $17.9 billion for nuclear-weapons programs run by the Department of Energy; and $8.3 billion for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The bill also would fund a 1.8 percent military pay raise, bar higher copayments or enrollment fees in the military health-care system known as Tricare, and keep prosecution of sexual-assault cases in the chain of command.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.); John Carney (D., Del.); Matt Cartwright (D., Pa.); Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.); Michael Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Pat Meehan (R., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), Jon Runyan (R., N.J.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.).

Not voting: Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.).

Minimum wage, equal pay. Voting 194 for and 227 against, the House on Thursday defeated a motion by Democrats to prohibit the awarding of contracts under HR 4435 (above) to companies that fail to pay a minimum wage of $10.10 per hour or to provide pay equity between male and female employees, among other provisions.

A yes vote was to require firms to pay a $10.10 minimum wage as a condition of receiving military contracts.

Voting yes: Brady, Carney, Cartwright, Fattah, LoBiondo, Runyan, Schwartz, and Smith.

Voting no: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, Smith.

Not voting: Schwartz.

Ban on climate-change spending: Voting 231-192, the House on Thursday adopted an amendment to HR 4435 (above) that would prohibit the Department of Defense from spending funds in its fiscal 2015 budget on programs that address climate change.

A yes vote was to prohibit military spending to deal with climate change.

Voting yes: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, Meehan, Pitts, Runyan, Smith.

Voting no: Brady, Carney, Cartwright, Fattah, LoBiondo.

Not voting: Schwartz.

Senate

Federal Reserve confirmation: Voting 68-27, the Senate on Wednesday confirmed Stanley Fischer as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve System. He assumes a term that will expire Feb. 1, 2020, which became vacant when Janet Yellen was confirmed in January as Federal Reserve chai.

A yes vote was to confirm Fischer.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Chris Coons (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.).

Voting no: Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).

This week: The House will take up fiscal 2015 budgets for intelligence agencies and the Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce. The Senate will be in Memorial Day recess until the week of June 2.