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Area Votes in Congress

WASHINGTON - Here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress voted on major issues last week: House Select committee on Benghazi attack. On a vote of 232-186, the House on Thursday approved a resolution (H Res 567) to establish a select committee to investigate U.S. government actions before, during, and after an attack on the American consulate in Beng

WASHINGTON - Here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress voted on major issues last week:

House

Select committee on Benghazi attack. On a vote of 232-186, the House on Thursday approved a resolution (H Res 567) to establish a select committee to investigate U.S. government actions before, during, and after an attack on the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11, 2012, that resulted in the deaths of Christopher Stevens, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, and three other Americans.

A yes vote was to establish a Benghazi committee.

Voting yes: 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: Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), John Carney (D., Del.), Matt Cartwright (D., Pa.), and Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.).

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

Business tax credits. By a vote of 274-131, the House on Friday passed a Republican-drafted bill (HR 4438) to expand the research-and-development tax credit for businesses and make it permanent instead of subject to periodic renewal as it is now. The bill would increase annual deficits by a total of $156 billion over its first 11 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where it is likely to die.

Voting yes: Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, Pitts, and Smith.

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

Not voting: Runyan and Schwartz.

Charter schools funding. Voting 360-45, the House on Friday passed a bill (HR 10) to authorize $300 million annually through fiscal 2020 for charter schools in U.S. communities. The bill would provide grants to states for developing and expanding charter schools and for leveraging private loans for capital improvements.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Voting yes: Brady, Carney, Cartwright, Dent, Fattah, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Meehan, and Pitts.

Not voting: Runyan, Schwartz, and Smith.

Lois Lerner in contempt. By a vote of 231-187, the House on Wednesday approved a contempt-of-Congress citation (H Res 574) against Lois G. Lerner over her refusal to answer a House committee's questions about improper Internal Revenue Service targeting of organizations seeking tax-exempt status under Section 501(c) 4 of the tax code. Lerner, now retired, was head of an IRS division that singled out organizations for scrutiny based on their name, with many conservative groups and a lesser number of liberal organizations receiving special attention, according to the Treasury Department's inspector general.

A yes vote was to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress.

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

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

Not voting: Schwartz.

Fifth Amendment protections. Voting 191-224, the House on Wednesday defeated a Democratic bid for testimony from legal experts on the question of whether Lerner waived her constitutional right against self-incrimination in an appearance a year earlier before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

A yes vote backed the Democratic-sponsored motion.

Voting yes: Brady, Carney, Cartwright, and Fattah.

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

Not voting: Schwartz.

Appointment of special counsel. By a vote of 250-168, the House on Wednesday passed a nonbinding resolution (H Res 565) calling upon Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to appoint a special counsel, or independent prosecutor, to investigate the Internal Revenue Service's improper targeting of groups filing for tax-exempt status under Section 501(c) 4 of the tax code.

A yes vote was to adopt the Republican-sponsored resolution.

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

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

Not voting: Schwartz.

Senate

Bipartisan energy efficiency. Voting 79-20, the Senate on Tuesday advanced a bipartisan bill (S 2262) to promote energy efficiency in residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the U.S. economy and in the federal government, the nation's largest energy consumer.

A yes vote was to advance the bill.

Voting yes: Cory Booker (D., N.J.), Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Chris Coons (D., Del.), Robert Menendez (D., N.J.), and Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).

This week. The House will be in recess, while the Senate will resume debate on a bill to increase energy efficiency in all sectors of the economy.