WASHINGTON -- Here's how North Carolina members of Congress voted in the week ending Sept. 11.
HOUSE
- CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED: Voting 311 for and 107 against, the House on Sept. 10 passed a bill (HR 965) making permanent a federal-state program that promotes citizen involvement in restoring the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. Overseen by the National Park Service at a budget of about $1 million annually, the program provides funds and technical assistance for the conservation of water trails, wildlife refuges, historic sites and other units in the ecosystem, which is the nation's largest estuary.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Voting yes: G.K. Butterfield, D-1, Bob Etheridge, D-2, Walter Jones, R-3, David Price, D-4, Mike McIntyre, D-7, Larry Kissell, D-8, Heath Shuler , D-11, Melvin Watt, D-12, Brad Miller, D-13
Voting no: Virginia Foxx, R-5, Howard Coble, R-6, Sue Myrick, R-9, Patrick McHenry, R-10
- ANNUAL BUDGET DEFICITS: Voting 194 for and 229 against, the House on Sept. 10 rejected a Republican bid to delay the effective date of HR 965 (above) until annual budget deficits fall below $1 trillion. The fiscal 2009 deficit is projected at $1.7 trillion or higher.
Voting yes: Jones, Foxx, Coble, McIntyre, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler
Voting no: Butterfield, Etheridge, Price, Kissell, Watt, Miller
SENATE
- TOURISM IN AMERICA: Voting 79 for and 19 against, the Senate on Sept. 9 passed a bill (S 1023) that would establish a federal corporation to increase foreign travel to the U.S. and expand existing Department of Commerce tourism programs. The Corporation for Travel Promotion would be funded by assessments of about $20 million annually on the U.S. hospitality industry and $160 million annually in fees received by the Department of Homeland Security for granting visa waivers to foreign travelers. The bill awaits House action.
Voting yes: Kay Hagan, D
Voting no: Richard Burr, R
- CASS SUNSTEIN NOMINATION: The Senate on Sept. 10 confirmed, 57 for and 40 against, professor Cass R. Sunstein of the Harvard University Law School to head the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Established by the 1980 Paperwork Reduction Act, the agency has final say on the wording of new regulations, oversees the federal regulatory process and directs executive-branch policies in areas such as technology, privacy and statistics.
Voting yes: Hagan
Voting no: Burr
