WASHINGTON -- Here's how area members of Congress voted in the week ending Jan. 15. The Senate did not meet.
HOUSE
-FIRST OBAMA VETO: Voting 143 for and 245 against, the House on Jan. 13 failed to override President Obama's veto of a short-term appropriations bill (HJ Res 64) that Congress originally thought would be needed to temporarily fund the government in late December. But the bill proved to be irrelevant when the last round of regular fiscal 2010 appropriations became law a few days earlier than expected. This prompted Obama to veto the stopgap bill as unnecessary. It was his first veto.
Some observers said Obama didn't have to veto HJ Res 64 formally because it had already succumbed to a pocket veto. Pocket vetoes occur when Congress is adjourned and a president fails to sign a bill within the ten days allowed by the Constitution. Obama received the measure from Congress on Dec. 19 and vetoed it Dec. 30. Other observers said a pocket veto did not occur because Congress, or at least the Senate, was in session for part of the ten-day window.
A yes vote was to override Obama's first veto.
Voting yes: Howard Coble, R-6, Sue Myrick, R-9, Patrick McHenry, R-10
Voting no: G.K. Butterfield, D-1, Bob Etheridge, D-2, Walter Jones, R-3, David Price, D-4, Virginia Foxx, R-5, Mike McIntyre, D-7, Larry Kissell, D-8, Melvin Watt, D-12, Brad Miller, D-13
-MARTIN LUTHER KING: Voting 379 for and none against, the House on Jan. 13 adopted a measure (H Res 1002) honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and emphasizing that the federal holiday in his name Jan. 18 is a national day of service.
A yes vote was to adopt the resolution.
Voting yes: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, Foxx, Coble, McIntyre, Kissell, Myrick, McHenry, Watt, Miller
Not voting: Shuler
