House votes
Democratic Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree
Vote 1: Transfers of intelligence funds: The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., to the Intelligence Authorization Act (HR 754). The amendment would strike a bill provision to establish certain transfer accounts for intelligence funds and make a technical clarification. Rogers said the provision required technical changes that should be reserved for the fiscal 2012 intelligence authorization. An opponent, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., said the transfer accounts would improve auditing of government spending and “save us money in the long run.” The vote, on May 13, was 224 yeas to 174 nays.
NAYS: Michaud, Pingree
Vote 2: Redundancies in intelligence operations: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Chris Gibson, R-N.Y., to the Intelligence Authorization Act (HR 754). The amendment would require the Director of National Intelligence to submit a report on recommendations for consolidating intelligence operations to Congress by the end of the year. Gibson said that given the growth of intelligence agencies since the 9/11 al-Qaida attacks in the United States, it was desirable to “look for ways to consolidate all that growth so that we can continue to have effective intel operations” without excessive spending. An opponent, Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., said the Director of National Intelligence was already seeking to “identify redundancies without sacrificing core missions” and the amendment was unnecessary. The vote, on May 13, was 278 yeas to 123 nays.
YEAS: Michaud
NAYS: Pingree
Vote 3: Investigating human rights violations in Argentina: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., to the Intelligence Authorization Act (HR 754). The amendment would have required the Director of National Intelligence to provide House and Senate intelligence committees with information on human rights violations by the military government of Argentina in the 1970s and 1980s. Hinchey said that “given the close relationship with their Argentine counterparts in the intelligence, security and military community, the documentation of the American intelligence community” likely would help in investigations of the violations and in the search for children of mothers believed to have been killed by the government. An opponent, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said the amendment “would divert the intelligence community from its mission of protecting the United States and our interests from current threats.” The vote, on May 13, was 194 yeas to 214 nays.
YEAS: Michaud, Pingree
Vote 4: Intelligence and railways: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. John Carney, D-Del., to the Intelligence Authorization Act (HR 754). The amendment would state the sense of Congress that intelligence agencies should include railways and subway systems in their transportation security planning. Carney cited past terrorist attacks on rail systems and evidence of al Qaida plans for a rail attack in the U.S. as justification for the amendment. An opponent, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said the amendment belonged in legislation funding the Transportation Security Administration, and said it addressed an issue that was “really out of the scope of the intelligence community.” The vote, on May 13, was 221 yeas to 189 nays.
YEAS: Michaud, Pingree
Vote 5: Intelligence and Osama bin Laden: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., to the Intelligence Authorization Act (HR 754). The amendment would commend intelligence agencies for their success in the effort to kill Osama bin Laden and their actions against al Qaida. Reed said “the diligent, painstaking work of our intelligence services made possible the recent successful action carried out by our military against Osama bin Laden.” The vote, on May 13, was unanimous with 406 yeas.
YEAS: Michaud, Pingree
Vote 6: Appropriations for Intelligence: The House has passed the Intelligence Authorization Act (HR 754), sponsored by Rep. Mike J. Rogers, R-Mich. The bill would authorize appropriations for intelligence activities by the CIA and other government security agencies. Rogers said it made important commitments to intelligence priorities, including investments in new technology to improve the effectiveness of intelligence efforts and restored “effective and aggressive congressional oversight” by having Congress specifically address intelligence authorization for the first time in six years. The vote, on May 13, was 392 yeas to 15 nays.
YEAS: Michaud, Pingree
Senate votes
Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe
Vote 1: District judge for California: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Edward Milton Chen to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California. A supporter, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., cited Chen’s decade of experience as a magistrate judge in the district and his prior work as a civil rights lawyer in calling Chen a “highly qualified and respected nominee.” An opponent, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Chen appeared to believe that “judges should interpret the law according to their personal understandings and preferences.” The vote, on May 10, was 56 yeas to 42 nays.
YEAS: Collins, Snowe
Vote 2: Circuit court of appeals judge: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Susan L. Carney to serve as a U.S. Circuit Judge for the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals. A supporter, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., cited her decades of experience as a private practice attorney and as deputy general counsel at Yale as “giving her a breadth of experience that truly qualifies her to serve on the Second Circuit.” The vote, on May 17, was 71 yeas to 28 nays.
YEAS: Collins, Snowe
Vote 3: Taxing large oil companies: The Senate has rejected a cloture motion to cut off debate on the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act (S 940), sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. Menendez said that by closing several tax exemptions for the five largest oil companies, the federal government could save $2 billion annually. He argued that “there simply is no commonsense explanation for balancing the budget on the backs of working families and letting multibillion-dollar oil companies keep billions in taxpayer dollars.” An opponent, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said that by increasing taxes on the companies, the bill would “decrease supply and increase our dependence on foreign countries,” while failing to lower gas prices for Americans. The vote, on May 17, was 52 yeas to 48 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for cloture.
YEAS: Collins, Snowe
Vote 4: Circuit court of appeals nominee: The Senate has rejected a cloture motion to cut off debate on the nomination of Goodwin Liu to serve as a U.S. Circuit Judge for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. A supporter, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., cited his record as a government official, lawyer and law professor, and his extensive support from bipartisan lawyers and politicians. Boxer argued that the filibuster against Liu’s nomination was unfairly based on political and ideological considerations. An opponent, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said Liu did not have sufficient legal experience and believed in an activist judiciary that was “fundamentally at odds with the principles on which our system of government is based.” The vote, on May 19, was 52 yeas to 43 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for cloture.
NAYS: Collins, Snowe
Compiled by Targeted News Service for the Bangor Daily News.