Votes

The House on Thursday approved a rule outlining debate for H.R. 2551, the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act. The rule was approved in a 239-172 vote.

Approval came after brief debate in which Democrats said they opposed the bill because it cuts congressional agencies but leaves untouched the salaries of members of Congress.

“This cut will result in layoffs and pay cuts for members of the staff,” argued Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.).

The House on Thursday afternoon rejected an attempt by House Democrats to abandon legislation they say would gut last year's Wall Street reform bill.

Democrats forced a vote on whether the bill, H.R. 1315, should even be considered on the House floor today by arguing that the Republican bill weakens the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). But as expected, the House voted in favor of continuing on with the bill by a 227-173 vote.

Members of the House on Wednesday afternoon approved a resolution expressing support for a one-year extension of import sanctions against Myanmar, formerly Burma. The House passed H.J.Res. 66 by voice vote.

The non-controversial measure was brought up under a suspension of House rules, requiring a two-thirds vote.

The House on Wednesday approved a rule allowing consideration of H.R. 2553, which would extend airport and airway taxes for about six weeks. These taxes help fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) but will expire on Friday unless extended.

The rule for the bill was approved in a 242-178 vote, and members were expected to debate and vote on the extension later Wednesday.

But while the bill is cast as an extension of FAA taxes through Sept. 16, it would also make key changes to the Essential Air Service program (EAS), which subsidizes air service in smaller communities. The EAS program costs about $200 million per year.

Republican presidential candidates Reps. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Ron Paul (Texas) each voted against the House Republican "cut, cap and balance" bill on Tuesday night.

Bachmann and Paul were joined by seven other Republicans who voted against the plan to cut spending by more than $100 billion in 2012, cap spending over the next decade and prohibit more borrowing until Congress passes a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.

Republicans' budget plan passes on a mostly party-line vote, but the bill is unlikely to go any further.

The House on Tuesday afternoon easily approved the rule for the controversial Republican "cut, cap and balance" bill, H.R. 2560.

The rule was approved on a 236-177 vote. Every Republican voted for the rule, along with just two Democrats.

The House on Monday evening easily approved H.R. 33, the Church Plan Investment Clarification Act, by a 310-1 vote.

The only "no" vote came from Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), who said afterwards that it creates a special exemption for church retirement accounts but not others. "I support deregulation, but I cannot support favoring one interest over another w/o objective criteria for doing so," he said on his Facebook page.

The House on Friday narrowly approved a 2012 appropriations bill funding the Department of Energy and related agencies.

Members approved the bill, H.R. 2354, by a 219-196 vote. All but 21 Republicans voted for the bill, along with just 10 Democrats.

The House on Friday voted down several proposals to significantly cut spending to the 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, including one amendment to cut another $1.5 billion from the bill.

The bill, H.R. 2354, already cuts about $1 billion from fiscal 2011 levels, and proposals to go beyond that were met with resistance from both Democrats and Republicans.