Roll Call
BY TARGETED NEWS SERVICE
Sunday, December 02, 2012
12/02/12 at 5:29 AM
WASHINGTON - Here is how Oklahoma's members of the House of Representatives and Senate voted on key bills and amendments. A "Y" means the member voted for the measure; an "N" means the member voted against the measure; a "?" means the member did not vote.
HOUSE
Vote 1: Trade with Russia: The House has passed the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act (H.R. 6156), sponsored by Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich. The bill would extend permanent normal trade relations for products produced by Russia and Moldova. The vote, on Nov. 16, was 365 yeas to 43 nays.
Vote 2: Grants for medical preparedness: The House has passed the Medical Preparedness Allowable Use Act (H.R. 5997), sponsored by Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis, R-Fla. The bill would amend the Homeland Security Act to codify authorization of grant funding for state and urban medical programs to prepare for disasters and terrorist attacks. The vote, on Tuesday, was 397 yeas to 1 nay.
Vote 3 - Border security: The House has agreed to the Senate amendment to the Jaime Zapata Border Enforcement Security Task Force Act (H.R. 915), sponsored by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas. The bill would create a Border Enforcement Security Task Force to coordinate border policing by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The vote, on Nov. 27, was 397 yeas to 4 nays.
DB: Dan Boren (D)
TC: Tom Cole (R)
JL: James Lankford (R)
FL: Frank Lucas (R)
JS: John Sullivan (R)
House vote
| Issue | DB | TC | JL | FL | JS |
| Vote 1: | ? | Y | Y | Y | ? |
| Vote 2: | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
| Vote 3: | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y |
SENATE
Vote 1 - Sportsmen's act: The Senate has rejected a motion to waive a budget point of order for the Sportsmen's Act (S. 3525), sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. The bill would expand access to federal lands for hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing and would promote the conservation of land and wildlife. The vote, on Nov. 26, was 50 yeas to 44 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to waive the point of order.
Vote 2 - Military use of alternative fuels: The Senate has approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), that would remove a bill provision limiting the military's spending on biodiesel and other alternative fuels.
Udall said the provision would prevent the Defense Department from pursuing energy security and instead force the military to "rely on an energy source that is quickly eating away at their capabilities and effectiveness. That means our people are less prepared when they go into harm's way, and they are less ready to fight when it matters most." An opponent, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said that without the limit, the military would "spend greater proportions of its already depleted funds on an expensive green energy agenda." The vote, on Nov. 28, was 62 yeas to 37 nays.
Vote 3 - Benefits for emergency responders: The Senate has approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), that would expand the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program to cover emergency medical responders and also make various reforms to the program. Leahy said: "Since 1974, this country has recognized that we have first responders who are killed and disabled in the line of duty whose families deserve our help. This bipartisan legislation does that."
An opponent, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said the amendment would "expand a program that is truly not a federal responsibility," and death and disability benefits for first responders should be managed by the states. The vote, on Nov. 28, was 85 yeas to 11 nays.
Vote 4 - Afghanistan war: The Senate has approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), to express the sense of Congress that the U.S. should end combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The vote, on Nov. 29, was 62 yeas to 33 nays.
Vote 5 - Military and autism treatment: The Senate has approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), that would require the military's TRICARE health insurance program to include behavioral health treatment, including applied behavior analysis, in its coverage of autism therapies. Gillibrand said the amendment "requires TRICARE to provide coverage and deliver services in a manner that is consistent with the best practices, thereby improving access to care for our military families and aligning the TRICARE policy with coverage that is basically available to anybody else in the civilian sector." An opponent, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said the amendment would cut funding for the military's operations and maintenance fund, leaving soldiers less effective by decreasing their training. The vote, on Nov. 29, was 66 yeas to 29 nays.
Vote 6 - Guantanmo Bay detainees: The Senate has approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), that would bar the transfer from the Navy's detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 166 foreign enemy combatants now being detained at Guantanamo. The vote, on Nov. 29, was 54 yeas to 41 nays.
Vote 7 - Detaining U.S. citizens: The Senate has approved an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., to the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 3254), that would state that declarations of war do not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the U.S. The vote, on Nov. 29, was 67 yeas to 29 nays.
In addition to rollcall votes, the Senate also adopted an amendment by Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., to express the sense of the Senate on ongoing efforts to apprehend or remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield and end atrocities perpetuated by his Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda.
JI: Jim Inhofe (R)
TC: Tom Coburn (R)
Senate vote
| Issue | JI | TC |
| Vote 1: | N | N |
| Vote 2: | N | N |
| Vote 3: | N | N |
| Vote 4: | N | N |
| Vote 5: | N | N |
| Vote 6: | Y | Y |
| Vote 7: | Y | Y |
