City Belt

HOW THEY VOTED: LESSENING THE HIGHER-ED BURDEN

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The Bill: H.R. 5
Date Passed: Jan. 17, 2007; 5:35 pm
About: This bill would drop the interest rate on federally-subsidized student loans from 6.8 to 3.4 percent over five years. At a time when tuition costs continue to rise, and student reliance on loans grows, this is a welcome piece of legislation, and, like many of the bill's supporters, we hope that it is one part of a larger body of legislation to help Americans afford undergraduate education, at the very least.

In the 2003-04 school year, the average amount borrowed by undergraduate students was $5,800, according to the National Center for Education Statistics -- that's a $23,200 total if the student is lucky enough to finish in four years. And that's only for an undergraduate education. As graduate studies become more necessary to gain an edge in a hostile job market, many students are coming out saddled with student loan debt upward of 50, 60, or even 75 thousand dollars. And what for? If you go for something "useful," like engineering, finance or law, you'll likely command a high salary. But what about the people I know -- the philosophy, social work, journalism, or sociology grad students? You're looking at a lot of work, a low salary, and a difficult time paying back that loan debt. 

HOW THEY VOTED: PROGRESS ON WAGES, BUT IS IT ENOUGH?

The Bill: H.R. 2
Date Passed: Jan. 10, 2007; 5:10 pm
About: The newly Democratically-controlled House passed a gradual increase in the federal minimum wage, currently at a paltry $5.15/hour, where it has been stuck since September 1, 1997. 

The bill calls for a raise to $5.85/hour to go into effect 60 days after President Bush signs it, then up to $6.55 in a year and all the way to $7.25/hour in two years. (Golly, mister, thanks!)

You may remember that the Republicans successfully blocked this meager raise by attaching it to an increased exemption for the estate tax last year. If not, we can refresh your memory.

HOW THEY VOTED: CONDEMNING A GESTURE, NOT INVESTIGATING A DEATH SENTENCE

The Bill: H Res 1082
Date Passed: December 6, 2006
About: This resolution condemns the decision of St. Denis, France, to name a street in honor of Mumia Abu-Jamal.

This month marked the 25th anniversary of Mumia Abu-Jamal’s conviction for the murder of Philadelphia policer office Daniel Faulkner – a crime in which the only evidence connecting him to the crime was manufactured. But even if you don't believe his innocence, or feel you cannot determine it -- despite the overwhelming evidence, including another man’s confession to the crime -- you’d likely concede his trial was a farce. At the very least, Abu-Jamal should be given a new, fair trial – a call echoed by Amnesty International, among others.

HOW THEY VOTED: MAKING THE WORLD A SAFE PLACE (FOR NUCLEAR WAR), REPRISE

The Bill: H R 5682 (United States and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act)
Date Passed: Nov. 16
About: This act reverses US policy, and allows India to buy American nuclear reactors and fuel, despite the fact that India has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and has tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and 1974.

This summer, we wrote about this bill when it was passed by the House. Yesterday, by a vote of 85-12, the bill passed the Senate. The Washington Post notes that many Democratic Senators voted for the bill, especially those "with close ties to the India lobby." Many Senators, bothered by India's close relationship with Iran, wanted to add a provision that would make the country essentially choose between cooperating with the U.S. or with Iran. But when India balked, so did the Senate.

And so, the bill ultimately will make the world a more dangerous place. India will be able to increase production of its nuclear weapons five-fold.

We live in a state with a large Indian population, and both Frank Lautenberg and Bob Menendez voted for this bill.

How They Voted is a regular City Belt feature breaking down how New Jersey’s congressmen voted on the bills we think are important.

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HOW THEY VOTED: USING THE LAW TO SUBVERT THE LAW

The Bill: HR 6166 (The Military Commissions Act)

Date Passed: Sept. 27, 4:45 p.m.

About: Back in June, the US Supreme Court struck down the Bush administration's post-9/11 setup of military commissions to "try" suspected al-Qaeda members being held indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This poked a large hole in the administration's legal strategy (or non-strategy) in prosecuting suspected terrorists.

It's easy to see that the reason the administration preferred this non-strategy, as opposed to actually prosecuting actual terrorists, was that they are trying to decimate terrorism through warfare. With war being innately chaotic and hellish, the administration just sort of had to say, "Fuck It," and round up all "terror suspects," be they goat herders, merchants, or farmers. Since they preferred to use military might, they then lacked the clarity with which to successfully prosecute actual perpetrators of terrorism.

With the Supreme Court ruling, then, what's a forceful and blunt world power to do?

HOW THEY VOTED: WAGE RAISE … OR TAX GIVEAWAY?

The Bill: H R 5970 (Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act)
Date Passed: July 29, 1:41 a.m.
About: This bill would raise the federal minimum wage to $5.85/hour by Jan. 1, 2007, $6.55/hour by June 1, 2008, and finally to $7.25/hour by June 1, 2009. It is currently $5.15/hour. (New Jersey’s minimum wage is $6.15/hour, and will increase to $7.15/hour on Oct. 1.)

HOW THEY VOTED: MAKING THE WORLD A SAFE PLACE (FOR NUCLEAR WAR)

The Bill: H R 5682 (United States and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act)
Date Passed: July 26, 9:17 p.m.
About: This act reverses US policy, and allows India to buy American nuclear reactors and fuel, despite the fact that India has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and has tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and 1974.

HOW THEY VOTED: BOMBS OVER BEIRUT

The Resolutions: S Res 534; H Res 921
Dates Passed: July 18; July 20
About: Last week, both houses of Congress passed strongly-worded resolutions supporting Israel’s act of “self-defense” against Lebanon. There was little to no dissent as the nation’s congressmen and women rushed to show their strength. Like those who now admit the Iraq war -- and giving Bush the authority to wage it -- was a mistake, perhaps in three years, our representatives will see their resolution condoned Israel’s murderous attacks on Lebanon.

HOW THEY VOTED: FUNDING STEM CELL RESEARCH

The Bill: H R 810 (Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act)
Date Passed: July 19, 6:51 p.m.
About: Last night, the House brought this legislation back to the floor (they had already passed it last year) in an attempt to override President Bush’s veto. The bill would have restored federal funding to new stem cells lines. In 2001, Bush created restrictions that allowed federal funding only for stem cell lines already in existence.

HOW THEY VOTED: EQUALITY IN MARRIAGE

The Resolution: H Res 88 (The “Marriage Protection Amendment”)
Date Not Passed: July 18, 2:00 p.m.
About: This resolution, which was to create a constitutional amendment defining marriage as something between a man and a woman, was largely viewed as an exercise in election-year politics. The Senate had already rejected an identical resolution last month (6/7/06), yet the House scheduled this vote anyway.

HOW THEY VOTED: MEDICAL MARIJUANA V. METH CLEANUP

The Bill: HR 5672
The Amendment: H AMDT 1143
Date Not Passed: June 28, 5:35 p.m.

About: HR 5672 is one of those huge bills that allocates money to various federal departments and agencies, like Justice, State, Commerce, etc. New York Rep. Maurice Hinchey introduced this amendment, which called on the Attorney General to halt prosecution of medical marijuana patients who were using the drug within the limits of the law of their own state. The amendment would have redirected this money to the DEA, to “assist State and local law enforcement with proper removal and disposal of hazardous materials from illegal methamphetamine labs, including funding for training, technical assistance, a container program, and purchase of equipment to adequately remove and store hazardous material.”

HOW THEY VOTED: THE WAR AGAINST THE PRESS

The Resolution: H Res 895
Date Passed: June 29, 7:27 p.m.
About: This resolution came in the wake of the New York Times (and later the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times) disclosing “a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, [in which] counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.” (New York Times, 6/22/06)

HOW THEY VOTED EXTRA: NET NEUTRALITY

Editors’ Note: This is the first of many How They Voted columns, which will break down how New Jersey’s congressmen and women voted on important bills in the House and Senate, to help us all get a better sense of where they really stand on issues.

The Bill: HR 5252 (Communications, Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006)