The House : Daylight-Saving Time

A bill (HR 2095) adding five weeks to daylight-saving time was passed by the House and sent to the Senate on a vote of 240 for and 157 against. Daylight time would begin four weeks earlier, on the first Sunday in April, and end one week later, on the first Sunday in November.

Supporter Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said this would save energy, cut crime, spur commerce, reduce highway deaths, benefit people with night blindness and make “trick or treating . . . a little safer for children.”

Opponent Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) said shortening morning daylight hours would cause hardship for farmers and prove hazardous to rural children who “will be forced to walk to the school bus in the dark.”

Members voting yes wanted to extend daylight-savings time by five weeks.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Beilenson (D) x Rep. Berman (D) x Rep. Fiedler (R) x Rep. Moorhead (R) x Rep. Waxman (D) x

Budget Reconciliation

By a vote of 228 for and 199 against, the House passed and sent to conference with the Senate a budget reconciliation bill (HR 3500) putting into effect some of the massive deficit reduction that Congress promised when it adopted the fiscal 1986-88 budget resolution in August.

Under the August resolution, projected deficit spending is to be lowered by $276 billion between 1986 and 1988, leaving $438 billion or more in projected new debt to be incurred during the three years.

By changing a host of federal programs, this sweeping reconciliation bill accounts for $61.1 billion of the $276 billion in estimated savings. Most of the remaining cuts are to be achieved during the normal authorization and appropriations process.

Among the bill’s most visible cuts are those affecting revenue sharing, federal civilian pay levels and certain veterans, housing, small-business and student loan programs.

Slightly offsetting the deep cuts in HR 3500 were a few programs requiring increased spending, including renewal of the basic federal housing program and pay raises for members of Congress.

House members and senators, who now earn $75,100, would get two annual raises of 5% under the bill, pushing their pay above $82,000, according to Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.).

Members voting yes wanted to enact the budget reconciliation bill.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Beilenson (D) x Rep. Berman (D) x Rep. Fiedler (R) x Rep. Moorhead (R) x Rep. Waxman (D) x

GOP Amendment Rejected

The House rejected a Republican amendment to rid the reconciliation bill (above) of $3.5 billion in spending increases, primarily for new federal programs dealing with housing, the homeless and child care. The vote was 209 for and 219 against.

Even with its smattering of new programs and spending increases, the bill meets the deficit-reduction requirements of the budget resolution. But supporters of the amendment said it was wrong to use such a vehicle to authorize additional spending.

Sponsor Delbert L. Latta (R-Ohio) said: “We’re concerned with reducing the deficit by $3.5 billion. Vote against the Latta amendment and you’re saying, ‘I want to go $3.5 billion further in the red.’ That’s the question.”

Opponent Jim Wright (D-Tex.) said the purpose of the amendment is “to second-guess the committees of the House . . . and substitute the judgment of one individual for the judgment of the committees that have been appointed to make these individual choices.”

Members voting yes supported the amendment.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Beilenson (D) x Rep. Berman (D) x Rep. Fiedler (R) x Rep. Moorhead (R) x Rep. Waxman (D) x

WHERE TO REACH THEM Anthony C. Beilenson, 23rd District (Canoga Park, Encino, Reseda)

18401 Burbank Blvd., Tarzana (818) 345-1560

Howard Berman, 26th District (Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys, Pacoima)

14600 Roscoe Blvd., Suite 506, Panorama City (818) 891-0543

Bobbi Fiedler, 21st District (Northridge, Thousand Oaks)

21053 Devonshire St.., Chatsworth (818) 341-2121

Carlos J. Moorhead, 22nd District (Santa Clarita Valley)

301 E. Colorado Blvd., Room 618, Pasadena (818) 792-6168

Henry A. Waxman, 24th District (North Hollywood)

8425 West 3rd St., Los Angeles (213) 651-1040