THE HOUSE : Jobless Bill

By a vote of 300 to 118, the House sent President Bush a bill (S 1722) providing an additional seven, 13 or 20 weeks of unemployment checks to people who exhaust their initial allotment between March 1, 1991, and July 4, 1992. The bill’s estimated $6.4-billion onetime cost would be added to the deficit.

A yes vote was for additional jobless benefits.

How They Voted

Rep. Gallegly (R): Nay

Rep. Lagomarsino (R): Nay

Pork Barrel Dispute

By a vote of 300 to 111, the House approved $48 million to upgrade the FBI’s fingerprint examination laboratory and move it from Washington to Clarksburg, W.Va. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is orchestrating the transfer. The vote occurred during debate on an appropriations bill (HR 2608).

Supporter Alan B. Mollohan (D-W.Va.) said: “This isn’t pork at all. This money goes to a crying need. If we are going to fight crime effectively in this country, we need a modern identification system.”

Opponent Dan Burton (R-Ind.) said: “This is one of the famous pork barrel projects” that Byrd is securing for West Virginia, at the cost of worsening the deficit.

A yes vote supported the expenditure.

How They Voted

Rep. Gallegly (R): Nay

Rep. Lagomarsino (R): Nay

Moscow Embassy

The House refused, 175 to 231, to mandate construction of a third U.S. diplomatic facility in Moscow, in addition to the existing embassy and a new structure that remains unoccupied because of Soviet bugging. The vote occurred during debate on HR 2608 (above). By a non-record vote, the House later approved $100 million for open-ended plans to expand embassy space in Moscow.

Supporter Neal Smith (D-Iowa) said U.S. officials in Moscow need secure and ample work space “at this crucial time in history.”

Opponent Olympia J. Snowe (R-Me.) said that with the Soviet Union breaking apart, the United States needs less of a presence in Moscow and more involvement in the republics.

A yes vote was to mandate construction of a third embassy building in Moscow.

How They Voted

Rep. Gallegly (R): Nay

Rep. Lagomarsino (R): Nay

Check-Bouncing Probe

By a vote of 390 to 8, the House approved a resolution (HR 236) closing its bank by the end of the year. The measure also opened an Ethics Committee probe of General Accounting Office findings that many members have repeatedly abused the facility by bouncing large-sum checks and paying no penalty. “It is a scandal for members of Congress to abuse their office in this way,” Mel Hancock (R-Mo.) said in earlier floor proceedings. No member spoke against the measure.

A yes vote supported the resolution.

How They Voted

Rep. Gallegly (R): Yea

Rep. Lagomarsino (R): Yea

Source: Roll Call Report Syndicate