Pay for Reservists

By a vote of 354 to 57, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 3209) to make up pay that federal workers lost during active duty in the Persian Gulf War. An estimated 17,000 civil servants and postal workers lost money because of the lower military paycheck. The Office of Management and Budget estimates that the bill will cost $12 million, while the Congressional Budget Office calls it deficit-neutral.

Supporter Constance A. Morella (R-Md.) said the measure would not worsen the deficit because it spends previously appropriated sums.

Opponent John J. Rhodes III (R-Ariz.) said, “I simply do not believe it is appropriate or fair for us to set aside a certain class of individual reservists” for special benefit.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

How They Voted Rep. Anderson (D): Yea Rep. Dixon (D): Yea Rep. Dymally (D): Yea Rep. Gallegly (R): Nay Rep. Levine (D): No vote Rep. Rohrabacher (R): No vote

Support for Tax Cut

On a vote of 206 to 200, the House reaffirmed support for middle-class tax cuts contained in HR 4210, the economic recovery measure. The House later took up the conference report on the bill.

Supporter Robert T. Matsui (D-Sacramento) said members voting no “are essentially telling the middle class that they are not concerned about their interests.”

Opponent Robert S. Walker (R-Pa.) said a yes vote meant that “as the economy is beginning perhaps to inch out of recession, what you want to do is raise (upper income) taxes and throw it back.”

A yes vote supported the middle-class tax cuts in HR 4210.

How They Voted Rep. Anderson (D): Yea Rep. Dixon (D): Yea Rep. Dymally (D): Yea Rep. Gallegly (R): Nay Rep. Levine (D): No vote Rep. Rohrabacher (R): No vote

Tax Plan Report

By a vote of 211 to 189, the House sent the Senate the conference report on HR 4210 (above). The Senate cleared the bill for President Bush’s promised veto. The measure provides limited tax credits for singles with adjusted gross incomes of $50,000 or less and couples with incomes under $70,000. It raises the top rate from 31% to 36% for singles above $115,000 and couples above $140,000, and places a 10% surtax on millionaires.

Supporter Les AuCoin (D-Ore.) said the bill “will give working families a $300 tax credit. That may not sound like much to the House Republican leaders, but . . . in Oregon that means a month’s rent and that means a great deal.”

Opponent Jim McCrery (R-La.) said “this is not a bill to create jobs, it’s a bill to buy votes, an attempt to ignite class warfare in the United States.”

A yes vote supported the Democrats’ tax measure.

How They Voted Rep. Anderson (D): Yea Rep. Dixon (D): Yea Rep. Dymally (D): No vote Rep. Gallegly (R): Nay Rep. Levine (D): No vote Rep. Rohrabacher (R): Nay