Copyright 2000 The Washington Post
The Washington
Post
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February 20, 2000, Sunday, Final Edition
SECTION: LOUDOUN EXTRA; Pg. V06
LENGTH: 624 words
HEADLINE:
For the Record
BODY:
Here's how some major
bills fared recently in Congress and how local congressional members voted, as
provided by Thomas' Roll Call Report Syndicate. NV means Not Voting.
HOUSE VOTES
MARRIAGE TAX RELIEF
For: 268
/ Against: 158
The House passed a bill (HR 6) designed to eliminate the
penalty that occurs when married couples pay more income taxes than they would
if they were filing as singles. It cuts taxes by $ 182 billion over 10 years.
The bill would increase the standard deduction for couples to twice that of
single taxpayers; currently, it is about 60 percent higher. It would expand the
15 percent bracket for couples filing jointly to several thousand dollars higher
than the current ceiling. And it would raise the earned income tax credit for
low-income couples filing jointly.
Of the 51 million joint tax returns
filed in 1999, nearly half were affected by a marriage penalty that averaged $
1,141 per couple, according to the Treasury.
A yes vote was to pass the
bill.
MARYLAND
Bartlett (R) Yes
Cardin (D) No
Ehrlich (R) Yes
Gilchrest (R) Yes
Hoyer (D) No
Cummings (D) No
Morella (R) Yes
Wynn (D) No
VIRGINIA
Davis (R) Yes
Moran (D) Yes
Wolf (R) Yes
Bateman (R) Yes
Bliley (R) Yes
DEMOCRATIC SUBSTITUTE
For: 192 / Against: 233
The House defeated a Democratic alternative to HR 6 (above). It differed
from the GOP approach by delaying the marriage tax cut until laws are in place
to gradually eliminate the publicly held national debt by 2013 and ensure the
solvency of Social Security until 2050 and Medicare until 2030. The Democrats
sought cuts of $ 89 billion over 10 years and called for increasing the standard
deduction and liberalizing the earned income tax credit. But their plan did not
expand the 15 percent tax bracket.
A yes vote backed the Democratic plan
for eliminating the marriage penalty.
MARYLAND
Bartlett
(R) No
Cardin (D) Yes
Ehrlich (R) No
Gilchrest (R) No
Hoyer (D) Yes
Cummings (D) Yes
Morella (R) No
Wynn (D) Yes
VIRGINIA
Davis (R) No
Moran
(D) Yes
Wolf (R) No
Bateman (R) No
Bliley (R) No
LINCOLN BIRTHDAY PARTY
For: 385 / Against: 9
The
House passed a bill (HR 1451) establishing a commission to plan a national
celebration in 2009 of the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The 16th president
was born Feb. 12, 1809, and died April 15, 1865. The birthday planning is
expected to cost as much as $ 1.5 million through 2004.
A yes vote was
to pass the bill.
MARYLAND
Bartlett (R) Yes
Cardin (D) Yes
Ehrlich (R) Yes
Gilchrest (R) Yes
Hoyer (D) Yes
Cummings (D) Yes
Morella (R) Yes
Wynn (D) Yes
VIRGINIA
Davis (R) Yes
Moran (D) Yes
Wolf (R) Yes
Bateman (R) Yes
Bliley (R) Yes
SENATE VOTES
NUCLEAR
WASTE DISPOSAL
For: 64 / Against: 34
The Senate passed a bill (S
1287) advancing the timetable for permanently storing the nation's nuclear waste
near Yucca Mountain, Nev., 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The
bill changes a deadline for the Energy Department to open the underground
repository from 2010 to 2007. It seeks speedier resolution of environmental,
public health, national security and states' rights issues that stand in the way
of licensing and building the facility.
At first, the site would receive
more than 4,250 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel now stored above-ground at
more than 80 nuclear power plants and federal research and military facilities
in 41 states. The waste would be shipped to Nevada by truck and rail.
A
yes vote was to pass the bill.
MARYLAND
Mikulski (D) No
Sarbanes (D) No
VIRGINIA
Robb (D) Yes
Warner (R) Yes
LOAD-DATE:
February 20, 2000 
