Votes from the 107th Congress
Senate
7/9/02:
Yucca Mountain Repository Site Approval Act
The Senate caved
to the powerful nuclear industry, voting to override Nevada's veto
and approve the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. This risky
proposal will not solve our nation's nuclear waste storage problem,
and will needlessly expose millions of Americans to the threat of a
nuclear accident.
5/21/02:
Kerry Amendment to the Baucus-Grassley fast-track trade
bill
The Kerry Amendment to the Baucus-Grassley fast-track
trade bill would have limited expansion of NAFTA-style corporate
lawsuits to more countries.
4/25/02:
Motion to table the Carper-Specter Fuel Economy Amendment to save
one million barrels of oil per day
An amendment introduced by
Senators Carper (D-DE) and Specter (R-PA) would reduce oil
consumption by cars and light trucks by at least one million barrels
(mbd) of oil every day by 2015.
4/25/02:
Harkin amendment to weaken air conditioner efficiency
standards
Senator Harkin (D-IA) introduced an amendment that
would weaken the 30% efficiency increase standard for residential
air conditioners currently in the energy bill.
4/25/02:
Motion to table the Feinstein-Boxer amendment to remove liability
waiver for renewable fuels
The Senate energy bill exempts
renewable fuels and renewable fuel additives from federal and state
product liability protections. The Boxer-Feinstein amendment would
close this loophole by ensuring that renewable fuels are not subject
to a lesser liability standard than other motor vehicle fuels or
fuel additives.
4/24/02:
Motion to table the Fitzgerald amendment to exclude garbage
incineration from the definition of biomass and renewable
energy
Senator Fitzgerald (R-IL) introduced an amendment to
clarify the definition of biomass and renewable energy in the
Federal Purchase Requirement and the Renewable Portfolio Standard
(RPS).
4/24/02:
Motion to table the Nickles amendment to undermine the Renewable
Portfolio Standard
Senator Nickles (R-OK) offered an
amendment to weaken the enforcement provisions of the RPS by
lowering the cost cap to 1.5 cents instead of the current 3 cents in
the bill.
4/18/02:
Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Senate
rejected efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil
drilling. The amendment offered by Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK)
would have opened up environmentally senstive parts of the coastal
plain of the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling and exploration.
4/10/02:
Feinstein Amendment to Energy Bill
The Senate failed to pass
an amendment to the energy bill that would have cleaned up some of
the dirty and secretive energy trading practices that contributed to
the Enron scandal.
3/21/02: Kyl
Amendment to Strip Renewable Portfolio Standard
The Senate
Energy bill drafted by Senator Daschle (D-SD) and Senator Bingaman
(D-NM) included a national renewable portfolio standard of 10% by
2020. Senator Kyl (R-AZ) proposed an amendment to completely strip
the modest renewable energy provision from the underlying bill and
replace it with a voluntary state program that would allow consumers
to be charged more for "green energy".
3/20/02:
Campaign Finance Reform
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of
2002 (better known as the Shays-Meehan bill) - H.R. 2356 - passed
the U.S. Senate on March 20 by a vote of 60 to 40. This is the
House-passed version of the McCain-Feingold bill that passed the
Senate in April, 2001.
3/14/02:
Jeffords Amendment: 20% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by
2020
The Renewable Portfolio Standard Amendment introduced by
Senator Jeffords (I-VT) would have required 20% of our electricity
to be generated by clean, renewable energy sources -- like solar and
wind -- by 2020.
3/13/02:
Raising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards
An
amendment, offered by Senators Carl Levin (D-MI), and Christopher
Bond (R-MO), removing the language in the energy bill that would
have raised miles per gallon standards to 35 miles per gallon by
2013. The Levin-Bond amendment passed 62-38.
02/06/02:
Limiting Subsidies to Industrial Livestock Operations
An
amendment to the Farm Bill (S. 1731) that would have limited the
amount of federal subsidies that Concentrated Animal Feeding
Operations (CAFOs) could receive. The amendment, offered by Senator
Paul Wellstone (D-MN), failed by a vote of 44-52.
12/13/01:
Enforcing Environmental Laws in the Farm Bill
An amendment
to the Farm Bill (S. 1731) that would have allowed the President to
override health, environmental and worker safety protections based
on the economic impact these laws would have on agricultural
producers. The amendment, offered by Senator Christopher Bond
(R-MO), was defeated by a vote of 54 to 43.
7/12/01:
Protection of Endangered Species
An amendment to the Interior
Department funding bill that would have suspended Endangered Species
Act protections for three endangered fisheries in the Klamath Basin
of Oregon and California. The amendment, offered by Sen. Gordon
Smith (R-OR) was tabled by the Senate by a vote of 52 to 48.
7/11/01:
Protection for our National Monuments
An amendment to the
Interior Department funding bill was approved that would protect our
National Monuments from destructive oil drilling and mining
activities. The amendment, offered by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL),
passed the Senate by a voice vote after an attempt to table the
amendment failed by a vote of 42 to 57.
4/5/01:
Increased Funding for Environmental Programs
A vote for an
amendment to the budget resolution that would have restored cuts and
increased funding for environmental programs. The Corzine amendment
to the Fiscal Year 2002 budget (H. Con. Res. 83) failed in the
Senate 46 to 54.
4/2/01:
Campaign Finance Reform
The vote on final passage of the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001 (better known as the
McCain-Feingold bill) - S.B. 27 - passed in the Senate by a vote of
59 to 41.
02/01/01:
Nomination of John Ashcroft for Attorney General
A vote on
the nomination of John Ashcroft for Attorney General. Ashcroft has a
long history of anti-environmental positions and actions. The
nomination passed the Senate 58 to 42.
01/30/01:
Nomination of Gale Norton for Interior Secretary
A vote on
the nomination of Gale Norton for Interior Secretary. Norton has a
long history of anti-environmental positions and actions. The
nomination passed the Senate 75 to 24.
House of Representatives
7/27/02:
Fast Track Trade Legislation
Fast track trade legislation (HR
3009) authorizes President Bush to negotiate expansion of
anti-environmental trade deals such as the North American Free Trade
Agreement but denies Congress its constitutional right to amend
trade agreements that are not in the public interest.
5/8/02:
Yucca Mountain Repository Site Approval Act
The House caved
to the powerful nuclear industry, voting to override Nevada's veto
and approve the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump. This is a risky
proposal that would needlessly expose millions of Americans to the
threat of a nuclear accident or attack.
2/14/02:
Campaign Finance Reform
A vote on the Bipartisan Campaign
Reform Act of 2001 (better known as the Shays-Meehan bill. The House
voted by a margin of 240-189 to pass Campaign Finance Reform.
12/6/01:
Approving "Fast Track" Trade Authority
A bill that grants
"Fast Track" trade authority, which denies Congress its
constitutional right to fix trade deals made by the Executive
Branch, even when those trade deals threaten environmental, health
and safety laws. "Fast Track" known as H.R. 3005, the "Trade
Promotion Authority Act of 2001," sponsored by Congressman Bill
Thomas (R-CA) passed the House of Representatives by a single vote,
215-214.
10/04/2001:
Increased Funding For Farm Conservation Programs
An amendment
to the Farm Bill that would have increased financial incentives to
farmers to protect wetlands, clean water and open space. The
amendment, offered by Representatives Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Ron
Kind (D-WI), Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), and John Dingell (D-MI), was
defeated by a vote of 200-226.
8/01/01:
Protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from Oil
Drilling
An amendment to the Energy Act of 2001 (H.R. 4) that
would have eliminated a provision that seeks to open the coastal
plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. The US
House of Representatives rejected, by a vote of 223-206, an
amendment offered by Representatives Ed Markey (D-MA) and Nancy
Johnson (R-CT) to strike the provision and protect the Refuge from
drilling.
8/1/01:
Increasing Fuel Economy Standards
An amendment to the Energy
Act of 2001 (H.R. 4) that would have increased fuel economy
standards by closing the light truck loophole that allows SUVs and
other light trucks to meet a lower fuel economy (CAFE) standard than
cars currently meet. The amendment offered by Representatives
Boehlert (R-NY) and Markey (D-MA) failed by a vote of 160 to
269.
7/27/01:
Prohibiting EPA from delaying or weakening the standard for arsenic
in drinking water
A vote to prohibit the EPA from expending
funds to delay or weaken the standard for arsenic in drinking water.
The amendment to the VA-HUD-Independent Agencies appropriations bill
(H.R. 2620), offered by Reps. David Bonior (D-MI) and Henry Waxman
(D-CA), passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of
218-189.
7/27/01:
Restoring $25 million to the EPA's enforcement budget
A vote
to restore $25 million to the EPA's budget for enforcement and
compliance assurance staff. The amendment to the VA-HUD-Independent
Agencies appropriations bill (H.R. 2620), offered by Reps. Robert
Menendez (D-NJ), David Obey (D-WI), Henry Waxman (D-CA), Frank
Pallone (D-NJ) and John Tierney (D-MA), failed in the House of
Representatives by a vote of 182-214.
6/28/01:
Protection from Oil and Gas Drilling in the Great Lakes
A
vote to prevent oil or gas drilling from land beneath the water of
the Great Lakes. The amendment, offered by Rep. David Bonior (D-MI),
Bart Stupak (D-MI), Steven Latourette (R-OH) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill (H.R. 2311), passed the
House of Representatives 265 to 157.
6/21/01:
Protection for our National Monuments
An amendment to the
Interior Department funding bill that would protect our National
Monuments from destructive oil drilling and mining activities. The
amendment, offered by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), passed the House of
Representatives by a vote of 242 to 173.
6/21/01:
Protecting Public Water and Local Communities from Polluting Mining
Activities
A vote to keep in place critical environmental
regulations needed to protect against damage from hardrock mining
operations. The amendment to the Department of Interior
appropriations bill (H.R. 2217), offered by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA)
and Steve Horn (R-CA), passed the House of Representatives 216 to
194.
6/21/01:
Destructive Oil and Gas Development off Florida's Coastline
A
vote to prohibit oil and gas drilling in certain areas off Florida's
coasts. The amendment from Representatives Jim Davis (D-FL) and Joe
Scarborough (R-FL) to the Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 2217)
passed the House of Representatives 247 to 164.
5/16/01:
Restrictions on International Family Planning Assistance
The
House approved an amendment to the Foreign Relations Authorization
Act (H.R. 1646) to maintain the global gag rule, which restricts the
actions of overseas family planning programs. This amendment,
introduced by Representative Henry Hyde (R-IL), passed by a vote of
218 to 210.
3/28/01:
Increased Funding for Environmental Programs
A vote for a
substitute budget that included increased funding for environmental
programs. The Spratt amendment to the Fiscal Year 2002 budget (H.
Con. Res. 83) failed in the House of Representatives 183 to 243.
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