                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994                TAG: 9410020031
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A17  EDITION: FINAL 
                                             LENGTH: Long  :  208 lines

CONGRESSIONAL ROLL CALL

Here's how area members of Congress were recorded on major roll call votes in the week ending Sept. 30.

HOUSE

INTERSTATE WASTE: By a vote of 368 to 55, the House passed a bill (HR 4779) giving states and localities more power, under interstate commerce law, to resist municipal wastes from other states. In part, private landfills and incinerators would need local government approval to accept out-of-state shipments, and states could limit the volume of wastes they accept. New York, New Jersey, Missouri and Washington have been the largest municipal waste exporters and Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Indiana the largest importers.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Herbert H. Bateman, R-Va. No

Owen B. Pickett, D-Va. No

Robert C. Scott, D-Va. Yes

Norman Sisisky, D-Va. No

Eva Clayton, D-N.C. Yes

H. Martin Lancaster, D-N.C. No

HERITAGE AREAS: The House defeated a bill (HR 5044) to create a new Interior Department program that would establish ``American heritage'' areas throughout the country, at a cost of about $23 million annually. The 273-150 tally fell short of the two-thirds majority required for passage under a short-cut parliamentary procedure. Heritage areas were defined as those of historic or cultural significance that do not qualify for inclusion in the National Park Service. Under the bill, they would be established and funded in partnership with local, state or private interests.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Bateman Yes

Pickett Yes

Scott Yes

Sisisky Yes

Clayton Yes

Lancaster Yes

LOWELL PARK: By a vote of 165 to 215, the House rejected an amendment to cut in half a proposed $10.3 million, five-year budget for continuing development of the Lowell National Historical Park. The underlying bill (HR 4448) was then passed. Since 1978, the Interior Department has spent about $54 million to restore the Massachusetts city's 19th Century industrial character.

A yes vote was to halve spending on the Lowell, Mass., national park.

Bateman Yes

Pickett Yes

Scott Yes

Sisisky Yes

Clayton Yes

Lancaster Yes

GIFT AND LOBBY BILL: By a vote of 306 to 112, the House approved the conference report on a bill (S 349) prohibiting virtually all of the gifts, meals and vacations that special interests routinely give to members of Congress and staff. The bill also requires the thousands of lobbyists who deal with Congress to regularly disclose information about their legislative contacts, finances and other activities, under the watch of a new regulatory office in the executive branch. The measure is now before the Senate.

Supporter Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said: ``We all know how angry people are with government today. We've all been home, we've heard the cynicism, we've heard the distrust. (This bill) shows that we recognize what the problem is and that we are moving forward with a very strong solution.''

Opponent Mike Oxley, R-Ohio. said: ``I rise in opposition to this exercise in self-flagellation. We're pretty good at these kind of things. We have managed to deny ourselves for two years in a row a worthwhile cost-of-living allowance that most Americans get. So now we are going to somehow try to fool the American public with this phony reform package.''

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Bateman Yes

Pickett Yes

Scott Yes

Sisisky Yes

Clayton Yes

Lancaster Yes

GOP MOTION: By a vote of 202 for and 215 against, the House rejected a Republican bid to strip S 349 (above) of certain language concerning grass-roots contacts with Capitol Hill. The motion followed complaints by talk-show hosts, evangelical Christians and others that the bill could impede citizen communication with lawmakers.

Supporter Robert Walker, R-Pa., said: ``The problem with this bill is is that we have made a lobbying bill into a grass-roots gag that religious America is beginning to understand is aimed directly at them. . . . Group after group is coming forward yet today saying that they will no longer permit Congress to hide behind fancy titles in this bill that gag grass-roots America.''

Opponent Vic Fazio, D-Calif., said: ``This bill specifically exempts churches, their auxiliaries, their conventions or associates of churches and religious orders from any reports on grass-roots lobbying activities. That is clear. It also specifically excludes any communication which constitutes the free exercise of religion from the definition of lobbying.''

A yes vote supported the Republican motion.

Bateman Yes

Pickett Yes

Scott Yes

Sisisky Yes

Clayton Yes

Lancaster Yes

DEFENSE BUDGET: By a vote of 327 to 86, the House approved the conference report on the FY '95 defense appropriations bill (HR 4650), a $243.6 billion, post-Cold War measure that is about $10 billion below the comparable FY '94 bill. The Senate later sent the Pentagon budget to President Clinton for his signature.

Supporter John Murtha, D-Pa., said: ``While I believe the funding provided in this bill should be adequate to meet our military objectives for the upcoming fiscal year, I must admit our readiness is now on the razor's edge, and I am very concerned'' about the near future.

Opponents did not speak against the bill.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Bateman Yes

Pickett Yes

Scott Yes

Sisisky Yes

Clayton Yes

Lancaster Yes

SENATE

INTERIOR DEPT. BUDGET: By a vote of 92to 7, the Senate sent President Clinton the FY '95 budget (HR 4602) for the Department of the Interior and related agencies. The $13.6 billion measure is about one percent higher than the comparable FY '94 appropriations bill. It includes $1.4 billion for the National Park Service, down slightly from 1994; bans for one year the sale of hard-rock mineral deposits in the West under the 1872 Mining Law, and authorizes $168 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, down slightly from 1994. Also, the bill provides $167 million for a National Biological Survey while requiring the government to obtain the owner's written permission before entering private property.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

John W. Warner, R-Va. Yes

Charles S. Robb, D-Va. Yes

Jesse A. Helms, R-N.C. No

Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C. No

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES: By a vote of 83 to 16, the Senate approved the conference report on a $250.6 billion, FY '95 appropriations bill for the departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services. The amount is down $8 billion or three percent from the comparable 1994 bill. In part, it provides $13.3 billion for the Labor Department (down 11%), $27.4 billion for the Education Department (up 3%) and $208.9 billion for Health and Human Services (down nearly 4%.). The bill also provides more than $1 billion for miscellaneous agencies.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Warner Yes

Robb No

Helms Yes

Faircloth Yes

FILIBUSTER: By a vote of 57 for and 43 against, the Senate fell short of the three-fifths majority needed to end a Republican filibuster against the conference report on campaign finance reform legislation (S 3). The bill sets voluntary spending limits, provides subsidies to candidates accepting the caps, and lowers the maximum political action committee contribution from $10,000 to $6,000 per election cycle, among other provisions. It was later declared dead for the year.

A yes vote was to move to a final vote on the campaign finance reform bill.

Warner Yes

Robb No

Helms Yes

Faircloth Yes

TRANSPORTATION BILL: By a vote of 89 to 11, the Senate approved the conference report on a bill (HR 455) to appropriate $13.7 billion in FY '95 for the Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Highway Administration and other agencies. Counting highway and aviation trust funds released by the bill, the outlay reaches $38 billion. It provides several billions for nationwide highway projects, $4.2 billion for mass transit, $2.6 billion for the Coast Guard, $772 million for Amtrak and $352 million for members' special highway projects. It keeps the Interstate Commerce Commission alive at a reduced budget of $30.3 million, despite a House vote in June to kill the agency.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Warner Yes

Robb No

Helms Yes

Faircloth Yes

REFORM ISSUE: By a vote of 58 to 41, the Senate fell short of the three-fifths majority it needed to overcome a procedural hurdle and attach Congressional reform legislation to a District of Columbia appropriations bill (HR 4649). Although cleared by the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress last November, the reform package has not been debated by the Senate. In part, it calls for putting the budget on a two-year cycle, reducing the number of Senate subcommittees, pruning staff bureaucracies and streamlining debate rules to weaken the impact of filibusters.

Supporter David Boren, D-Okla., asked: ``How long are we going to wait'' to reform Congressional operations? ``Are we going to wait until there is a march on Washington?''

Opponent Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., said the D.C. appropriations bill ``is not the proper place for this amendment. . . . It would kill the bill.''

A yes vote was to attach the reform measure to an appropriations bill.

Warner Yes

Robb No

Helms Yes

Faircloth Yes