2004 Voting Record
HOW THE VOTING RECORD REPORT IS ARRANGED
My complete voting record for the 2nd Session of the 108th Congress includes the votes I cast in 2004. Providing my complete voting record continues my practice each Congressman Wolfyear of making available for the people I represent my votes on all matters coming before Congress. Public accountability is among my most important responsibilities as a member of Congress.
There were 544 roll call votes during the 2nd Session of the 108th Congress. Included in those roll call votes were 84 procedural votes, such as rules for consideration of bills and resolutions, approval of the Speaker’s journal (or the minutes of the previous day’s business), quorum calls, motions to adjourn, motions to table votes, and motions to rise from consideration of legislation. Those procedural votes are not listed in this report. I missed only nine votes for a voting attendance record of 98.3 percent.
This report is arranged by general subject areas as follows: each vote begins with the roll call number with a period, followed in bold type by the number of the bill or resolution being considered and a short description of the question on which the vote was taken, including amendments, motions and passage. Next my own vote on the measure is listed in bold type by either a “yes” or “no.” The vote of the entire House follows indicated by either “passed” or “failed” with the vote total, followed by the date on which the vote occurred. Votes taken under suspension of the rules are so noted and an explanation of that procedure may be found in the glossary.
Agriculture & Rural Affairs
- 363. H.R. 4766, FY 2005 agriculture appropriations. Amendment to increase funding by $5 million for the prevention of sudden oak death, a disease killing oaks and other plant species mainly in the western United States, and offset the cost by cuts in the Agriculture Buildings and Facilities Rental Payments account. No. Passed 260-160. 7/13/04.
- 364. H.R. 4766. Amendment to increase funding by $18 million for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and offset the cost by cuts in the Agriculture buildings and facilities accounts. No. Passed 223-197. 7/13/04.
- 366. H.R. 4766. Amendment to increase funding by $250,000 for the Office of the Secretary for Civil Rights and $1.5 million for research and education activities, and offset the cost by cutting funding for rural development programs. No. Failed 205-209. 7/13/04.
- 367. H.R. 4766. Amendment to prohibit funds under the food stamp program from being used to contravene existing immigration law requiring that food stamp applicants have an affidavit of support by a sponsor. No. Failed 156-262. 7/13/04.
- 368. H.R. 4766. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds in the bill to carry out the activities of the Market Access Program which funds the advertising and marketing of agricultural products overseas.No. Failed 72-347. 7/13/04.
- 369. H.R. 4766. Amendment to increase funding by $6 million for the farmers market promotion program and offset the cost by reducing funds in the Office of the Chief Information Officer account. No. Failed 206-213. 7/13/04.
- 370. H.R. 4766. On passage of the bill to provide $83.7 billion in FY 2005 appropriations for agriculture, rural development and nutrition programs. Yes. Passed 389-31. 7/13/04.
Appropriations
- 478. H.J.Res. 107, FY 2005 continuing appropriations. Motion to recommit the joint resolution to the House Appropriations Committee with instructions to increase funding for the Veterans Health Administration, lift the cap on private military housing, implement the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for 750,000 children, eliminate $1 billion in special student loan subsidies and provide additional funding for FBI counterterrorism and counterintelligence programs, education and health programs. No. Failed 200-221. 9/29/04.
- 479. H.J.Res. 107. To provide continuing FY 2005 appropriations through November 20 for all federal departments and agencies whose regular FY 2005 appropriations bills have not been enacted. Yes. Passed 389-32. 9/29/04.
- 500. H.R. 5212, FY 2005 supplemental appropriations. Amendment to offset the $11 billion of the emergency supplemental appropriations for disaster relief with a proportional reduction of FY 2005 discretionary spending and exempt the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs from the cuts. No. Failed 89-321. 10/6/04.
- 501. H.R. 5212. On passage of the bill to provide $11 billion in FY 2005 emergency supplemental appropriations for hurricane victims in Florida and other states and $2.9 billion in FY 2005 emergency supplemental appropriations for U.S. agricultural producers affected by drought conditions. Yes. Passed 412-0. 10/6/04.
- 542. H.R. 4818, FY 2005 omnibus appropriations conference report. On passage of the bill to provide FY 2005 appropriations for all federal departments and agencies whose FY 2005 spending bills have not as yet been enacted, incorporating nine appropriations bills: Agriculture; Commerce-Justice-State; Energy and Water; Foreign Operations; Interior; Labor-HHS-Education; Transportation and Treasury; Legislative Branch, and VA-HUD. Yes. Passed 344-51. 11/20/04.
Budget, Taxes, Revenue
- 88. H.Con.Res. 393, FY 2005 budget resolution. Substitute amendment to provide for $43.3 billion in additional spending including $30.5 billion for non-defense programs and $12.8 fo defense, homeland security and veterans’ programs, and $5 billion for deficit reduction in FY 2005, including rescinding tax cuts for individuals with over $200,000 in gross income, closing several tax loopholes, and reducing funding for the ballistic missile defense program. No. Failed 119-302. 3/25/04.
- 89. H.Con.Res. 393. Substitute amendment to provide for a balanced budget by FY 2012 and reduce the deficit by half over the next two years, including deferring additional tax cuts or other proposals to create additional budgetary obligations until Congress and the president have taken action to reduce the deficit, and to allow for a one-year extension of the $1,000 child tax credit, marriage penalty relief, and the 10 percent tax bracket, and allow for an extension of the tax cuts after 2010 subject to pay-as-you-go rules. No. Failed 183-243. 3/25/04.
- 90. H.Con.Res. 393. Substitute amendment to provide procedural protection for $182.6 billion in tax cuts over five years, while reducing the deficit by half in three years; reduce non-defense, non-homeland security discretionary spending by 1 percent from FY 2004 levels, and scale back the growth on non-Social Security mandatory spending by 1 percent in FY 2005. No. Failed 116- 309. 3/25/04.
- 91. H.Con.Res. 393. Substitute amendment to provide for a balanced budget by FY 2012 and allow discretionary spending to keep pace with inflation, including allowing for an extension of certain tax cuts, including the $1,000 child tax credit, while reducing tax cuts for individuals with over $500,000 in annual income, and establish a pay-as-you-go point of order procedure that could be raised against any tax cuts or spending increases that are not offset. No. Failed 194-232. 3/25/04.
- 92. H.Con.Res. 393. To adopt the FY 2005 budget resolution to set broad spending and revenue targets over the next five years including $821.3 billion in discretionary spending for FY 2005 with $50 billion in additional FY 2005 spending to support military operations in Iraq; provide for $152.6 billion in tax cuts over five years and a reduction in the budget deficit by half by FY 2009; allow mandatory spending to rise by 5 percent in FY 2005, and allow a 7 percent increase in defense spending and a 12 percent increase in homeland security spending in FY 2005. Yes. Passed 215-212. 3/25/04.
- 97. S.Con.Res. 95, FY 2005 budget resolution. To instruct House conferees to accept provisions in the Senate version of the budget resolution that would subject any tax cut or mandatory spending increase to either a pay-as-you-go offset or a 60-vote point of order in the Senate. No. Failed 209-209. 3/30/04.
- 136. H.R. 4181, permanent extension of marriage penalty tax provisions. Substitute amendment to permanently extend tax provisions eliminating the marriage penalty and prevent the alternative minimum tax from negating the benefits of the bill for married couples, offsetting the cost of the legislation by imposing a 3.6 percent surtax on taxpayers earning more than $500,000 a year and married couples with annual incomes of more than $1 million. No. Failed 189-226. 4/28/04.
- 137. H.R. 4181. Motion to recommit the bill to the Ways and Means Committee with instructions to add language that would require the Treasury secretary to certify that there is sufficient room under the current debt ceiling to provide funds for the bill. No. Failed 199-220. 4/28/04.
- 138. H.R. 4181. On passage of the bill to permanently extend tax provisions eliminating the marriage penalty by making the standard deduction for married couples double that of single taxpayers, increasing the upper limit of the 15 percent tax bracket for married couples to twice that of singles, and making permanent higher income limits for married couples eligible to receive the refundable earned-income tax credit. Yes. Passed 323-95. 4/28/04.
- 143. H.R. 4227, alternative minimum tax (AMT) relief. Substitute amendment to exempt individuals with adjusted gross incomes of less than $125,000 and married couples with incomes below $250,000 from the AMT in 2005 and phase in AMT liability for individuals with income of $125,000 to $145,000 and married taxpayers with income of $250,000 to $290,000, and offset the cost by restricting certain tax shelter transactions. No. Failed 197-228. 5/5/05.
- 144. H.R. 4277. On passage of the bill to extend for one year the current income exemptions for the AMT – up to $40,250 for individual taxpayers and $58,000 for married couples. Yes. Passed 333-89. 5/5/04.
- 145. S.Con.Res. 95, FY 2005 budget resolution. Motion to instruct House conferees to accept provisions in the Senate version of the budget resolution that would subject any tax cut or mandatory spending expansion to either a pay-as-you-go offset or a 60-vote point of order in the Senate. No. Failed 208-215. 5/5/04.
- 161. H.R. 4279, health benefit plan flexibility. Substitute amendment to allow up to $500 of unused benefits in an employee’s health flexible spending account (FSA) to be carried over to the next year’s FSA and offset the cost by eliminating some tax provisions including denying some tax benefits to domestic corporations that reincorporate overseas to avoid U.S. income taxes. No. Failed 197-230. 5/12/04.
- 162. H.R. 4279. Motion to recommit the bill to the House Ways and Means Committee with instructions to amend the bill to ensure that it would not affect the Social Security or Medicare trust funds. No. Failed 202-224. 5/12/04.
- 163. H.R. 4279. On passage of the bill to permit up to $500 of unused funds in an employee’s health flexible spending account to be carried over to the next year or transferred to the employee’s health savings account. Yes. Passed 273-152. 5/12/04.
- 169. H.R. 4275, permanent extension of 10 percent tax bracket. Substitute amendment to extend through 2010 the current upper limit of the 10 percent income tax bracket and ensure that the bill’s tax provision would not be affected by the alternative minimum tax; provide that the permanent extension would apply only on passage of legislation that balances the budget by FY 2014 without using the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, and offset the cost of the bill by applying an additional tax of 1.9 percent for 2005 through 2010 on individuals with incomes of more than $500,000 a year and married taxpayers with incomes of more than $1 million. No. Failed 190-227. 5/13/04.
- 170. H.R. 4275. On passage of the bill to make permanent the current upper limit of the 10 percent income tax bracket of $7,000 for individuals and $14,000 for couples, which are set to revert to $6,000 and $12,000 respectively in 2005. Yes. Passed 344-76. 5/13/04.
- 171. S.Con.Res. 95. Motion to instruct House conferees on the budget resolution to accept provisions in the Senate version that would subject any tax cut or mandatory spending expansion to either a pay-as-you-go offset or a 60-vote point of order in the Senate. No. Failed 2070-211. 5/13/04.
- 198. S.Con.Res. 95. To adopt the conference report on the FY 2005 budget resolution to set broad spending and revenue targets including $821.4 billion in discretionary spending and an additional $50 billion for operations in Iraq and apply pay-as-you-go rules to both spending and tax cuts until April 15, 2005, while exempting tax cuts contained in reconciliation legislation. Yes. Passed 216-213. 5/19/04.
- 208. H.R. 4359, child tax credit extension. Substitute amendment to extend through 2010 the $1,000 child tax credit, but provide that permanent extension would apply only on passage of legislation that balances the budget by 2014 without using Social Security and Medicare trust funds, and offset the cost of the bill by applying an additional tax of 2.75 percent for 2005 through 2010 on individuals with incomes of more than $500,000 a year and married taxpayers with incomes of more than $1 million.No. Failed 187-226. 5/20/04.
- 209. H.R. 4359. On passage of the bill to permanently extend the $1,000 per child tax credit scheduled to revert to $700 per child in 2005, increase the amount of income a taxpayer may earn before the credit begins to phase out from $75,000 to $125,000 for single individuals and from $110,000 to $250,000 for married couples, and allow military personnel to include combat pay in their gross earnings to calculate eligibility for the child tax credit. Yes. Passed 271-139. 5/20/04.
- 222. H.R. 4109, to allow taxpayers 65 years of age and older who do not itemize their tax deductions to file their taxes using a new, simplified “1040S” income tax return form based on the 1040EZ tax form.Yes. Passed 418-0, under suspension of rules. 6/2/04.
- 258. H.R. 4520, American Jobs Creation Act. Motion to recommit the bill to the House Ways and Means Committee with instructions to strike the provisions of the bill and insert language that would revoke the export tax break for U.S. manufacturers; allow taxpayers to deduct from their federal taxable income either state sales or state income tax payments, and offset the cost by eliminating certain tax provisions, including denying some tax benefits to domestic corporations that reincorporate overseas to avoid U.S. income taxes. No. Failed 193-235. 6/17/04.
- 259. H.R. 4520. On passage of the bill to revoke an export tax break for U.S. manufacturers ruled an illegal trade subsidy by the World Trade Organization and provide for some $140 billion in new corporate tax cuts, provide revenue raising offsets to reduce the cost of the bill to $34.4 billion over 11 years and include a buyout for tobacco farmers not to exceed $9.6 billion. No. Passed 251-178. 6/17/04.
- 301. H.Res. 695, to revise the conference report on the FY 2005 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 95) to provide $14.2 billion in additional funds for education, homeland security, veterans, health and other programs and offset the increased spending by reducing or eliminating $18.9 billion in tax cuts for couples with incomes or more than $1 million and using the remaining $4.7 billion for deficit reduction.No. Failed 184-230. 6/24/04.
- 305. H.R. 4663, Spending Control Act. Amendment to establish a 12-member Federal Sunset Commission to review all federal agencies for their efficiency, effectiveness, redundancy and need. No. Passed 272-140. 6/24/04.
- 306. H.R. 4663. Amendment to replace the current 20 budget functions in budget resolutions with five categories: mandatory spending, defense discretionary spending, non-defense discretionary spending, emergency spending and interest on the debt. No. Failed 126-290. 6/24/04.
- 307. H.R. 4663. Amendment to eliminate the requirement to provide budget authority and outlays for the 20 separate functions in budget resolutions and provide House and Senate Budget committees discretion to include any functional categories they deem appropriate in the budget resolution. No.Failed 185-230. 6/24/04.
- 308. H.R. 4663. Amendment to limit annual spending increases for entitlement programs other than Social Security to the growth in inflation plus the increase in the number of eligible beneficiaries. No. Failed 96-317. 6/24/04.
- 309. H.R. 4663. Amendment to provide for an automatic continuing resolution if appropriations bills are not passed by the beginning of the fiscal year and set spending levels at or below the prior year’s level. No. Failed 111-304. 6/24/04.
- 310. H.R. 4663. Amendment to require the Congressional Budget Office to prepare an annual analysis comparing budgeted entitlement spending to actual entitlement spending, with an account-by-account breakdown to show spending trends. No. Passed 289-121. 6/24/04.
- 311. H.R. 4663. Amendment to change the current non-binding budget resolution from a concurrent resolution to a joint resolution that requires the president’s signature and, if signed, has the force of law. No. Failed 97-312. 6/24/04.
- 312. H.R. 4663. Amendment to establish Budget Protection Accounts for mandatory and discretionary spending which would allow Congress to place budget savings in a “lockbox” to be used for deficit reduction at the end of the fiscal year. No. Failed 137-272. 6/24/04.
- 313. H.R. 4663. Amendment to provide for expedited congressional consideration of presidential proposals to eliminate specific spending items in appropriations bills. No. Failed 174-237. 6/24/04.
- 314. H.R. 4663. Substitute amendment to restore pay-as-you-go rules for new tax cuts and mandatory spending increases through September 30, 2009, and set discretionary spending caps of $832.5 billion in FY 2005 and $856.9 billion in FY 2006. No. Failed 179-233. 6/24/04.
- 315. H.R. 4663. Substitute amendment to change the current budget process including turning the non-binding concurrent budget resolution into a joint resolution having the force of law and requiring a two-thirds super-majority vote in both the House and Senate for spending that exceeds the budget. No. Failed 88-326. 6/24/04.
- 316. H.R. 4663. Substitute amendment to change the current budget process including restoring pay-as-you-go offset requirements for mandatory spending increases for FYs 2005, 2006 and 2007 and placing a cap on entitlement spending, with the exception of Social Security and Medicare, and requiring automatic cuts in entitlement spending in any year in which spending exceeds the cap. No. Failed 120-296. 6/24/04.
- 317. H.R. 4663. Motion to recommit the bill to the Budget Committee with instructions to restore pay-as-you-go rules for both tax cuts and mandatory spending. No. Failed 196-218. 6/24/04.
- 318. H.R. 4663. On passage of the bill to make changes in budget enforcement rules, setting statutory caps on discretionary spending for FYs 2005 and 2006 and instituting pay-as-you-go rules that require mandatory spending increases to be offset. No. Failed 146-268. 6/24/04.