House Passes Welfare Reauthorization Bill
by: Cynthia Woodside
May 16, 2002
Late this afternoon, the House passed the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act (H.R. 4737) by a vote of 229 - 197. Thanks to all who made calls or sent faxes or emails urging your Representative(s) to vote "NO." We were under no illusions that we could stop the bill from passing, but we did want as much opposition as possible. The strong vote in opposition will ultimately help during negotiations with the Senate.Only 14 Democrats voted "YES." Four Republicans voted "NO." Nine members did not vote. They are listed below. If your Representative voted "NO," please call his/her office with a quick "thank you." If your Representative voted "YES," please call with a quick "I am disappointed with your vote." All Members can be reached through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121. Individual phone numbers can be access through www.house.gov.It is particularly important that calls be made to the Representatives who voted "YES" and have received support from NASW-PACE for their campaigns. Those Representatives include David Wu (Oregon, 1st District) - 202-225-0855; Bill Luther (Minnesota, 6th District) - 202-225-2271; and Earl Pomeroy (North Dakota, At Large) - 202-225-2611. PLEASE NOTE: Calls should ONLY be made by people who LIVE in their districts!
THE SENATE
Many of you reported that you were told by House staff that the Senate's welfare reauthorization bill would be better. Proposals offered thus far have been disappointing in that respect. Our next ACTION ALERT will focus on specific actions and messages to use with your Senators. Further Senate action has been postponed until after the Memorial Day Recess (May 24 - June 3).
VOTE ON FINAL PASSAGE OF H.R. 4737
Democrats Who Voted "YES"
- James Barcia - MichiganAllen Boyd - FloridaBud Cramer - AlabamaChet Edwards - TexasRalph Hall - TexasTim Holden - PennsylvaniaKen Lucas - KentuckyBill Luther - MinnesotaCollin Peterson - MinnesotaDavid Phelps - IllinoisEarl Pomeroy - North DakotaRonnie Shows - MississippiGene Taylor - Mississippi
- David Wu - Oregon
Republicans Who Voted "NO"
- John Hostettler - IndianaBrian Kerns - IndianaConnie Morella - Maryland
- Ron Paul - Texas
Representatives Who Did NOT Vote
- Steve Buyer (R-Indiana)Larry Combest (R-Texas)Peter King (R-NY)Nick Lampson (D-Texas)Frank Mascara (D-Pennsylvania)John Murtha (D-Pennsylvania)Richard Pombo (R-California)John Tanner (D-Tennessee)
- Jim Traficant (D-Ohio)
AS ALWAYS, THANKS FOR YOUR ADVOCACY!
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