Print

Business, Banking And Labor

  • 44. H.R. 27, Job Training Improvement Act. Amendment to strike a provision in the bill that would limit the portion of a state’s funds used for youth employment programs to 30 percent of its allotment. No. Failed 200-222. 3/2/05.
  • 45. H.R. 27. Amendment to allow unemployed workers to use funds from personal re- employment accounts to cover the borrower guarantee costs of section 7(a) loans used to start a small business. No. Failed 202-221. 3/2/05.
  • 46. H.R. 47. Amendment to strike a provision in the bill that would permit faith-based organizations to use religion as a factor in hiring decisions. No. Failed 186-239. 3/2/05.
  • 47. H.R. 47. Motion to recommit the bill to the Education and the Workforce Committee with instructions to add a provision to provide financial assistance equal to the trade adjustment assistance program for job training, job searching or relocation costs for veterans returning from active duty in Iraq and to workers who are unemployed because their jobs were moved offshore. No. Failed 197-228. 3/2/05.
  • 48. H.R. 47. On passage of the Job Training Improvement Act to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act and consolidate several employment services programs into block grants for states and authorize a pilot program to create personal unemployment accounts under which an unemployed individual would receive a voucher worth up to $3,000 for job-training and other services. Yes. Passed 224-200. 3/2/05.
  • 107. S. 256, Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act. Motion to recommit the bill to the Judiciary Committee with instructions to exempt members of the National Guard and Reserves from the means test in the bill if their debt was a result of active duty service or was incurred within two years of returning home from their service. No. Failed 200-229. 4/14/05.
  • 108. S. 256. On passage of the bankruptcy reform bill to create a means test tied to the median incomes of individual states to determine whether personal bankruptcy filers were able to repay some or all of their debts, and provide that those deemed able to pay would be pushed into Chapter 13 bankruptcy, which results in a court-ordered repayment plan, and those with insufficient assets would be allowed to file under Chapter 7, which erases debts after the forfeiture of certain assets; exempt disabled veterans from the means test if their debts were incurred primarily when they were on active duty or performing homeland defense duties, and make a number of debts non-dischargeable, including student loans, child support, alimony and luxury payments over $500 made within three months of a bankruptcy filing. Yes. Passed 302- 126. 4/14/05.
  • 136. H.R. 902, to authorize the U.S. Mint to issue new $1 coins to commemorate U.S. presidents and a series of $10 gold bullion coins to honor first ladies, and authorize the mint to redesign the back of the penny to be issued in 2009 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s birth. Yes. Passed 422-6, under suspension of rules. 4/27/05.
  • 140. H.Res. 22, motion to recommit to the Small Business Committee the resolution expressing the sense of the House that American small businesses should have a Small Business Bill of Rights, which includes among other rights the right to join together to purchase affordable employee health insurance. No. Failed 188-222. 4/27/05.
  • 157. H.R. 1185, to amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to merge the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund into the Deposit Insurance Fund and increase to $130,000 from $100,000 the ceiling on bank deposits guaranteed by the FDIC and index the limit to inflation. Yes. Passed 413-10. 5/4/05.
  • 206. H.R. 1224, Business Checking Freedom Act to allow banks, thrifts, and certain industrial loan companies to pay interest on balances held in business checking accounts. Yes. Passed 424- 1, under suspension of rules. 5/24/05.
  • 369. H.R. 739, to allow the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission to make exceptions to the 15-day deadline for employers to respond to an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citation. Yes. Passed 256-164. 7/12/05.
  • 370. H.R. 740, to increase the membership of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission from three to five. Yes. Passed 234-185. 7/12/05.
  • 371. H.R. 741, to require deference be given by courts and judges to conclusions of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, which reviews and hears appeals of OSHA violation citations, when interpreting questions of law. Yes. Passed 226-197. 7/12/05.
  • 372. H.R. 742, to provide for the award of attorney’s fees and costs to small business employers with under 100 employees and a net worth under $7 million if they successfully contest an OSHA ruling and allow awards without regard to whether the ruling of the federal government was substantially justified, as in current law. Yes. Passed 235-187. 7/12/05.
  • 424. H.R. 525, health plans for small businesses. Substitute amendment to require the Labor Department to establish a Small Employer Health Benefits Plan and make all employers with under 100 employees during the previous calendar year eligible for coverage, with the Labor Department contracting annually with state-licensed health insurers to offer health insurance within a state, and provide that participating insurers would remain subject to the laws of the state in which they cover residents. No. Failed 197-230. 7/26/05.
  • 425. H.R. 525. Motion to recommit the bill to the Education and the Workforce Committee with instructions to maintain state health coverage for pregnancy, childbirth, child care, breast and cervical cancer screening and tests recommended by a physician, mental illness, and diabetes. No. Failed 198-230. 7/26/05.
  • 426. H.R. 525. On passage of the bill to provide for establishment of association health plans by small businesses which band together to buy group health insurance for their employees and exempt plans which cover employees in multiple states from individual state insurance regulations but provide that such plans would be regulated by the Labor Department. Yes. Passed 263-165. 7/26/05.
  • 476. H.R. 3761, Flexibility for Displaced Workers Act to allow national emergency grant funds to be used by states under the Workforce Investment Act for disaster relief and employment training to assist disaster victims in response to Hurricane Katrina. Yes. Passed 400-0, under suspension of rules. 9/20/05.
  • 549. H.R. 3945, to require Federal Reserve banks to waive or rebate any transaction fees for wire transfer services to insured depository institutions or credit unions with headquarters in an area declared a disaster after Hurricane Katrina. Yes. Passed 411-0, under suspension. 10/27/05.
  • 612. S. 467, to reauthorize the federal terrorism risk insurance program through Dec. 31, 2007. Yes. Passed 371-49, under suspension of rules. 12/7/05.
  • 624. S. 1047, to authorize the U.S. Mint to issue a redesigned circulating $1 coin to commemorate U.S. presidents and a redesign of the penny in 2009 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. Yes. Passed 291-113, under suspension of rules. 12/13/05.
  • 634. H.R. 2830, Pension Protection Act. Motion to recommit the bill to the Education and the Workforce and Ways and Means committees with instructions to substitute the text of a bill that would make it harder for companies to declare bankruptcy or eliminate workers’ pensions, and include relief for struggling airlines and multi-employer plans. No. Failed 200-227. 12/15/05.
  • 635. H.R. 2830. On passage of the bill to establish new minimum funding standards for single-employer defined benefit pension plans, increasing the premiums businesses pay to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation from $19 to $30 per participant; establishing a premium for employers who terminate their pension plans on an involuntary basis, and requiring employers to make sufficient contributions to meet a 100 percent funding target. Yes. Passed 294-132. 12/15/05.