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Health, Human Services and Education

  • 19. H.R. 3, stem cell research. Motion to recommit the bill to the House Energy and Commerce Committee with instructions to include language to prohibit entities involved in human cloning from receiving federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Yes. Failed 189-238. 1/11/07.
  • 20. H.R. 3. On passage of the bill to allow the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. No. Passed 253-174. 1/11/07.
  • 22. H.R. 4, Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act. Motion to recommit the bill to the House Energy and Commerce Committee with instructions to add language to require the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department to assure in its negotiations with drug companies that beneficiaries will not be restricted or limited in their access to prescription drugs or to networks of chain and community pharmacies, and require that the negotiations not result in any increase in the price of prescription drugs for any group. Yes. Failed 196-229. 1/12/07.
  • 23. H.R. 4. On passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act to require HHS to negotiate with drug companies the prices of drugs covered under the Medicare Part D prescription drug program and specify that the bill should not be construed to authorize HHS to establish or require a particular formulary. Yes. Passed 255-170. 1/12/07.
  • 31. H.R. 5, College Student Relief Act. Motion to recommit the bill to the Education and Labor Committee with instructions to add language to lower college loan interest rates for college graduates whose annual adjusted gross income is less that $65,000 or who are serving on active or National Guard duty during a war, other military operations or national emergency. Yes. Failed 186-241. 1/17/07.
  • 32. H.R. 5. On passage of the bill to cut interest rates in half over a five-year period for undergraduates with subsidized student loans, beginning July 1, 2007, and provide for additional cuts effective on July 1 each year for the next four years; reduce the “special allowance payment” made to lenders; lower the amount the government pays to lenders for defaulted loans; increase the one-time origination fee paid by lenders to the government on all loans; cut the fee paid to guaranty agencies that collect on loans, and enlarge the annual fee paid by lenders on consolidation loans. Yes. Passed 356-71 1/17/07.
  • 126. H.R. 710, to make paired kidney donations legal and prohibit criminal penalties against such donations. Yes. Passed 422-0, under suspension of rules. 3/7/07.
  • 261. H.R. 493, to prohibit insurance companies, employers, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating on the basis of genetic information, including genetic information on the fetus of a pregnant woman, and prohibit health plans from requiring genetic testing. Yes. Passed 420-3, under suspension of rules. 4/25/07.
  • 277. H.R. 1429, Head Start reauthorization. Amendment to establish a demonstration project under which eight states would be allowed to coordinate Head Start with their state-run early-childhood development programs. Yes. Failed 165-254. 5/2/07.
  • 278. H.R. 1429. Amendment to authorize the Education Department to implement a program to forgive student loans for Head Start and Early Head Start teachers who receive a bachelor’s degree in a field related to early childhood education and agree to teach in a Head Start program for at least three years. Yes. Passed 312-107. 5/2/07.
  • 279. H.R. 1429. Amendment to require training and technical assistance in the Early Head Start program to be provided by entities with specific expertise in infant and toddler development and require that 50 percent of training and technical assistance funds be provided directly to Head Start grantees. Yes. Passed 372-50. 5/2/07.
  • 280. H.R. 1429. Amendment to require that 50 percent of Head Start teachers nationwide have at least a bachelor’s degree by 2011. No. Failed 137-286. 5/2/07.
  • 281. H.R. 1429. Amendment to strike provisions in the bill to require the development and implementation of a new system to review applications for Head Start grants and add language to require that grantees recompete for a grant every five years, regardless of their performance. Yes. Failed 161-262. 5/2/07.
  • 282. H.R. 1429. Amendment to provide that if Head Start funding is less than the previous year’s appropriation, Head Start grantees may negotiate with the Health and Human Services Department to reduce the number of children enrolled in the program if it is necessary to maintain the quality of services. Yes. Passed 253-171. 5/2/07.
  • 283. H.R. 1429. Amendment to include congressional findings outlining the history and importance of faith-based and community-based organizations participating in the Head Start program, and add language clarifying that faith-based and community-based organizations will continue to be eligible to participate in the Head Start program on the same basis as other organizations. No. Passed 229-195. 5/2/07.
  • 284. H.R. 1429. Motion to recommit the bill to the Education and Labor Committee with instructions to add language to permit faith-based Head Start providers to take religion into account when hiring employees for their Head Start program and clarify that faith-based organizations would not have to remove religious art, icons, scripture or other symbols to be eligible for Head Start programs. Yes. Failed 195-222. 5/2/07.
  • 285. H.R. 1429. On passage of the bill to authorize $7.4 billion in FY 2008 and such sums as necessary from FY 2009-2012 for the Head Start program. Yes. Passed 365-48. 5/2/07.
  • 405. H.R. 2429, to waive the current 60-day limit on Medicare reimbursements to doctors who take patients on behalf of other doctors who are deployed through the National Guard or reserves. Yes. Passed 422-0, under suspension of rules. 5/23/07.
  • 439. H.R. 2560, to prohibit reproductive human cloning and transporting human somatic cell nuclear transfer technology intended for human cloning. No. Failed 204-213, under suspension of rules. 6/6/07. [Note: 2/3 vote required.]
  • 442. S. 5, stem cell research. Motion to recommit the bill to the Energy and Commerce Committee with instructions to remove the language allowing federal funding for embryonic stem cells, but with language to allow funding for research on “embryonic-like” cells. Yes. Failed 180-242. 6/7/07.
  • 443. S. 5. On passage of the bill to allow the use of federal funds for human embryonic stem cell research. No. Passed 247-176. 6/7/07.
  • 610. S. 1701, to provide for an extension of the Transitional Medical Assistance program and the abstinence education program through September 30, 2007. Yes. Passed 291-126, under suspension of rules. 7/11/07.
  • 611. H.R. 2669, College Cost Reduction Act. Substitute amendment to reduce subsidies for student loan programs and redirect $9.4 billion of the money to Pell grants and $5.7 billion toward deficit reduction. Yes. Failed 189-231. 7/11/07.
  • 612. H.R. 2669. Motion to recommit the bill to the Education and Labor Committee with instructions to add language to specify that any borrower who is a paid full-time official or is a lobbyist would be ineligible for any student loan forgiveness programs. Yes. Failed 199-223. 7/11/07.
  • 613. H.R. 2669. On passage of the bill to reduce subsidies to federal student loan lenders by almost $19 billion and redirect most of the funds to financial aid for students, colleges, and universities; increase the maximum Pell grant to $5,200 over five years; cut interest rates on subsidized student loans, and raise the aggregate limit for federally backed loans to $30,500 for undergraduate and $65,000 for graduate students. Yes. Passed 273-149. 7/11/07.
  • 617. H.R. 2900, to reauthorize Food and Drug Administration (FDA) programs to approve new prescription drugs and medical devices, and expand the FDA’s ability to monitor the safety of drugs and medical devices after they have been approved and marketed, establish new incentives for the development of pediatric medical devices, and reauthorize a law requiring drug manufacturers to include pediatric assessments when submitting an application to market a new product. Yes. Passed 403-16, under suspension of rules. 7/11/07.
  • 642. H.R. 3043, FY 2008 health, human services, labor and education appropriations. Amendment to increase funding for the Office of Labor and Management Standards by $2 million and reduce funding for the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs by $3 million. Yes. Failed 186-237. 7/17/07.
  • 643. H.R. 3043. Amendment to increase funding for the Education Department’s Even Start program by $50 million and reduce funding for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by $28 million, the Bureau of International Labor Affairs by $11 million, the Administration on Aging Office of the Secretary by $11 million, and the Education Department Departmental Management account by $900,000. Yes. Failed 174-250. 7/17/07.
  • 644. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs by $58 million. Yes. Failed 149-277. 7/17/07.
  • 645. H.R. 3043. Amendment to increase funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Tuberculosis Elimination by $50 million and offset the increase by an equal reduction for the Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs. Yes. Failed 183-243. 7/17/07.
  • 646. H.R. 3043. Amendment to strike a provision in the bill prohibiting funds from being used for public-private competitions until 60 days after the Government Accountability Office reports to the House and Senate Appropriations committees on the use of competitive sourcing within the Labor Department. No. Failed 173-251. 7/17/07.
  • 647. H.R. 3043. Amendment to increase funding for the TRIO Talent Search and Upward Bound programs and geriatric education programs by $12.5 million each, and reduce funding for grants to the AmeriCorps programs by $25 million. Yes. Failed 182-242. 7/18/07.
  • 648. H.R. 3043. Amendment to redirect funding within the Health Resources and Services Administration to support an additional $37.2 million for nurse education retention programs, which would double funding for the program from FY 2007 levels. Yes. Failed 207-217. 7/18/07.
  • 649. H.R. 3043. Amendment to strike language requiring that funding under the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program not be reduced by more than 8.4 percent for metropolitan areas or by more than 13.4 percent for transitional areas. Yes. Failed 196-230. 7/18/07.
  • 650. H.R. 3043. Amendment to increase funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B grants to states by $125 million, and offset the increase by an equal reduction for the National Institutes of Health contribution to the Global Fund. No. Failed 203-224. 7/18/07.
  • 651. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for the Children and Families Services Program by $8 million. No. Failed 58-370. 7/18/07.
  • 652. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for the Children and Families Services Program by $5 million. No. Failed 80-347. 7/18/07.
  • 653. H.R. 3043. Amendment to increase funding for the Teacher Incentive Fund by $21 million, and offset the increase by an equal reduction for Teacher Quality States Grants. Yes. Failed 149-274. 7/18/07.
  • 654. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for school improvement programs by $34 million. No. Failed 74-352. 7/18/07.
  • 655. H.R. 3043. Amendment to increase funding for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B grants, and offset the increase by an equal reduction in the Innovation and Improvement account. Yes. Failed 186-241. 7/18/07.
  • 656. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for the Innovation and Improvement account by $11 million. Yes. Failed 116-309. 7/18/07.
  • 657. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for the writing instruction program under the Department of Education by $23.5 million. No. Failed 97-331. 7/18/07.
  • 658. H.R. 3043. Amendment to increase funding for special education programs by $50 million, and offset the increase by an equal reduction from the Education Department administration account. Yes. Passed 419-11. 7/18/07.
  • 659. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for rehabilitation services and disability research by $2 million. No. Failed 95-335. 7/18/07.
  • 660. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for student financial assistance by $65 million. No. Failed 79-349. 7/18/07.
  • 661. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce funding for the AmeriCorps program by $256 million. No. Failed 96-334. 7/18/07.
  • 662. H.R. 3043. Amendment to eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. No. Failed 72-357. 7/18/07.
  • 663. H.R. 3043. Amendment to strike all earmarks from the bill. No. Failed 53-369. 7/18/07.
  • 664. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for the Exploratorium in San Francisco for its Bay Area Science Teacher Recruitment, Retention and Improvement Initiative. No. Failed 89-341. 7/18/07.
  • 665. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds to pay the salary of the deputy commissioner of Social Security without a Senate vote confirming the individual’s appointment. No. Passed 231-199. 7/18/07.
  • 666. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the transfer of National Institutes of Health funds to other Department of Health and Human Services agencies through the department’s Evaluation Tap. Yes. Failed 181-249. 7/18/07.
  • 667. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for the On Location Entertainment Industry Craft and Technician Training project ast West Los Angeles College in Culver City, California. No. Failed 114-316. 7/18/07.
  • 668. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for the American Ballet Theatre in New York City for educational activities. No. Failed 118-312. 7/18/07.
  • 669. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, South Carolina. No. Failed 70-360. 7/18/07.
  • 670. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for the Kansas Regional Prisons Museum in Lansing, Kansas. No. Failed 112-317. 7/18/07.
  • 671. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in Forest, Virginia, for expansion of exhibits and outreach. No. Failed 68-360. 7/18/07.
  • 672. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for a bonus or other performance-based cash award to any employee of the Social Security Administration or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services who was appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, or is in a senior executive service position. No. Failed 185-238. 7/19/07.
  • 673. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds by the Social Security Administration to compensate employees who administer Social Security benefit payments under any agreement between the United States and Mexico establishing totalization arrangements between the two nations’ social security benefits systems. Yes. Passed 254-168. 7/19/07.
  • 674. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds by the National Labor Relations Board to recognize a union as an exclusive employee representative if it has not been chosen in a secret ballot election. Yes. Failed 167-255. 7/19/07.
  • 675. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to implement any policy prohibiting a Medicare beneficiary from enrolling in the Medicare Advantage program. Yes. Failed 192-228. 7/19/07.
  • 676. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds by the Education Department to provide or process the Free Application for Federal Student Aid from in any language other than English. No. Failed 191-233. 7/19/07.
  • 677. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds provided to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services concerning proposed hospital inpatient prospective payment system regulations. Yes. Passed 412-12. 7/19/07.
  • 678. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York in New York City. Yes. Failed 108-316. 7/19/07.
  • 679. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds for the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, for exhibits, education programs and an archival project. No. Failed 96-327. 7/19/07.
  • 680. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce discretionary spending in the bill by 4.6 percent across-the-board. No. Failed 136-288. 7/19/07.
  • 681. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce discretionary spending in the bill by 1 percent across-the-board. No. Failed 165-256. 7/19/07.
  • 682. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce discretionary spending in the bill by .5 percent across-the-board. Yes. Failed. 177-245. 7/19/07.
  • 683. H.R. 3043. Amendment to reduce discretionary spending in the bill by .25 percent across-the-board. Yes. Failed 177-245. 7/19/07.
  • 684. H.R. 3043. Amendment to prohibit the use of funds to Planned Parenthood for Title X funding. Yes. Failed 189-231. 7/19/07.
  • 685. H.R. 3043. Motion to recommit the bill to the Appropriations Committee with instructions to add language to allow funding provided to elementary and secondary schools, child welfare agencies and other agencies to be used to conduct background checks on teachers and other employees. Yes. Failed 206-213. 7/19/07.
  • 686. H.R. 3043. On passage of the bill to provide $607.4 billion in FY 2008 appropriations for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies, including $64.9 billion for Education, $14.9 billion for Labor, and $479.4 billion for Health and Human Services, including $29.6 billion for the National Institutes of Health and $401.4 billion, mostly in mandatory entitlement spending, for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Yes. Passed 276-140. 7/19/07.
  • 786. H.R. 3162, Children’s Health and Medicare Act. Motion to recommit the bill to the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees with instruction to add language to authorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for one year, continue the enforcement of the five-year waiting period for illegal immigrants to get into the program and require citizenship documentation for eligibility purposes, and eliminate proposed cuts to Medicare providers and Medicare Advantage plan payments. Yes. Failed 202-226. 8/1/07.
  • 787. H.R. 3162. On passage of the bill to authorize $86 billion over five years for SCHIP and offset the costs by reducing federal payments to insurers in the Medicare Advantage program, among other reductions. No. Passed 225-204. 8/1/07.
  • 849. H.R. 2669, student loans. Motion to instruct House conferees to agree to Senate-passed provisions expressing the sense of the Senate that detainees housed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including senior members of al Qaeda, should not be released into the United States or transferred to facilities in the U.S. Yes. Passed 305-83. 9/4/07.
  • 864. H.R. 2669, to adopt the conference report to the bill to revise the college student loan system by cutting government subsidies to student loan businesses by some $20 billion and redirecting most of the money for aid for students and college graduates; increase maximum Pell grant awards by $490 in 2008 and by $1090 over five years; provide debt forgiveness to certain public sector workers after 10 years of service, and cap student loan repayments at 15 percent of discretionary income. Yes. Passed 292-97. 9/7/07.
  • 906. H.R. 976, to concur in the Senate amendment with a House amendment to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program at some $60 billion over five years, expanding the program by $35 billion, and offset the cost by increasing the tax on cigarettes by 61 cents to $1 per pack and taxes on other tobacco products. Yes. Passed 265-159. 9/25/07.
  • 963. H.R. 20, to direct the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on the causes of postpartum depression, improve diagnostic techniques and perform clinical research for the development of new treatments. Yes. Passed 382-3, under suspension of rules. 10/15/07.
  • 970. H.R. 2295, to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a system to collect data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and establish a national registry for the data. Yes. Passed 411-3, under suspension of rules. 10/16/07.
  • 982. H.R. 976. To pass, over the veto of the president, the bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program at some $60 billion over five years, an increase of some $35 billion, and offset the cost by increasing the tax on cigarettes by 61 cents to $1 per pack and raising taxes on other tobacco products. Yes. Failed 273-156. 10/18/07. [Note: 2/3 vote required to override a veto.]
  • 1008. H.R. 3963, State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Motion to recommit the bill to the Energy and Commerce Committee with instructions to add language requiring that states specify how they will cover 90 percent of all eligible low-income children before expanding their coverage, include special rules for coverage of children with family incomes above 200 percent of the poverty level, and require states to determine eligibility based on gross family income. No. Failed 164-242. 10/25/07.
  • 1009. H.R. 3963. On passage of the bill to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program at some $60 billion over five years, an increase of some $35 billion, and offset the cost by increasing the tax on cigarettes by 61 cents to $1 per pack and raising taxes on other tobacco products; limit program eligibility to families earning three times the federal poverty level or less; and require the Social Security Administration to verify the citizenship of all applicants, and require states to phase out coverage of childless adults by the end of 2008. Yes. Passed 265-142. 10/25/07.
  • 1026. H.R. 3043. Motion to instruct conferees on the FY 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill to disagree to any proposal that includes additional funding or language not referred to the conference or that goes beyond the scope of provisions referred to the conference committee by either the House or Senate. Yes. Failed 191-222. 10/31/07.
  • 1043. H.R. 3495, to establish the National Commission on Children and Disasters and authorize a National Resource Center on Children and Disasters to address the needs of children in disasters and emergency situations. Yes. Passed 402-8, under suspension of rules. 11/6/07.
  • 1045. H.R. 1429, Head Start reauthorization. Motion to instruct House conferees on the bill to insist on provisions restricting the use of federal funds to pay for the salary of any Head Start employee at a rate in excess of Level II of the Executive Schedule pay scale, disagree to the provisions relating to wages and compensation for Head Start employees compensated at a rate above Level II of the pay scale, and insist that the differences between the House and Senate on wages and compensation for Head Start employees be open to discussions at any conference meeting. Yes. Passed 400-0. 11/6/07.
  • 1050. H.R. 3043. To agree to the conference report on the bill to provide $150.7 billion in FY 2008 appropriations for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies, including the National Institutes of Health; and $64.7 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction and military housing. Yes. Passed 269-142. 11/6/07.
  • 1075. H.R. 3043. To concur with the Senate amendment to the bill providing $150.7 billion in FY 2008 appropriations for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies, including the National Institutes of Health. Yes. Passed 274-141. 11/8/07.
  • 1090. H.R. 1429. To adopt the conference report on the bill to reauthorize the Head Start program through FY 2012 and provide that by 2013 that at least half of Head Start teachers nationwide have at least a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education or a related field. Yes. Passed 381-36. 11/14/07.
  • 1122. H.R. 3043. To pass the FY 2008 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education appropriations bill over the veto of the president. Yes. Failed 277-141. 11/15/07. [Note: 2/3 vote required to override a veto.]
  • 1126. H.R. 710, to concur in the Senate amendments, with amendments, to the Charlie W. Norwood Living Organ Donation Act clarifying that paired human organ donations should not be considered to involve the transfer of a human organ for valuable consideration so that no criminal penalties would apply to paired donations. Yes. Passed 407-1, under suspension of rules. 12/4/07.
  • 1184. S. 2499, to extend the authorization for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program until March 31, 2009, and delay for six months the 10 percent cut to Medicare’s physician payment rates scheduled for January 1, 2008, and instead provide a 0.5 percent increase. Yes. Passed 411-3, under suspension of rules. 12/19/07.