[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21737]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BART STUPAK

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2006

  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, September 28, 2006, I could not 
be present for votes because I was in Michigan to attend the memorial 
service of the spouse of one of my longtime staffers.
  House rollcall vote No. 495--I would have voted ``no'' on the motion 
to order the previous question on H. Res. 1045. Voting ``no'' would 
have allowed the House to take up the following 5 bills: A bill to 
implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission; a bill to 
increase the minimum wage to 7.25 per hour; a bill to provide authority 
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower 
prescription drug prices for senior citizens and people with 
disabilities; a bill to repeal the massive cuts in college tuition 
assistance imposed by the Congress and to expand the size and 
availability of Pell Grants; a bill to roll back tax breaks for large 
petroleum companies and to invest those savings in alternative fuels to 
achieve energy independence.
  House rollcall vote No. 496--I would have voted ``no'' on the motion 
to order the previous question on H. Res. 1046. Voting ``no'' would 
have allowed the House to take up the following 5 bills: A bill to 
implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission; a bill to 
increase the minimum wage to 7.25 per hour; a bill to provide authority 
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower 
prescription drug prices for senior citizens and people with 
disabilities; a bill to repeal the massive cuts in college tuition 
assistance imposed by the Congress and to expand the size and 
availability of Pell Grants; a bill to roll back tax breaks for large 
petroleum companies and to invest those savings in alternative fuels to 
achieve energy independence.
  House rollcall vote No. 497--I would have voted ``no'' on the passage 
of the Martial Law Rule, H. Res. 1046, bypassing House rules that 
ensure that Members of the House have adequate time to review 
legislation before voting on it.
  House rollcall vote No. 498--I would have voted ``no'' on the 
previous question on H. Res. 1052, the rule providing for consideration 
of H.R. 5825, the Electronic Surveillance Act. Defeating the previous 
question would have allowed the House, immediately after the rule is 
adopted, to take up a bill to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 
Commission.
  House rollcall vote No. 499--I would have voted ``no'' on H. Res. 
1052, the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 5825, Electronic 
Surveillance Act. This Rules Committee reported out a closed rule, 
which allowed for no amendments and limited debate on a bill that has 
strong, bipartisan opposition.
  House rollcall vote No. 500--I would have voted ''yes'' on 
Representative Thompson's Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 4954--
SAFE Port Act. Mr. Thompson's motion instructs conferees to agree to 
the Senate provisions to improve security for America's rail, subway, 
buses and trucking systems; and to the Senate provisions to strengthen 
aviation security, secure the border, create a National Warning and 
Alert System, and provide first responders with post-disaster health 
monitoring. I was pleased this measure passed by a vote of 281-140, 
with all Democrats voting yes.
  House rollcall vote No. 501--I would have voted ``yes'' on the 
Schiff/Flake/Harman/Inglis Motion to Recommit. The bipartisan 
substitute would update provisions of the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act, FISA, to provide intelligence agencies more 
flexibility in emergency situations and less bureaucratic red tape when 
applying for warrants, while still requiring court orders for domestic 
surveillance of Americans. The motion to recommit failed by a vote of 
202-221.
  House rollcall vote No. 502--I would have voted ``no'' on final 
passage of H.R. 5825, the Electronic Surveillance Act. I strongly 
support giving our law enforcement and intelligence agencies the tools 
they need to fight terror. However, H.R. 5825 gives the President 
unnecessarily broad powers to eavesdrop on innocent Americans. The FISA 
court system has worked well for nearly 30 years--we should be 
expanding and reforming the existing system, instead of reducing 
judicial oversight and undermining our system of checks and balances.
  House rollcall vote No. 503--I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 6143, 
the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Modernization Act. While I understand 
that some States may lose funding under the new formula, I believe it 
is important to reauthorize this program that is critical to far too 
many Americans. I am hopeful that as the bill moves to the Senate, we 
can increase the overall funding level for the program so that Congress 
does not have to pick winners and losers in combating this terrible 
disease.

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