Voting 218 for and 208 against, the House on April 25 approved the conference report on a bill (H... Thomas Voting Reports...

Voting 218 for and 208 against, the House on April 25 approved the conference report on a bill (HR 1591) that requires the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq to start by Oct. 1, 2007, but sets no mandatory date for completing the pullout of all but a residual force. The bill appropriates about $90 billion through September for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, $5.1 billion for military health care, including veterans' care, $3.1 billion for base closures and $1.7 billion for military construction. Additionally, the bill provides nearly $25 billion for non-war programs (Senate issue below).

Voting 277 for and 137 against, the House on April 26 sent the Senate a bill (HR 249) to prohibit the Bureau of Land Management from selling or transferring wild horses or burros or their remains for commercial processing. The bill would repeal a 2004 law under which the government has sold thousands of the wild animals for slaughter and then human consumption abroad. There are about 31,000 wild burros and horses on federal lands.

Voting 182 for and 234 against, the House on April 26 defeated a motion that sought to kill HR 249 (above) unless the government certifies it will cost no more than $500,000 annually to administer. Although the Congressional Budget Office has projected a cost of $500,000 per year, critics say actual expenditures will be well into the millions.

Voting 51 for and 46 against, the Senate on April 26 cleared for President Bush the conference report on a $124.2 billion emergency appropriations bill (HR 1591, above) that includes $99.4 billion for combat operations and other military initiatives and nearly $25 billion for non-military programs. The bill's proposed troop withdrawal would leave a small U.S. force in Iraq for pursuing terrorists, training Iraqi forces and protecting U.S. interests.

The bill's largest non-military sums are $6.9 billion for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery; $5.7 billion for international food aid and State Department programs in Iraq and Afghanistan; $3.5 billion to help farmers recover from drought; $2.3 billion for homeland security; $663 million for pandemic flu vaccines; $650 million to provide medical insurance for poor children; $500 million for wildfire suppression; $435 million for rural schools; $400 million for home-heating aid; $268 million for the FBI, and $150 billion for nuclear non-proliferation initiatives.

Voting 88 for and eight against, the Senate on April 25 passed a wide-ranging bill (S 761) to elevate U.S. math and science competency. The bill focuses the departments of Education and Energy and agencies such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on the objective of keeping America a global leader in technology and innovation. It authorizes higher spending levels, new grant and training programs and bureaucratic restructuring in an effort to improve performances in the workplace and all classroom levels. The bill awaits House action.

In part, the bill uses financial incentives to expand the teaching of critical foreign languages; provides grants to help universities more effectively educate math and science teachers; expands National Science Foundation scholarships for students training to become math and science teachers; triples National Institute of Standards and Technology funding to help the U.S. manufacturing sector become more competitive globally, and funds mentoring programs for women seeking careers in math, science and engineering.

Voting 39 for and 57 against, the Senate on April 25 rejected an amendment to S 761 (above) to eliminate the federal Advanced Technology Program, which grants hundreds of millions of dollars annually to help U.S. corporate and university partnerships conduct basic research that could lead to profitable new technologies. Critics call the grants "corporate welfare," while supporters defend them as essential seed money for long-developing research unlikely to generate quick profits.

This week both chambers are likely to vote on President Bush's expected veto of an Iraq funding and withdrawal bill. The House will take up hate crimes and Head Start and National Science Foundation funding. The Senate will debate the Food and Drug Administration budget.

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