WASHINGTON—Here are the votes of Western New York’s four members of the House of Representatives and the state’s two U. S. senators on major legislation recently in Congress. A “Y” means the member voted for the measure; an “N” means the member voted against the measure; an “A” means the member did not vote.

HOUSE

Requiring Audits by Public Companies— The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that would have struck provisions in the bill exempting some public companies from a requirement to submit to external audits of internal controls. The vote, on Dec. 11, was 153 yeas to 271 nays. Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, Y; Rep. Chris Lee R-Clarence, N; Rep. Eric J. J. Massa D-Corning, Y; Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, A. Repaying TARP Shortfalls— The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Gary Peters, DMich., to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that would authorize the FDIC to make assessments of financial institutions to repay shortfalls in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The vote, on Dec. 11, was 228 yeas to 198 nays. Higgins, Y; Lee, N; Massa, Y; Slaughter, A. Helping Families Avoid Foreclosure— The House rejected an amendment, sponsored by Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that would have adjusted the principal balance of mortgages to fair market value and would have facilitated mortgage modifications with the help of federal agencies. The vote, on Dec. 11, was 188 ayes to 241 nays. Higgins, Y; Lee, N; Massa, N; Slaughter, A. Regulating Reverse Mortgages— The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that would authorize the new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to regulate reverse mortgages. The vote, on Dec. 11, was 277 yeas to 149 nays. Higgins, Y; Lee, N; Massa, Y; Slaughter, A. Consumer Financial Protection Council— The House rejected an amendment, sponsored by Rep. Walter Minnick, D-Idaho, to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that would have created a new Consumer Financial Protection Council to ensure safety and soundness of financial institutions and consumer protections for all financial products. The vote, on December 11, was 208 yeas and 223 nays. Higgins, N; Lee, Y; Massa, Y; Slaughter, A. Financial Reform Proposal— The House rejected an amendment, sponsored by Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., that proposed alternative ways to reach the same goals as the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The vote, on Dec. 11, was 175 yeas to 251 nays. Higgins, N; Lee, Y; Massa, N; Slaughter, A. Financial Regulatory Reform— The House has approved the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., to regulate the over-the- counter derivatives market and make other financial regulatory reforms.

Proponents said the legislation would protect against over-leveraged institutions and addressed “the lack of regulation over many years [that] allowed big problems to grow up.” Opponents said that “empowering a new agency with nearly limitless power to deem almost any product or service of financial activity is questionable at best and tyrannical at worse.” The vote, on Dec. 11, was 223 yeas to 202 nays. Higgins, Y; Lee, N; Massa, N; Slaughter, A. Defense Appropriations— The House agreed to the Senate version of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, sponsored by Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., that allowed for $636.3 billion in appropriations for the Defense Department for fiscal 2010. The legislation, as amended by the Senate, included $29.2 billion for the Defense Department Health Program, $5 billion for defense personnel to perform departmental functions, rather than outside contractors, and $472.4 million for Family Advocacy programs to help provide support to military families through quality child care, job training for spouses and expanded counseling and outreach to families after the separation and stress of war. Under the legislation, servicemembers would also receive a 3.4 percent pay raise. The vote, on Wednesday, was 395 yeas to 34 nays. Higgins, Y; Lee, Y; Massa, Y; Slaughter, Y. Government Operations Financed— The House passed legislation, sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N. Y., to permit continued financing of governmental operations by raising the debt limit by $290 billion, to last through Feb. 11, 2010. The vote, on Wednesday, was 218 yeas to 214 nays. Higgins, Y; Lee, N; Massa, N; Slaughter, Y. Freedom of the Press— The House passed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act, sponsored by Rep. Ad-am Schiff, D-Calif., to amend the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include information about freedom of the press in foreign countries in the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices such as what initiatives are being taken to preserve, improve or support press freedoms and identifying which countries violate freedom of the press. The legislation would also establish a grant program to promote freedom of the press worldwide. The vote, on Wednesday, was 403 yeas to 12 nays. Higgins, Y; Lee, Y; Massa, Y; Slaughter, Y.

SENATE

Consolidated Appropriations Act —The Senate approved the conference report accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, sponsored by Rep. John Olver, D-Mass., to fund various government agencies. The vote, last Sunday was 57 yeas to 35 nays. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N. Y., Y; Sen. Charles E. Schumer D-N. Y., Y. Preventing Tax Increases on Middle Class Families— The Senate approved an amendment, sponsored by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., to the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act to express the sense of the Senate that it will reject procedural measures to the legislation that would raise taxes on middle-class families. The vote, on Tuesday, was 97 yeas to 1 nay. Gillibrand, Y; Schumer, Y. Importing Prescription Drugs— The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N. D., to the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act that would have authorized the importation of prescription drugs. The vote, on Tuesday, was 51 yeas to 48 nays, and the amendment was withdrawn because it failed to receive a 60-vote majority. Gillibrand, N; Schumer, N. Importing Prescription Drugs— The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N. J., to the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act that would have authorized the importation of prescription drugs from other countries. The vote, on Tuesday, was 56 yeas to 43 nays, and the amendment was withdrawn because it failed to receive a 60-vote majority. Gillibrand, Y; Schumer, Y.

Information for this column is supplied by Targeted News Service.