House of Representatives
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Dennis Kucinich
U.S. House: Representative
Democratic
Next Election Year: 2010
Education:
MA, Speech Communications, Case Western Reserve University, 1974
BA, Speech Communications, Case Western Reserve University, 1973
Profession:
Consultant, Publicly Owned Electric Systems, 1979-present
President, Marketing and Communications Firm, 1985-1995
Instructor, Communications and Political Science, Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland State University, 1991-1994
Professor, Political Science, Case Western Reserve University, 1982-1992
Communications Entrepreneur, Software and Public Relations, 1982-1992
Clerk of Courts, Cleveland Municipal Court, 1976-1977
Sportswriter
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(2009) HR 4173 Regulation and Oversight of the United States Financial System
Outcome: Bill Passed (223/202)
Summary: -Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to perform an audit of the actions taken by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of Federal reserve banks during the recent "economic crisis" (Sec. 1000A).
-Establishes the Financial Services Oversight Council, mandated to perform the following duties (Sec. 1001, 1002, 1102):-Advise Congress on domestic and international regulatory developments, and make recommendations regarding the stability, efficiency, and competitiveness of the U.S. financial system;
-Monitor and identify threats to the U.S. financial system, and to create strategies that address such threats;
-Enforce "stricter standards" on financial companies and their activities, and recommend that regulatory agencies adopt such standards for firms under their jurisdiction;
-Identify international regulatory developments that conflict with U.S. policy and that put the U.S. financial marketplace at a competitive disadvantage;
-Facilitate information sharing and coordination amongst Council members, and provide for discussion and analysis of market developments and regulatory issues;
-Resolve jurisdictional disputes between two or more financial regulatory agencies about a particular company, activity, or product, provided that such agencies are unable to resolve the dispute; and
-Review and submit comments to the Securities Exchange Commission regarding any accounting principles, standards, or procedures. -Authorizes the Comptroller General to audit the activities and financial transactions of the Financial Services Oversight Council and any entity acting on its behalf, including the authority to access Council employees, officers, and records, and to make "periodic evaluations" (Sec. 1008).
-Establishes criteria that the Financial Services Oversight Council shall consider in order to determine if a financial company poses a serious threat to the stability of the United States economy as follows (Sec. 1103):-The company's assets and liabilities, including the firm's "degree of reliance on short-term funding;"
-The company's financial leverage (the degree to which an investment is made on borrowed money);
-The company's "off-balance sheet" exposures;
-The company's transactions and its relationships with other companies;
-The company's degree of importance in terms of providing credit to households, businesses, and state and local governments, and as a source of liquidity;
-The nature, scope, and mix of the company's activities;
-The degree to which assets are managed and not owned by the company and the extent to which ownership of assets under management is diffuse;
-The company's degree of importance as a credit source for low-income, minority, or underserved communities and the impact the company's failure would have on such communities;
-The degree to which the company is already regulated; and
-Other factors the Financial Services Oversight Council determines are appropriate. -Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to impose stricter standards on certain financial holding companies, and provides the Board with a list of standards to heighten (Sec. 1104):-Risk-based capital requirements;
-Limits on financial leverage;
-Liquidity requirements;
-Limits on credit exposure, which includes all extensions of credit to and from the company, securities purchases, borrowing and lending, repurchase agreements, and derivative transactions;
-"Prompt corrective action requirements," which includes assessments on how "capitalized" the company is, the thresholds of which shall be determined by the Board;
-"Resolution plan requirements," or how the company plans to resolve financial distress in a fashion that is "rapid and orderly," and includes reporting credit exposure details;
-Overall risk management requirements; and
-Establishment of short-term debt limits. -Prohibits financial holding companies subjected to stricter standards from paying bonuses to any senior executive officer, and prohibits such companies from paying more than the average rate of compensation to any senior executive officer for 12 months from the time the Board of Governors determines a company is "undercapitalized" (Sec. 1104).
-Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to appoint the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as the receiver of any large, critically undercapitalized financial institution subjected to stricter standards if the following applies (Sec. 1603, 1604):-The company is in default or is in danger of default;
-The failure of the company would have "serious adverse effects" or would be "systematically destabilizing" to the United States economy; and
-The appointment of the FDIC as the receiver of such company would avoid such adverse effects. -Establishes that the FDIC has resolution authority over covered companies (as described above) or any covered subsidiary, and authorizes the FDIC to take any of the following actions (Sec. 1604):-Make loans to the company, or purchase its debt obligations;
-Purchase the company's assets either directly or through an entity established by the FDIC;
-Assume or guarantee the company's obligations to one or more third parties;
-Take a lien on any or all assets, including a first priority lien on all unencumbered assets to secure repayment of any transactions conducted in accordance with this section; and
-Sell or transfer all or part of the company's acquired assets, liabilities, or obligations. -Requires the FDIC to impose the following terms and conditions for all stabilization actions (Sec. 1604):-The action must be determined necessary for financial system stability;
-The shareholders must not receive payment until all other claims are fully paid;
-Taxpayer funds must be repaid before payments are made to creditors;
-Unsecured creditors must "bear losses;" and
-Members of the board of directors or management responsible for the failed condition must be removed. -Establishes that the FDIC is the successor to any company it receives or any of its subsidiaries, and is authorized to perform all of the functions of the covered company, including the authority to merge the company with another company, transfer any assets and liabilities, determine and disallow claims, collect obligations and money due, and contract for assistance (Sec. 1609).
-Establishes the Systemic Dissolution Fund to facilitate the "orderly and complete" dissolution of failed financial companies or companies that pose a "systemic threat" to the economy, specifies that it shall be financed by amounts assessed against failed financial companies, and resolves that this fund shall have a maximum size of $150 billion (Sec. 1609).
-Provides the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with exclusive jurisdiction over transactions involving swaps, and requires all swap dealers and major swap participants to register with the Commission (Sec. 3102, 3107).
-Requires the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to review each swap or type of swaps to determine whether it should be required to be cleared, and requires the Commission to provide a 30 day public comment period regarding such determination (Sec. 3103).
-Specifies that any swap that has not been cleared by a derivatives clearing organization and that has not been recorded by a swap repository must (Sec. 3106):-Provide reports as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission prescribes; and
-Keep books and records about the swap, which shall be available to the Commission, Federal banking agencies, the Financial Services Oversight Council, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Department of Justice, for as long as the Commission requires. -Specifies that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall require futures commission merchants and introducing brokers to establish conflict-of-interest systems and procedures so that there are "appropriate informational partitions" within the firms such merchants and brokers work for (Sec. 3109).
-Establishes the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to regulate consumer financial products and services, and establishes the Consumer Financial Protection Oversight Board to advise the Director of the Agency on regulatory, strategic, policy, and consumer protection matters (Sec. 4101-4104).
-Requires the establishment of the Consumer Advisory Board for the purpose of providing advice and information to the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency regarding consumer laws and emerging practices in the consumer financial products or services industry, to assemble field experts to this purpose, and to "represent the interests of covered persons and consumers" (Sec. 4107).
-Establishes the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Civil Penalty Fund for the purposes of collecting penalties assessed against a person in a court of law, and specifies that such amounts shall be available for paying the victims for which the civil penalties were imposed (Sec. 4111).
-Authorizes the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to review any regulations governing alternative mortgage transactions (which are distinguished by adjustable rates or finance charges that can be adjusted or renegotiated, in addition to other attributes not common to traditional fixed rate mortgages), to determine if such regulations are "fair and not deceptive," and to prescribe new regulations (Sec. 4803).
-Authorizes the Consumer Financial Protection Agency to enforce compliance of any regulations governing home mortgage disclosures (Sec. 4808).
-Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine on an annual basis the policies, procedures, and methods of calculating credit scores at each of the nationally recognized statistical rating organizations in order to determine if such organizations are consistently adhering to an "established and documented" system of determining such ratings (Sec. 6002).
-Requires nationally recognized credit rating organizations to provide, in a certified form that can be compared across securities and easily understood by investors, the following information on credit scoring data (Sec. 6002):-The main assumptions of the methods and techniques used in the the ratings, and an analysis of how sensitive the rating is to these assumptions;
-Potential shortcomings of the ratings;
-Risks not measured in the rating, including liquidity, market, and other "potential shortcomings;"
-The "certainty" of the data used to calculate ratings, including reliability, accuracy, and quality;
-The extent of any due diligence services provided by a third party, if applicable;
- A description of any obligor, issuer, security, or money market instrument used to determine the rating;
-An overall assessment on the quality of information available and considered in producing a rating;
-A measure or explanation of how "volatile" the credit rating may be, including any factors that may change the rating;
-The "content" of the rating, including the probability of default and estimated losses upon default;
-How the credit rating organization used servicer or remittance reports to conduct surveillance of the rating, and how often; and
-Other information required by the Securities and Exchange Commission. -Establishes an Investor Advisory Committee to provide consultation and advice to the Securities Exchange Commission on regulatory issues and priorities on new products, trading strategies, fee structures, effectiveness of disclosures, actions to "protect investor interest," and actions to promote "confidence in the integrity of the marketplace" (Sec. 7101).
-Requires that the Securities Exchange Commission establish uniform "standard of conduct" guidelines for brokers and dealers who give personalized investment advice about securities to customers, and requires that the Commission provide to customers clear disclosures about investment advisors (Sec. 7103). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2009) HR 3961 Revising Medicare Physician Fee Schedules and Reinstatement of PAYGO
Outcome: Bill Passed (243/183)
Summary: -Updates the single conversion factor for 2010 to equal 1.2 percent, equal to the percentage increase in the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) (Sec. 2).
-Rebases the Sustainable Growth Rate for 2011 and later years by making 2009 allowed expenditures equal to the amount of actual expenditures for physician's services for 2009 and by using 2009 (or, if later, the first day of the fifth year before the year involved) for future update adjustments (Sec. 2).
-Separates physician services into two general general categories, (1) evaluation, management, and preventive services and (2) all other services, and applies separate conversion factors for each service category (Sec. 2).
-Reinstates the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) budget rule, a rule that applies to bills or joint resolutions that affect direct spending or revenue relative to the baseline and that requires such bills to be budget-neutral (Sec. 102, 103).
-Requires PAYGO legislation to make reference to the bill's estimated budgetary effects, as shall be provided by the Congressional Budget Office, before it is voted on (Sec. 104).
-Requires the Office of Management and Budget to maintain and make public on every piece of PAYGO legislation two sets of scorecards, which shall measure the budgetary effects of such legislation over 5 years and over 10 years (Sec. 104).
-Requires the Office of Management and Budget at the end of every Congressional session to publish and make public a PAYGO report, which shall include the following (Sec. 105):-Current PAYGO scorecards on all PAYGO legislation;
-Any current policy adjustments;
-Information about any emergency legislation;
-Sequestration orders that show how direct spending will be adjusted to offset any costs shown on PAYGO scorecards; and
-Other data that would "enhance public understanding" of the above items. -Requires the Office of Management and Budget to calculate the uniform percentage of funds that are to be seized in order to balance spending, and specifies that any uniform percentage exceeding 4 percent shall result in Medicare spending reductions of 4 percent, as well as spending reductions in other nonexempt direct spending programs (Sec. 106).
-Resolves that unique PAYGO scoring rules will apply to one of the four budget areas (Sec. 107):-Legislation that amends or supersedes Medicare physician fee schedules;
-Legislation that amends portions of the United States Tax Code governing estate and gift taxes;
-Legislation that affects the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT); and
-Legislation affecting certain provisions of the Economic Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 or the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003, as well as certain provisions of later statutes amending the aforementioned Acts. -Lists several other federal programs and activities that would be exempt from payment reductions, including Social Security Benefits and Tier I Railroad Retirement Benefits, Veterans Programs, and Refundable Income Tax Credits (Sec. 111). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 3548 Extending Federal Emergency Unemployment Benefits and Providing Business and Homebuyer Tax Credits
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (403/12)
Summary: -Extends second-tier unemployment benefits and specifies everyone will be eligible to receive the lesser of the following (Sec. 2):-54 percent of the total amount of compensation, including benefits paid to dependents, as provided by existing state law during the benefit year; or
-14 times the individual's average weekly benefit, including benefits paid to dependents, as provided by existing state law. -Establishes third-tier unemployment benefits for states with unemployment rates of at least 6.5 percent for the last 3 months, for which an individual is eligible to receive the lesser of the following once second-tier benefits have been exhausted (Sec. 3):-50 percent of the total amount of regular compensation, including benefits paid to dependents, pas provided by existing state law during the benefit year; or
-13 times the individual's average weekly benefit, including benefits paid to dependents, as provided by existing state law. -Establishes fourth-tier unemployment benefits in states that have unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent for the last 3 months, for which an individual is eligible to receive the lesser of the following once third-tier benefits have been exhausted (Sec. 4):-24 percent of the total amount of regular compensation, including benefits paid to dependents, as provided by existing state law during the benefit year; or
-6 times the individual's average weekly benefit, including benefits paid to dependents,as provided by existing state law. -Extends the 6.2 percent tax rate imposed by the Federal Unemployment Tax Act on the first $7,000 in wages paid by employers through June 31, 2011, at which point the tax is reduced to 6 percent, whereas existing law required the tax rate be reduced to 6 percent in 2010 (Sec. 10).
-Extends a homebuyer tax credit of 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000 for first-time purchasers who buy a principal residence before May 1, 2010, whereas existing law required the tax credit expire for homes purchased after December 1, 2009 (Sec. 11).
-Establishes a homebuyer tax credit of up to $6,500 for homeowners who file jointly and $3,250 for single homeowners who have lived in their principal residence for at least 5 consecutive years out of the past 8 years (Sec. 11).
-Prohibits a homebuyer tax credit for first time purchasers who buy a home that exceeds $800,000 (Sec. 11).
-Increases the income limitation for the homebuyer tax credit for homeowners living in their home for at least 5 years from $75,000 for singles and $150,000 for joint filers to $125,000 for singles and $225,000 for joint filers (Sec.11).
-Extends the homebuyer tax credit for members of the armed services who purchase a principal residence before May 1, 2011, whereas existing law repealed the credit on May 1, 2010, and specifies that any member of the armed services who is forced to sell that home within three years of the purchase for reasons of overseas deployment will not have to pay back the credit (Sec. 11).
-Extends the net operating loss deduction period from 2 years to 5 years, and includes net losses during the year of 2009 (Sec. 13).
-Limits the net operating deduction to 50 percent of an individual's taxable income, except for businesses with annual gross receipts of $15 million or less (Sec. 13).
-Prohibits businesses that receive benefits from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, from being eligible to file for the 5-year carry back of net operating losses tax credit (Sec. 13). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 2997 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Fiscal Year 2009-2010
Outcome: Conference Report Adopted (263/162)
Summary: -Appropriates $126.46 billion for agriculture, rural development, the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies for fiscal year 2009-2010, including the following allocations (Title I-VI):-$82.78 billion to Domestic Food programs;
-$24.57 billion to Rural Development programs;
-$12.54 billion to Agriculture programs;
-$3.25 billion to the Food and Drug Administration;
-$2.09 billion to the Foreign Agricultural Service; and
-$1.01 billion to Conservation programs. -Appropriates $350 million for dairy producer aid, $60 million of which shall go to the purchase of cheese and other dairy products and $290 million of which shall go to the assistance of dairy and other livestock producers that incur economic losses in connection with dairy and other livestock production (Title VII Sec. 748).
-Appropriates $4 million to the Secretary of Agriculture for grants for programs that develop and field test food products that are "designed to improve the nutritional delivery of humanitarian food assistance" (Title VII Sec. 724).
-Appropriates $3 million to the Hunger Fellowship Program, a program designed to encourage leadership in humanitarian service, to provide training and development opportunities for such leaders, and to increase awareness of the importance of public service (Title VII Sec. 727).
-Resolves that combat pay will not be considered income when determining eligibility for free or reduced school lunches for the children of members of the United States Armed Forces, nor for military eligible to apply for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Children, and Infants (Title VII Sec. 734).
-Prohibits the use of funds to provide first class travel to employees of agencies that receive funding under this Act (Title VII Sec. 736).
-Prohibits the use of funds to establish or implement rules allowing the importation of poultry products from the People's Republic of China, unless the Secretary of Agriculture takes specified steps including conducting audits of inspection systems and on-site reviews of Chinese poultry processing facilities before certifying any such products as eligible for importation (Title VII, Sec. 743).
-Resolves that any household with at least 1 eligible child receiving assistance under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act will continue to receive assistance from a state agency plan approved by the Department of Agriculture if the child's school is closed for more than five consecutive days due to a pandemic emergency (Title VII, Sec. 746). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 3435 Supplemental Appropriations for the "Cash for Clunkers" Program
Outcome: Bill Passed (316/109)
Summary: -Provides that the funds appropriated in this bill shall remain available until September 30, 2010.
-Mandates that $2 billion be transferred from the Department of Energy's Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program. |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 2749 Food Safety Regulation Amendments
Outcome: Bill Passed (283/142)
Summary: -Institutes an annual registration fee for each facility in order to pay for "food safety activities," and specifies that the fee shall be $500 for fiscal year 2010 and shall be adjusted for inflation in each subsequent fiscal year (Sec. 101).
-Limits the total aggregate registration fee liability for an owner or operator of multiple facilities to no more than $175,000 for any fiscal year (Sec. 101).
-Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to suspend the registration of any facility for violating this bill in a manner that could cause "adverse health consequences or death" to humans or animals, and allows the Secretary to cancel a registration that was not properly updated, a registration that contains false, incomplete, or inaccurate information, or a registration for which the fee has not been paid within 30 days after the due date (Sec. 101).
-Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services to stop the distribution of foods found to pose "serious adverse health consequences or death" to humans or animals, and permits the Secretary to take the further step of ordering a recall of such food after allowing an opportunity for the distributor of the food to participate in an informal hearing (Sec. 111).
-Categorizes facilities according to risk and assigns the following schedules for random inspection (Sec. 105):-a 'high-risk' facility is category 1 and must be inspected at least every 6 to 12 months;
-a 'low-risk' facility is category 2 and must be inspected at least every 18 months to 3 years; and
-a facility that holds food is category 3 and must be inspected at least every 5 years. -Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish preventive control regulations or guidelines for the purpose of preventing unintentional contamination throughout the supply chain and requires all facilities to keep records of their efforts to comply with these regulations or guidelines (Sec. 102).
-Provides that those who "knowingly" violate food safety provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act may be fined up to $50,000 per violation and up to $100,000 in a single proceeding for individuals, and up to $500,000 per violation and up to $7.5 million in a single proceeding for corporations and other entities (Sec. 135).
-Provides that violators of food safety provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (other than those who have been found to have "knowingly" violated such provisions) may be fined up to $20,000 per violation and up to $50,000 in a single proceeding for individuals, and up to $250,000 per violation and up to $1 million in a single proceeding for corporations and other entities (Sec. 135).
-Requires food importers to pay registration fees and allow for periodic inspections, and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create regulations to ensure that food importers are in compliance with the provisions of this bill (Sec. 204).
-Exempts from the requirements of this bill certain meats, poultry, eggs, alcohol and other food products that are regulated by an authority other than the Food and Drug Administration, as well as the facilities that produce such products (Sec. 5). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 2454 Energy and Environmental Law Amendments ("Cap and Trade")
Outcome: Bill Passed (219/212)
Summary: -Establishes the following greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the U.S. (Sec. 702):-3 percent reduction from 2005 levels in 2012;
-20 percent reduction from 2005 levels in 2020;
-42 percent reduction from 2005 levels in 2030; and
-83 percent reduction from 2005 levels in 2050. -Establishes a cap and trade program in which covered entities are prohibited from emitting greenhouse gas in excess of the number of emission allowances and offset credits that the entity acquired during each calendar year (Sec. 311).
-Specifies that a "covered entity" includes, but is not limited to, the following (Sec. 312):-Any electricity source;
-Stationary source that produces and entities that import for sale or distribution in 2008 or any subsequent year petroleum-based or coal-based liquid fuel, petroleum coke, or natural gas liquid, the combustion of which would emit at least 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gas;
-Any geologic sequestration site;
-Any stationary source involved in adipic acid production, primary aluminum production, ammonia manufacturing, cement production other than grinding-only operations, hydrochlorofluorocarbon production, lime manufacturing, nitric acid production, petroleum refining, phosphoric acid production, silicon carbine production, soda ash production, titanium dioxide production, and coal-based liquid or gaseous fuel production; and
-Natural gas local distribution companies that deliver at least 460 million cubic feet of natural gas. -Specifies that any of the following constitute a greenhouse gas: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons emitted from a chemical manufacturing process at an industrial stationary source, any perfluorocarbon, nitrogen trifluoride, and any other anthropogenic gas designated as a greenhouse gas by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Sec. 311).
-Specifies that the following measurements are all equal to 1 ton of carbon dioxide for the purposes of establishing the carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gas (Sec. 311):-25 tons of methane;
-298 tons of nitrous oxide;
-14,800 tons of HFC-23 (fluoroform);
-3,500 tons of HFC-125 (pentafluoroethane);
-1,430 tons of HFC-134a (tetrafluoroethane);
-4,470 tons of HFC-143a (trifluoroethane);
-124 tons of HFC-152a (difluoroethane);
-3,220 tons of HFC-227ea (heptafluoropropane);
-9,810 tons of HFC-236fa (hexafluoropropane);
-1,640 tons of HFC-43-10mee (decafluoropentane);
-7,390 tons of CF4 (tetrafluoromethane);
-12,200 tons of C2F6 (hexafluorethane);
-8,860 tons of C4F10 (perfluorobutane);
-9,300 tons of C6F14 (perfluorohexane);
-22,800 tons of SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride); and
-17,200 tons of NF3 (nitrogen fluoride). -Specifies that one emission allowance is equal to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gas (Sec. 311).
-Specifies that emission allowances are not required for fugitive greenhouse gas emissions produced by electricity sources, nitrogen trifluoride sources, industrial stationary sources, and industrial fossil fuel-fired combustion devices, unless the Administrator of the EPA determines that such emissions can be determined with sufficient precision, reliability, accessibility and timeliness (Sec. 311).
-Specifies that emission allowances are not required for petroleum-based or coal-based liquid fuel, petroleum coke, natural gas liquid, fossil fuel-based carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, or fluorinated gas that is exported for sale or use (Sec. 311).
-Limits the number of available emission allowances to the following, with some exceptions for adjustments by the Administrator of the EPA (Sec. 311):-4.63 billion for 2012;
-4.54 billion for 2013;
-5.1 billion for 2014;
-5 billion for 2015;
-5.48 billion for 2016;
-5.38 billion for 2017;
-5.27 billion for 2018;
-5.16 billion for 2019;
-5.06 billion for for 2020;
-4.9 billion for 2021;
-4.75 billion for 2022;
-4.6 billion for 2023;
-4.45 billion for 2024;
-4.29 billion for 2025;
-4.14 billion for 2026;
-3.99 billion for 2027;
-3.84 billion for 2028;
-3.69 billion for 2029;
-3.53 billion for 2030;
-3.41 billion for 2031;
-3.28 billion for 2032;
-3.16 billion for 2033;
-3.03 billion for 2034;
-2.91 billion for 2035;
-2.78 billion for 2036;
-2.66 billion for 2037;
-2.53 billion for 2038;
-2.41 billion for 2039
-2.28 billion for 2040;
-2.16 billion for 2041;
-2.03 billion for 2042;
-1.91 billion for 2043;
-1.79 billion for 2044;
-1.66 billion for 2045;
-1.54 billion for 2046;
-1.41 billion for 2047;
-1.29 billion for 2048;
-1.16 billion for 2049; and
-1.04 billion for 2050 and each year thereafter. -Allocates a specific annual percentage of emission allowances automatically for various purposes, including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 321):-For the benefit of electricity consumers:-43.75 percent for 2012 and 2013;
-38.89 percent for 2014 and 2015;
-35 percent for 2016 through 2025;
-28 percent for 2026;
-21 percent for 2027;
-14 percent for 2028; and
-7 percent for 2029; -For support of state renewable energy and energy efficiency programs:-9.5 percent for 2012 and 2015;
-6.5 percent for 2016 and 2017;
-5.5 percent for 2018 and 2021;
-1 percent for 2022 through 2025;
-4.5 percent for 2026 through 2050; and
-At the same time allowances are distributed for years 2022 through 2025, 3.55 percent is distributed to be used in four years, in addition to the allocation for years 2026 through 2050; -For the benefit of natural gas consumers:-9 percent for 2016 through 2025;
-7.2 percent for 2026;
-5.4 percent for 2027;
-3.6 percent for 2028; and
-1.8 percent for 2029; -For supplemental emission reductions through the International Deforestation Reduction Program established by this Act:-5 percent for 2012 through 2025;
-3 percent for 2026 through 2030; and
-2 percent for 2031 through 2050; -For the deployment of carbon capture and sequestration technology:-1.75 percent for 2014 through 2017;
-4.75 percent for 2018 through 2019; and
-5 percent for 2020 through 2050. -Requires the Administrator of the EPA to hold a single-round, sealed-bid, uniform price auction 4 times per year at regular intervals, with the first auction to be held no later than March 31, 2011, in which covered entities may purchase emission allowances that were not automatically allocated for various purposes as described above (Sec. 311).
-Prohibits participants from purchasing more than 5 percent of the emission allowances offered for sale at any quarterly auction (Sec. 311).
-Requires the Administrator of the EPA to set aside a specific number of emission allowances for small businesses at each auction as follows (Sec. 311):-6.2 percent of the emission allowances from 2012 through 2013;
-5.4 percent of the emission allowances from 2014 through 2015; and
-4.9 percent of the emission allowances from 2016 through 2024. -Authorizes covered entities to utilize offset credits to demonstrate compliance in the cap and trade program for projects that result in reductions or avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions or sequestration of greenhouse gas, provided that such credits do not exceed 2 billion tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions (Sec. 311).
-Authorizes the holder of an emission allowance, compensatory allowance, or offset credit to sell, exchange, transfer, hold for compliance, or request that the Administration retire the emission allowance, compensatory allowance, or offset credit (Sec. 311).
-Establishes a penalty for covered entities that emit greenhouse gases in excess of the amount of emission allowances and offset credits the covered entity has acquired. The penalty is equal to the product obtained by multiplying the following (Sec. 311):-Total amount of carbon dioxide equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions for which the covered entity failed to demonstrate compliance; and
-Twice the auction clearing price for the earliest year emission allowances in the last auction carried out. -Requires retail electric suppliers that supply more than 4 million megawatt hours of electric energy to consumers per year to derive the following amounts of the total electricity they sell from renewable sources (Sec. 101):-6 percent in 2012 and 2013;
-9.5 percent in 2014 and 2015;
-13 percent in 2016 and 2017;
-16.5 percent in 2018 and 2019; and
-20 percent from 2020 through 2039. -Authorizes electric suppliers to opt out of the renewable sources requirement listed above and pay $25 per megawatt hour of electricity savings that would otherwise be due (Sec. 101).
-Requires electric utilities to develop a plan to support the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles, including the deployment of the charging infrastructure or other infrastructure necessary to adequately support the use of plug-in electric drive vehicles (Sec. 121).
-Requires the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to deploy and integrate plug-in electric drive vehicles into the the electricity grid in multiple regions, and authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance for the purchase of such vehicles, supporting the use of such vehicles, or other projects the Secretary determines appropriate to support the large-scale deployment of such vehicles (Sec. 122).
-Requires the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to provide financial assistance to automobile manufactures to facilitate the manufacture of plug-in electric drive vehicles, and requires the Secretary to select recipients that are most likely to be successful and are located in local markets that have the greatest need for such assistance (Sec. 123).
-Establishes the energy efficiency goal of the U.S. as an improvement of overall energy productivity by at least 2.5 percent per year through 2030, and requires the Secretary of Energy to develop a strategic plan to achieve this goal, which must include the following (Sec. 272):-Future regulatory, funding, and policy priorities;
-Energy savings estimates for each sector; and
-Data collection methodologies and compilations used to establish baseline and energy savings data. -Authorizes the states to utilize funds from their SEED Account, composed of federal funds appropriated pursuant to the Clean Air Act, to provide rebates of up to $7,500 to owners of manufactured homes constructed prior 1976 in which the total income of all members of the household does not exceed 200 percent of the Federal poverty level for income in the applicable area for the purposes of purchasing a new Energy Star qualified manufactured home (Sec. 203).
-Increases energy efficiency standards for electric motors and florescent and incandescent lamps beginning December 19, 2010 (Sec. 161).
-Increases energy efficiency standards for various domestic appliances (Sec. 213).
-Establishes the following national building code energy efficiency targets (Sec. 201):-30 percent reduction in energy use relative to a comparable building constructed in compliance with the baseline code effective on the date of enactment of this Act;
-50 percent reduction in energy use relative to the baseline code beginning January 1, 2014 for residential buildings and January 1, 2015 for commercial buildings; and
-5 percent additional reduction in energy use relative to the baseline code beginning January 1, 2017 for residential buildings and January 1, 2018 for commercial buildings, and every three years thereafter, respectively, through January 1, 2029. -Appropriates $25 million to the Secretary of Energy to enforce the national energy efficiency building code (Sec. 201).
-Appropriates $600 million for fiscal years 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 respectively to establish the Best in Class Appliances Deployment Program for the following reasons (Sec. 214):-Provide bonus payments to retailers or distributors for the sale of best-in-class high-efficiency household appliance models, high efficiency installed building equipment, and high-efficiency consumer electronics;
-Provide bounties to retailers and manufacturers for the replacement, retirement, and recycling of old inefficient and environmentally harmful products; and
-Provide premium awards to manufacturers for developing and producing new Superefficient Best-in-Class Products. -Appropriates $7.5 million for fiscal year 2009-2010, $10 million for fiscal year 2010-2011, $20 million for fiscal year 2011-2012, and $50 million for fiscal year 2012-2013 to establish the WaterSense program within the Environmental Protection Agency to promote water efficient products, buildings and landscapes, and services (Sec. 215).
-Appropriates $15 billion for fiscal years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 respectively to establish the Clean Energy Manufacturing Revolving Loan Fund Program for issuing grants to States to issue loans to manufactures for investments in clean energy technology, including, but not limited to, wind turbines, solar energy, fuel cells, biomass equipment, geothermal equipment, advanced biofuels, ocean energy equipment, carbon capture and storage, and advanced batteries, battery systems, or storage devices (Sec. 246).
-Appropriates $200 million for fiscal year 2009-2010, $250 million for fiscal year 2010-2011, $300 million for fiscal year 2011-2012, $350 million for fiscal year 2012-2013 and $400 for fiscal year 2013-2014 for the Hollings Manufacturing Partnership Program (Sec. 247).
-Appropriates $2.5 billion to establish the Residential Energy Efficiency Block Grant Program for issuing grants to States, metropolitan cities and urban counties, Indian tribes, and insular areas to carry out energy efficiency improvements in new and existing single-family and multifamily housing (Sec. 296).
-Appropriates $5 billion to the Alternative Energy Sources State Loan Fund established by this Act for the Secretary of Energy to issue loans to states and Indian tribes to provide incentives to owners of single-family and multifamily housing, commercial properties, and public buildings to provide renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and energy conserving improvements, and infrastructure related to the delivery of electricity and hot water for structures lacking such amenities (Sec. 299D).
-Increases appropriation for loans to be issued by the Secretary of Energy under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Incentive Program from $25 million to $50 million (Sec. 125).
-Increases appropriation for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program from $125 million to $150 million (Sec. 422). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2009) HR 2751 Trade-in Vouchers for Fuel Efficient Cars
Outcome: Bill Passed (298/119)
Summary: -Establishes the "Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program" which authorizes electronic vouchers to be issued to participating dealers (Sec. 2).
-Grants a $3,500 voucher for trading in an old vehicle for a passenger vehicle with at least 4 miles per gallon more, a non-passenger truck with at least 2 miles per gallon more, or a large van or pickup truck with at least 1 mile per gallon more fuel economy than the vehicle being traded in (Sec. 2).
-Grants a $4,500 voucher for trading in an old vehicle for a passenger vehicle with at least 10 miles per gallon more, a non-passenger truck with at least 5 miles per gallon more, or a large van or pickup truck with at least 2 miles per gallon more fuel economy than the vehicle being traded in (Sec. 2).
-Requires that dealers who participate in the program do not sell, lease, or exchange the traded in vehicle and will ensure the vehicle gets crushed or shredded (Sec. 2).
-Defines an eligible trade-in vehicle as an automobile or work truck manufactured after 1984 that is still in drivable condition, has been owned by the same person and insured for at least one year and has a combined fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon or less (Sec. 2).
-Requires the Secretary of Transportation and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to make information available to the public about how to determine if a trade-in vehicle is eligible for a voucher, how to participate in the program, and a list of new fuel efficient vehicles that meet the requirements of the program (Sec. 2).
-This bill was amended into the final version of HR 2346. |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 1256 FDA Oversight of Tobacco Products
Outcome: Bill Passed (298/112)
Summary: -Grants the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) power to regulate tobacco products (Sec. 101).
-Requires tobacco product manufacturers to disclose all ingredients in its products, the form and delivery method of nicotine, and any research into the health, toxicological, behavioral, or physiologic effects of tobacco products to the FDA and notify the FDA of any future changes to any of the above (Sec. 101).
-Requires tobacco manufacturers to release all marketing research documents to the FDA (Sec. 101).
-Requires tobacco manufacturers to notify the FDA of any future changes to the ingredients of their products (Sec. 101).
-Requires all owners and operators of companies manufacturing or processing tobacco products to register with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and to be inspected once every two years (Sec. 101).
-Prohibits the FDA from banning existing tobacco products or requiring that they eliminate nicotine (Sec. 101).
-Requires FDA review of new tobacco products before they can go to market unless they are similar to products marketed before February 15, 2007 (Sec. 101).
-Bans companies from promoting products as lower-risk alternatives to traditional tobacco unless the FDA certifies that its sale is likely to improve public health (Sec. 101).
-Establishes a mechanism to assess fees on tobacco companies and traders to finance FDA oversight of the industry (Sec. 101).
-Orders a study on the public health implications of raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products (Sec. 104).
-Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a plan relating to enforce restrictions on the advertising and promotion of menthol and other cigarettes to minors (Sec. 105).
-Mandates larger, more varied, and more prominent warning labels on tobacco products (Secs. 201, 204). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 1586 TARP Recipient Bonuses Tax
Outcome: Bill Passed (328/93)
Summary: -Taxes 90% of TARP bonuses received by a taxpayer (Sec. 1).
-Defines a TARP bonuses as the lesser of retention payments, incentive payments, and other bonuses which are in addition to regular pay or adjusted gross income over 250,000 dollars for an individual filer, or income over 125,000 dollars (Sec. 1).
-Only applies the tax to people who received more than $5 billion under TARP, the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Association, and any related members or partners (Sec. 1). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 1106 Mortgage Restructuring In Bankruptcy
Outcome: Bill Passed (234/191)
Summary: -Grants bankruptcy court judges the authority to reduce interest rates or extend the repayment period up to 40 years for mortgages (Sec. 103).
-Requires homeowners who receive assistance under this act and sell their home within the first year for a profit to pay their lender up to 90 percent of the difference between the sales price and the amount due under their original mortgage (Sec. 103).
-Prohibits aid to homeowners who are able to meet their original or modified mortgage payments without assistance or who obtained credit through actual fraud (Sec. 105).
-Amends standards for participation in the HOPE for Homeowners Program by excluding borrowers who intentionally defaulted on their mortgage, who have been convicted of fraud or those who earn more than $1 million (Sec. 202).
-Raises FDIC depositor insurance to permanently cover $250,000 instead of $100,000 of each deposit at participating institutions (Sec. 204).
-Establishes a Nationwide Mortgage Fraud Task Force to investigate mortgage fraud in and aid enforcement of mortgage fraud laws (Sec. 302). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 1 Appropriations, Tax Law Amendments, and Unemployment Benefit Amendments ("Stimulus Bill")
Outcome: Conference Report Adopted (246/183)
Summary: -Allows an income tax credit of up to $400 for individuals with an adjusted gross income of less than $70,000 or $800 for joint returns for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $140,000 (Div. B, Sec. 1001).
-Rescinds taxes on up to $2,400 of unemployment benefits (Division B, Sec. 1007).
-Extends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act to December 31, 2009 and increases benefits by $25 per week (Division B, Sec. 2001, 2002).
-Provides COBRA assistance for coverage beginning after the enactment of this bill of up to 35 percent of the premium amount (Div. B, 3001).
-Increases the credit percentage for taxpayers with three or more children to 45 percent and reduces the marriage tax by changing the formula for the amount of credit allowed (Div. B, Sec. 1002).
-Extends the first-time homebuyer's tax credit to December 1, 2009 and increases the maximum amount of the tax credit to $8,000 or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately (Div. B, Sec. 1006).
-Extends tax credits for electricity produced from wind facilities until 2013, and from other renewable resource facilities such as biomass, geothermal, solar energy, landfill gas, trash combustion, and qualified hydropower facilities until 2014 (Div. B, Sec. 1101).
-Establishes the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to oversee appropriated funds and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse (Div. A, Title XV).
-Establishes the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to allow for the electronic use and exchange of information that secures and protects patient health information, improves health care quality, reduces medical errors and health disparities, reduces costs from inefficiency, medical errors, inappropriate or duplicate care, and incomplete information, and improves coordination of care between hospitals, laboratories, and physician offices (Div. A, Title XIII).
-Increases the Hope Scholarship credit by making up to $2,000 of education expenses deductible, plus 25% of such expenses that exceed $2,000 but not $4,000 dollars (Div. B, Sec. 1004).
-Grants qualified school construction bonds for up to $11 billion in 2009 and $11 billion in 2010 (Div. B, Sec. 1521).
-Requires states to periodically verify if documented immigrants receiving benefits still maintain legal immigrant status (Div. B, Sec. 1853).
-Appropriates $4.7 billion for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (Div. A, Titles II).
-Appropriates $650 million to extend the digital to analog converter box program (Div. A, Title II).
-Appropriates $16.8 billion for energy efficiency and renewable energy (Div. A, Title IV).
-Appropriates $100 million for border security, fencing, infrastructure and technology (Div. A, Title VI).
-Appropriates $13 billion for education of the disadvantaged, $12.2 billion for special education, and $15.84 billion for student financial assistance, including Pell Grants (Div. A, Title VIII).
-Appropriates $27.5 billion for highway, rail, and port infrastructure construction and repair (Div. A, Title XII). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 1 Appropriations, Tax Law Amendments, and Unemployment Benefit Amendments ("Stimulus Bill")
Outcome: Bill Passed (244/188)
Summary: -Allows an income tax credit of up to $500 for individuals with an adjusted gross income of less than $75,000 or $1,000 for joint returns for taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $150,000 (Division B, Sec. 1001).
-Requires projects funded by this bill to use only iron and steel produced in the United States, unless it is inconsistent with public interest, there are insufficient quantities produced in the United States, or it would increase the cost of the overall project by over 25 percent (Division A, Sec. 1110).
-Increases the credit percentage for taxpayers with three or more children to 45 percent and reduces the marriage tax by changing the formula for the amount of credit allowed (Division B, Sec. 1101).
-Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to enter into contracts with businesses that do not participate in the E-verify program for their employees (Division A, Sec. 1114).
-Increases the Hope Scholarship credit to allow a 100% deduction for the first $2000 spent on tuition and related expenses and a 25% deduction for another $4000 (Division B, Sec. 1201).
-Grants qualified school construction bonds for up to $11 billion in 2009 and $11 billion for 2010 (Division B, Sec. 1511).
-Extends tax credits for electricity produced from wind facilities until 2013, and from other renewable resource facilities such as biomass, geothermal, solar energy, landfill gas, trash combustion, and qualified hydropower facilities until 2014 (Division B, Sec. 1601).
-Extends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act to December 31, 2009 (Division B, Sec. 2001).
-Provides COBRA assistance for coverage beginning after the enactment of this bill of up to 35 percent of the premium amount (Division B, Sec. 3002).
-Allows temporary Medicaid coverage for individuals who currently receive unemployment benefits or who were receiving but have exhausted unemployment benefits on or after July 1, 2008 (Division B, Sec. 3003).
-Establishes the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to allow for the electronic use and exchange of information that secures and protects patient health information, improves health care quality, reduces medical errors and health disparities, reduces costs from inefficiency, medical errors, inappropriate or duplicate care, and incomplete information, and improves coordination of care between hospitals, laboratories, and physician offices (Division B, Title IV).
-Establishes the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to develop a broadband map of the United States to identify the availability of broadband service from commercial or public providers in each state (Division B, Sec. 6001).
-Authorizes grants for any non-recurring costs related to building broadband infrastructure (Division B, Sec. 6002).
-Provides financial assistance of up to 50 percent of costs for electric "smart grid" system demonstration projects to increase reliability, security, and efficiency while meeting future growth demands of energy (Division B, Sec. 7002).
-Expands the definition of low income families eligible for weatherization assistance to include families whose income is 200 percent of the poverty level and increases the assistance per household from $2,500 to $5,000 (Division B, Sec. 7004).
-Appropriates $67.79 billion for the Department of Education, including $1.34 billion for Pell Grant funding (Division A, Title IX). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) S 181 Employment Discrimination Law Amendments
Outcome: Bill Passed (250/177)
Summary: -Changes the current unlawful employment discrimination laws to include the adoption of discriminatory compensation decisions or practices, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, and when an individual is subjected to or affected by such practices (Sec. 3, 4, 5).
-Allows the recovery of back pay for up to two years prior to the complaint in addition to existing penalties (Sec. 3).
-Takes effect as if enacted on May 28, 2007 and applies to all claims made on or after that date (Sec. 6). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) H J Res 3 Releasing Funds for Economic Stabilization Act
Outcome: Joint Resolution Passed (270/155)
Summary: |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 384 Oversight of the Troubled Asset Relief Program
Outcome: Bill Passed (260/166)
Summary: -Increases reporting requirements and procedures for companies receiving TARP assistance in order to better determine how the funding was used (Sec. 101, 103).
-Restricts the structure and compensation of executive boards of companies using TARP assistance (Sec. 102).
-Makes TARP funding available to small community financial institutions designated as S-corporations and C-corporations (Sec. 105).
-Establishes the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion to ensure women and minorities are included in TARP companies (Sec. 107).
-Provides at least $100 billion for foreclosure mitigation, unless the Secretary of the Treasure deems the need to be lower, in which case the amount needs to be at least $40 billion and reasons for a lower estimate must be reported to Congress (Sec. 201).
-Recommends up to a 9 month moratorium on foreclosure proceedings and uses the HOPE for Homeowners Program to mitigate foreclosures on affordable housing (Sec. 207, 208).
-Extends and restructures bridge loan for automotive companies (Sec. 302).
-Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to establish or support the availability of consumer loans, municipal securities, commercial real estate loans, small business loans, commercial loans, and automobile fleet purchase loans (Sec. 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406).
-Establishes low interest loans as a "home buyer stimulus program" through the HOPE for Homeowners Program (Sec. 601).
- Increases the amount of money insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) from 100,000 to 250,000 (Sec. 701). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 2 Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization and Expansion
Outcome: Bill Passed (289/139)
Summary: -Allows states to provide pregnancy-related assistance under CHIP for pregnant women whose income is at least 185 percent of their state's poverty level or at least 200 percent of the poverty level for children under 19 years of age (Sec. 111).
-Phases out coverage of non-pregnant childless adults by prohibiting the approval or renewal of waivers after September 30, 2009, unless a state requests a one year extension (Sec. 112).
-Limits the matching rate given to states that cover children whose family income exceeds 300% of the poverty line (Sec. 114).
-Expands coverage to children of legal immigrants and pregnant legal immigrants (Sec. 211).
-Increases the federal excise taxes on tobacco products, including raising the cigarette tax by $0.61 to $1 per pack, in order to fund CHIP (Sec. 701). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 11 Employment Discrimination Law Amendments
Outcome: Bill Passed (247/171)
Summary: -Changes the current unlawful employment discrimination laws to include the adoption of discriminatory compensation decisions or practices, including each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid, and when an individual is subjected to or affected by such practices (Sec. 3, 4, 5).
-Allows the recovery of back pay for up to two years prior to the complaint in addition to existing penalties (Sec. 3).
-Prohibits employer retaliation against employees who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their own wage or that of another employee (Sec. 203).
-Increases penalties against a discriminatory employer including compensation of legal fees and liability for punitive damages against an employee (Sec. 203).
-Issues grant money for salary negotiation skills training for girls and women (Sec. 205).
-HR 11 was passed and then amended into SB 181 for further action |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2009) HR 12 Employment Discrimination Law Amendments
Outcome: Bill Passed (256/163)
Summary: -Requires that employers be able to prove that any disparities in pay between male and female employees are job-related (Sec. 3).
-Prohibits employer retaliation against employees who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their own wage or that of another employee (Sec. 3).
-Increases penalties against a discriminatory employer including compensation of legal fees and liability for punitive damages against an employee (Sec. 3).
-Issues grant money for salary negotiation skills training for girls and women (Sec. 5).
-Requires the Department of Labor to conduct and publicize ongoing research into the elimination of pay disparities (Sec. 6).
-Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to issue business regulations for the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws (Sec. 8).
-HR 12 was passed and then amended into HR 11 for further action |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 7321 Automotive Industry Financing
Outcome: Bill Passed (237/170)
Summary: -Requires the President to designate one or more officials ("Car Czars") to be overseen by the Comptroller General in order to assess auto manufacturers' recovery plans and approve bridge loans (Secs. 3-4).
-Allocates $14 billion for bridge loans and long-term restructuring loans to American auto companies that submitted recovery plans to the government by December 2, 2008 (Secs. 4, 10).
-Requires participating auto manufacturers to submit a final restructuring plan to the President's designee by March 31, 2009, unless the designee chooses to postpone the deadline until April 30, 2009 (Sec. 6).
-Specifies that bridge loans to a manufacturer will only be approved if the submitted restructuring plan will allow for repayment of all government loans, produce more efficient vehicles, rationalize costs, raise private capital, and manufacture a product line that will be competitive in the U.S. market (Sec. 6).
-Transfers $7.01 billion from funds previously appropriated to the Department of Energy for direct loans to auto manufacturers producing advanced technology vehicles, and reserves $5000 million for tax incentives to produce efficient, low-emissions vehicles (Sec. 10).
-Authorizes the President's designee to inspect all records of an auto manufacturer receiving government loans, to review and prohibit any business transaction valued at greater than $100 million, and to cancel financial assistance or require more rapid repayment of loans if participating manufacturers fail to meet the requirements of this act (Sec. 11).
-Prohibits obligations from government financial assistance to auto manufacturers from being discharged due to bankruptcy under Title 11 of United States Code (Sec. 12).
-Imposes limits on bonuses and incentive payments to the 25 most highly compensated executives in each participating company (Sec. 12).
-Halts payment of dividends during the period that the government's loan is outstanding (Sec. 12). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 1424 Financial Asset Purchase Authority and Tax Law Amendments
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (263/171)
Summary: -Establishes the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase troubled assets from any financial institution (Div. A, Sec. 101).
-Sets the initial authority for purchasing troubled assets at $250 billion, allows for the President to extend the authority up to $350 billion, and allows for an extension of up to $700 billion with both Congressional and Presidential approval (Div. A, Sec. 115).
-Requires that any financial institution that has assets directly purchased by the Treasury have limits placed on executive compensation for the five highest paid employees, and allows for the government to recover compensation garnered through false earning statements and prohibits any "golden parachute" payments (Div. A, Sec. 111).
-Increases the limitation for the total public debt by $700 billion, for a total of $11.32 trillion, and requires that proceeds from sales of troubled assets under this bill be used to make payments on the national debt (Div. A, Secs. 106, 122).
-States that if mortgages or other assets secured by residential real estate are purchased by the Treasury, the Secretary of the Treasury must encourage use of the HOPE for Homeowners program. Also requires the Treasury Department to work with the Federal Housing Finance Agency and other agencies in order to improve the loan modification and restructuring process and reduce foreclosures (Div. A, Sec. 109).
-Terminates the Treasury's authority to purchase or insure troubled assets on December 31, 2009 unless the Secretary of the Treasury submits a certified extension to Congress (Div. A, Sec. 120).
-Extends tax credits for wind facilities and refined coal production facilities until January 1, 2010, extends tax credits for closed- and open-loop biomass facilities, geothermal or solar energy facilities, small irrigation power facilities, landfill gas facilities, trash combustion facilities, and qualified hydropower facilities until January 1, 2011, and applies this production credit to marine and hydrokinetic energy facilities until January 1, 2012 (Div. B, Secs. 101, 102).
-Extends the energy credit for solar energy properties, fuel cell properties, and microturbine properties through the 2016 calendar year (Div. B, Sec. 103).
-Provides a tax credit of $2,500 to $15,000 for the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles (Div. B, Sec. 205).
-Provides tax benefits for areas in the Midwest affected by flooding and storms, and for parts of Texas and Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ike (Div. C, Sec. 702, 704).
-States that group health insurance plans offering mental health and substance abuse treatment must offer such coverage with financial requirements and treatment limitations that are no more restrictive than those associated with the medical and surgical coverage provided by the plan (Div. C, Sec. 512).
-Extends the business research credit through the 2009 calendar year (Div. C, Sec. 301).
-Extends tax deductions for qualified tuition expenses and for school-related expenses for elementary and secondary school teachers until through the 2009 calendar year (Div. C, Secs. 202, 203).
-Reduces the tax deduction available for income from the domestic production of oil and gas (Div. B, Sec. 401).
-Increases the amount of income exempt from the alternative minimum tax from $66,250 to $69,950 for a joint return or surviving spouse, and from $44,350 to $46,200 for an individual return (Div. C, Sec. 102).
-Extends the 6.2 percent Federal Unemployment Tax Act surtax that employers pay with respect to individual employees through 2009 (Div. B, Sec. 404).
-Extends the deadline for qualified individuals of 70 1/2 years of age or older to make tax-free charitable donations totaling up to $100,000 from individual retirement plans from December 31, 2007 to December 31, 2009 (Div. C, Sec. 205).
-Note: The initial House passage of this bill (Roll 101 on March 5, 2008) did not include the economic package. At that time the bill focused on insurance coverage of mental illness and addiction, and employer and insurance practices involving genetic information. Senate vote 213 and House vote 681 contained the economic package. |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2008) HR 6867 Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation
Outcome: Bill Passed (368/28)
Summary: - Allows an individual who has no rights to federal or state regular unemployment compensation, or who has exhausted his or her rights to federal or state regular compensation, to receive the lesser of 80 percent (up from 50 percent) of the amount of his or her regular yearly compensation or 20 times (up from 13 times) his or her average weekly benefit amount (Sec. 2).
- Provides additional extended emergency unemployment compensation in an amount equal to the lesser of 50 percent of the individual's regular yearly compensation or 13 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount in states that are in an extended benefit period, as defined by the unemployment rates (Sec. 3). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 3997 Financial Asset Purchase Authority
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Failed (205/228)
Summary: - Establishes the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase troubled assets from any financial institution (Sec. 101).
- Sets an initial authority for purchasing troubled assets at $250 billion, extends the authority to $350 billion if the President submits a written certification to Congress stating that the Secretary of the Treasury needs additional authority, and further extends the authority to $700 billion if the President submits a written report detailing the plans of the Secretary unless Congress passes a joint resolution to deny the expansion of authority (Sec. 115).
- Allows the Secretary of the Treasury to sell, or enter into securities loans, repurchase transactions, or other financial transactions in regard to, any troubled asset purchased by the Secretary upon terms, conditions, and prices determined by the Secretary (Sec. 106).
- Requires that, if the Treasury buys troubled assets directly, there must be limits on compensation to exclude incentives for senior executives of a financial institution to take risks that may threaten the value of the institution while the Secretary of the Treasury holds an equity or debt position with the institution, provisions to recover any bonus compensation paid to senior executives based on statements of earnings proven to be false, and a prohibition on any "golden parachute" payments to senior executives while the Secretary holds any equity or debt in the institution (Sec. 111).
- Increases the limitation for the total public debt by $700 billion, for a total of $11.32 trillion (Sec. 122).
- Requires revenues from the sale of troubled assets purchased under this act to be used to make payments on the national debt (Sec. 106).
- States that if mortgages or other assets secured by residential real estate are purchased by the Treasury, the Secretary of the Treasury must encourage use of the HOPE for Homeowners program and work with the Federal Housing Finance Agency and other agencies in order to improve the loan modification and restructuring process and reduce foreclosures (Sec. 109).
- Terminates the Treasury's authority to purchase or insure troubled assets on December 31, 2009 (Sec. 120). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2008) HR 7060 Renewable Energy Credits and Other Business and Individual Credits
Outcome: Bill Passed (257/166)
Summary: - Extends tax credits for wind facilities until January 1, 2010, and credits for qualified biomass, geothermal or solar, small irrigation power, landfill gas, trash combustion, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities until October 1, 2011 (Sec. 101, 102).
- Extends residential energy efficient property credits for solar electric, solar water heating, and fuel cell property expenditures until December 31, 2016 (Sec. 104).
- Extends the residential energy efficient property credit allowable against the alternative minimum tax to the taxable year starting in 2007 (Sec. 104).
- Reduces the maximum income tax deduction allowed for domestic production of oil and gas (Sec. 401).
- Extends the business research credit through December 31, 2009 (Sec. 221).
- Extends tax deductions for college tuition payments through the taxable year ending December 31, 2009 (Sec. 202).
- Allows a base credit of $3,000 for plug-in electric motor vehicles, with up to an additional $2,000 for vehicles drawing propulsion energy from a battery of 5 or more kilowatt hours of capacity (Sec. 124).
- Encourages bicycle commuting by allowing tax-free reimbursements to cover expenses such as the purchase of a bicycle and maintenance if the bicycle is regularly used to travel between the employee's residence and place of employment (Sec. 126).
- Extends the Federal Unemployment Tax Act surtax that employers pay with respect to individuals they employ through 2010 (Sec. 404).
- Extends tax credits for solar energy property until January 1, 2017 and credits for fuel cell and microturbine property until December 31, 2016 (Sec. 103). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 5244 Credit Card Regulations
Outcome: Bill Passed (312/112)
Summary: - Prohibits creditors from imposing finance charges based on balances for days in previous billing cycles (Sec. 3).
- Increases the time by which creditors must send periodic credit card account statements to consumers to at least 25 days before the due date of the next payment instead of 14 days before the due date (Sec. 3).
- Mandates that creditors inform consumers of any increase in the annual percentage rate of interest at least 45 days before the rate increase takes effect (Sec. 2).
- Prohibits creditors from charging fees for outstanding interest accrued on an outstanding balance during a previous billing period that was paid in full during that period (Sec. 3). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6604 Commodity Markets Speculation Bill
Outcome: Bill Passed (283/133)
Summary: - Limits off-shore trading by prohibiting foreign boards of trade from providing their members in the U.S. with direct access to an electronic trading and order matching system in order to settle against the price of one or more contracts dealing with energy or agricultural commodities listed for trading, and provides an exception if the foreign board of trade meets certain specifications including making all information public each day and having authority to prevent or reduce threats of price manipulation and "excessive" speculation (Sec. 4).
- Requires the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to set limits on the number of securities investments that may be held by any person in an effort to prevent "excessive" speculation, deter and prevent market manipulation, squeezes, and corners, ensure sufficient market liquidity for bona fide hedgers, and ensure that the price discovery function of the underlying market is not disrupted (Sec. 8).
- Requires the CFTC to hire an additional 100 full-time employees with the intent of increasing public transparency of operations in the agriculture and energy markets and to improve enforcement of rules set out in this act (Sec. 10).
- Requires the CFTC to issue a rule defining and classifying index traders and swap dealers in order to set reporting requirements for those entities (Sec. 6).
- Requires routine reporting on at least a monthly basis of over-the-counter trading of agricultural or energy commodities that is interchangeable with trading in accordance with the rules of any board of trade or electronic trading facility, and allows the CFTC to impose position limits if it finds that this trading could cause a severe market disturbance (Sec. 14). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6899 Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling and Extending Certain Renewable Energy Tax Credits
Outcome: Bill Passed (236/189)
Summary: - Opens areas for oil and gas leasing that were previously part of Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas and located more than 50 miles from the coastline, as long as states with boundaries within 100 miles of a proposed site agree to the lease (Secs. 102, 103).
- Prohibits public officials in the Minerals Management Division of the Department of the Interior from receiving any gift "of value" from oil or gas corporation employees, imposes a prison sentence of up to two years for any persons giving or accepting such gifts, and allows for a civil penalty of up to $25 million, in addition to an amount equal to gross revenues accrued during the period in which the violation occurred for any oil or gas corporation responsible for offering gifts (Sec. 144).
- Requires retail energy suppliers to generate at least 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources by 2020 or by credits equal to that amount (Sec. 501).
- Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to aid in the construction of new oil and natural gas pipelines from the National Petroleum Reserve to existing transportation or processing infrastructure on the North Slope in Alaska (Sec. 163).
- Bans the export of domestic crude oil to neighboring countries for refining unless an equal amount is sent from that country to the United States (Sec. 166).
- Updates national model building energy codes to require at least 50 percent energy savings for residential and commercial buildings in each code by 2020 (Sec. 401).
- Requires every gas station owned by major oil companies to have at least one alternative fuel pump by January 1, 2018, which dispenses natural gas, fuel that contains at least 85 percent ethanol, a mixture containing at least 20 percent biodiesel or renewable diesel, or hydrogen (Sec. 701).
- Encourages bicycle commuting by allowing tax-free reimbursements to cover expenses such as the purchase of a bicycle and maintenance if the bicycle is regularly used to travel between the employee's residence and place of employment (Sec. 827).
- Prohibits the oil or gas leasing of an area in the Outer Continental Shelf that was not available before July 1, 2008, or was not authorized in this bill (Sec. 101).
- Requires 70 million barrels of light crude petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be sold within six months of this bill's enactment, which would be replaced with an equal amount of heavy crude petroleum within five years, as long as selling the barrels will not result in a total of less than 90 percent of the current amount in the Reserve (Sec. 203). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 1338 Employment Discrimination Law Amendments
Outcome: Bill Passed (247/178)
Summary: - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit employers from discriminating against employees who have filed complaints about pay discrepancies and subjects employers who exercise pay discrimination to be liable for compensatory damages and in some cases punitive damages (Sec. 3).
- Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination (Sec. 4).
- Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make grants to governmental agencies, nonprofit groups, and community based organizations for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women (Sec. 5).
- Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace to be awarded to an employer that has made substantial efforts to eliminate pay disparities between men and women (Sec. 7).
- Directs the Secretary of Labor to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public (Sec. 9).
- Authorizes the appropriation of $15 million to carry out this act, none of which maybe used for congressional earmarks (Sec. 10). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 1108 FDA Regulation of Tobacco
Outcome: Bill Passed (326/102)
Summary: -Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reduce or eliminate additives, constituents, or other components of tobacco products if he or she finds that those ingredients are harmful to the public health (Sec. 101).
-Prohibits the FDA from banning all tobacco-related products or requiring the elimination of nicotine yields in tobacco products (Sec. 101).
-Prohibits the FDA from raising the minimum legal age of tobacco use to an age higher than 18 (Sec. 101).
-Mandates that 3 months after the enactment of this bill, a cigarette or any of its components may not contain herbs, spices, or artificial or natural flavors other than tobacco or menthol (Sec. 101).
-Requires that all tobacco packages and advertisements of tobacco products contain one of the following warning labels:
-WARNING: Cigarettes are addictive.
-WARNING: Tobacco smoke can harm your children.
-WARNING: Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease.
-WARNING: Cigarettes cause cancer.
-WARNING: Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease.
-WARNING: Smoking during pregnancy can harm your baby.
-WARNING: Smoking can kill you.
-WARNING: Tobacco smoke causes fatal lung disease in nonsmokers.
-WARNING: Quitting smoking now greatly reduces serious risks to your health (Sec. 201).
-Requires warning labels on tobacco packages to be composed of at least 30 percent of the front and back sides of the package and warning labels on tobacco advertisements to be at least 20 percent of the advertisement (Sec. 201).
-Authorizes the Secretary to require the warning label area to be up to 50 percent of the front and back sides of the tobacco packages (Sec. 202).
-Requires that all smokeless tobacco packages and advertisements contain one of the following warning labels:
-WARNING: This product can cause mouth cancer.
-WARNING: This product can cause gum disease and tooth loss.
-WARNING: This product is not a safe alternative to cigarettes.
-WARNING: Smokeless tobacco is addictive (Sec. 204).
-Prohibits the sale of tobacco products labeled as "light," "mild," or "low," or products featuring a similar description, unless the Secretary of Health and Human Services issues an order allowing such sale because the product has been demonstrated to significantly reduce the risk of tobacco-related disease and benefit the health of the population as a whole (Sec. 101).
-Mandates the issuance of a report and recommendation on the impact of the menthol cigarettes on public health (Sec. 101).
-Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require tobacco product manufacturers to disclose to the public the tar and nicotine yields of a tobacco product via packages and advertising and other ingredient levels via means other than labeling on advertising or packages (Sec. 206).
-Establishes user fees on each manufacturer and importer of tobacco products to be used for paying the costs of the FDA for regulating tobacco products (Sec. 101). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6515 Oil Exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska
Outcome: Bill Failed (244/173)
Summary: -Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an "expeditious environmentally responsible program" of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska with no fewer than one lease sale in the Reserve each year during the period 2009 through 2013 (Sec. 2).
-Requires the Secretary of Transportation to facilitate the construction of pipelines to transport oil and gas from the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to existing infrastructure on the North Slope of Alaska, and requires the President to facilitate construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to United States markets (Sec. 3, 4).
-Reimposes prohibition on crude oil exports from Alaska (Sec. 6).
-Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from issuing to a person any new lease that authorizes the exploration for or production of oil or natural gas unless the person is diligently developing the Federal lands that are subject to existing leases or the person has relinquished ownership interest in all Federal oil and gas leases under which oil and gas are not being diligently developed (Sec. 7). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 415 Adding Parts of the Taunton River to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
Outcome: Bill Passed (242/175)
Summary: -Prohibits any provision in the act to infringe on access to hunting, fishing, trapping, or recreational shooting (Sec. 4). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6331 Medicare Bill
Outcome: Veto Override Passed (383/41)
Summary: -Increases annually the amount covered by Medicare of health care costs associated with mental, psychoneurotic, and personality disorders until 100% of related costs are covered in 2014 (Sec. 102).
-Prohibits Medicare Advantage marketing from conducting direct soliciting via telemarketing, door-to-door marketing, in health care settings, at educational activities, and from attempting to sell non-health related products at events related to Medicare Advantage plans (Sec. 103).
-Makes available an additional $100 million to aid states in giving assistance to low-income Medicare beneficiaries through September 30, 2008, and makes available a total of $600 million through December 31, 2009 (Sec. 111).
-Makes available $48.9 million for low income Medicare subsidies and Medicare Savings Program administrative costs (Sec. 113).
-Removes life insurance policy values from being factored into determining an individual’s income eligibility for Medicare low-income subsidies (Sec. 116).
-Allocates $7.5 million in federal funding for State Health Insurance Assistance Programs based on the number of eligible individuals and the number of rural beneficiaries to be used for Medicare and Medicaid services and to implement outreach programs to enroll eligible low-income individuals(Sec. 119).
-Authorizes $210 million for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give grants to states to increase mental health and other health services to veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom living in rural areas (Sec. 121).
-Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish programs for increasing health care access and quality in rural areas (Sec. 123).
-Extends payments to physicians for treating Medicare patients at a higher rate than would otherwise be used until 2010 (Sec. 131).
-Delays the beginning of competitive acquisition programs for durable medical supplies until 2011(Sec. 154).
-Extends the deadline for Medicare coverage of ambulance services until 2010 (Sec. 146).
-Establishes the Medicare Improvement Fund to make improvements to Medicare fee-for-service programs and authorizes $19.9 billion during fiscal years 2014 through 2017 (Sec. 188). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6377 Energy Futures Trading
Outcome: Bill Passed (402/19)
Summary: |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6251 Oil Production Leases
Outcome: Bill Failed (223/195)
Summary: |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 2176 Bay Mills Indian Community Land Claim Bill
Outcome: Bill Failed (121/298)
Summary: -Requires the Secretary of the Interior to take the alternative lands into trust for the Bay Mills Indian Community upon the fulfillment of certain preliminary requirements, at which time the lands shall become part of the Community's reservation (Sec. 2).
-Extinguishes the Bay Mills Indian Community's claims to the Charlotte Beach lands (Sec. 2).
-Specifies that there shall be no prohibition on gaming in the lands designated to be taken into trust for the Bay Mills Indian Community (Sec. 2). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2008) HR 6275 Alternative Minimum Tax Bill
Outcome: Bill Passed (233/189)
Summary: -Raises the AMT exemption amount for taxpayers other than corporations from $66,250 to $66,950 for an individual filing a joint return or who is a surviving spouse and lowers the AMT from $44,350 to $46,200 for an individual who is not married and is not a surviving spouse, for the taxable years beginning with 2008 (Sec. 101).
-Adds receipts from the domestic production, refining, processing, transportation, or distribution of oil and gas or their primary products to the taxable income of major integrated oil companies (Sec. 202).
-Increases the penalty for underpayment of tax required in cases of property transferred for investment management services from a fine of 20 percent to 40 percent of the underpayment amount (Sec. 201).
-Lowers the domestic production income tax deduction for oil producers that are not major integrated oil companies (Sec. 202).
-Prohibits treaties from reducing the withholding tax for payments between members of the same foreign controlled group of entities in certain circumstances (Sec. 203).
-Provides that a credit card company's transactions with a payee be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) beginning in the 2011 calendar year if the company had more than 200 total transactions and the total amount reported exceeds $10,000 (Sec. 204).
-Decreases the amount for required installment of corporate estimated tax due in 2012 from 106.25 to 100 percent and increases the amount for 2013 from 100.75 to 161.25 percent for corporations with at least $1 billion in assets (Sec. 206). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6331 Medicare Bill
Outcome: Bill Passed (355/59)
Summary: -Increases annually the amount covered by Medicare of health care costs associated with mental, psychoneurotic, and personality disorders until 100% of related costs are covered in 2014 (Sec. 102).
-Prohibits Medicare Advantage marketing from conducting direct soliciting via telemarketing, door-to-door marketing, in health care settings, at educational activities, and from attempting to sell non-health related products at events related to Medicare Advantage plans (Sec. 103).
-Makes available an additional $100 million to aid states in giving assistance to low-income Medicare beneficiaries through September 30, 2008, and makes available a total of $600 million through December 31, 2009 (Sec. 111).
-Makes available $48.9 million for low income Medicare subsidies and Medicare Savings Program administrative costs (Sec. 113).
-Removes life insurance policy values from being factored into determining an individualÂ’s income eligibility for Medicare low-income subsidies (Sec. 116).
-Allocates $7.5 million in federal funding for State Health Insurance Assistance Programs based on the number of eligible individuals and the number of rural beneficiaries to be used for Medicare and Medicaid services and to implement outreach programs to enroll eligible low-income individuals(Sec. 119).
-Authorizes $210 million for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to give grants to states to increase mental health and other health services to veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom living in rural areas (Sec. 121).
-Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish programs for increasing health care access and quality in rural areas (Sec. 123).
-Extends payments to physicians for treating Medicare patients at a higher rate than would otherwise be used until 2010 (Sec. 131).
-Delays the beginning of competitive acquisition programs for durable medical supplies until 2011(Sec. 154).
-Extends the deadline for Medicare coverage of ambulance services until 2010 (Sec. 146).
-Establishes the Medicare Improvement Fund to make improvements to Medicare fee-for-service programs and authorizes $19.9 billion during fiscal years 2014 through 2017 (Sec. 188). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6346 Price Gouging Prevention Act
Outcome: Bill Failed (276/146)
Summary: -Provides that the president may issue an energy emergency proclamation which states the geographic area covered, the gasoline or other petroleum based fuel covered, and the time period that the proclamation shall be in effect (Sec. 2).
-Subjects violators to a civil penalty of up to three times the amount of profits gained through price gouging, and prohibits the fine from exceeding $3 million (Sec. 3).
-Allows for civil penalties of up to $1 million for individuals who provide false information in regards to price gouging (Sec. 3).
-States that each day an individual is in violation of the law is to be considered a separate offense (Sec. 3)
-Allows for criminal penalties of up to $150 million for corporations and $2 million for individuals, or up to 10 years imprisonment, in addition to the civil penalties (Sec. 4). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6304 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments
Outcome: Bill Passed (293/129)
Summary: -Prohibits the targeting of any United States persons who are reasonably believed to be located outside of the United States without the approval of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Sec. 101).
-Prohibits the targeting of any person located outside of the United States with the intention of gaining information about a person located within the United States (Sec. 101).
-Prohibits the acquisition of any communications in which the sender and all recipients are reasonably believed to be within the United States (Sec. 101).
-Requires the Attorney General and the Director of National Security to provide the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court with a written certification and any supporting affidavit prior to the employment of electronic surveillance (Sec. 101).
-Allows the authorization of foreign surveillance under "emergency" or time-limited circumstances without preliminary Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approval provided that relevant applications or certifications are presented to the Court no later than 7 days after the authorization of such surveillance (Sec 101).
-Releases electronic communication providers from liability with regards to civil action that may be brought up in any court due to assistance provided to the government in obtaining electronic surveillance if such assistance was authorized by the President before January 17, 2007 or if such assistance was the subject of written directions from the Attorney General or heads of the intelligence community indicating that the activity was lawful (Sec. 201).
-Mandates that the certification for reauthorization of surveillance orders already in effect must be submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court at least 30 days prior to the expiration of the previous authorization (Sec. 101).
-Requires the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Security Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Inspector General of any intelligence agency that participated in the President's Surveillance Program to submit a comprehensive report to congress within one year of the enactment of this legislation regarding oversight authority, the responsibility of each such Inspector General, and information regarding the implementation and use of the program (Sec. 301). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2008) HR 2642 GI Bill, Funding for Midwest Flood Cleanup, Extension of Unemployment Benefits, and Other Provisions
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (416/12)
Summary: -Appropriates $8.48 billion for natural disaster relief and recovery, including $5.76 billion for construction of flood prevention and protection structures in Louisiana.
-Allows an individual with an emergency unemployment compensation to receive either 50 percent of the total regular compensation of an individual's benefit year or 13 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for that year (Sec. 4002).
-Allows a veteran who has served an aggregate of 36 months or 30 continuous days of active duty after September 11, 2001 to receive a full scholarship for in-state tuition at a public university, a monthly housing stipend, and a lump sum each term for books and supplies (Sec. 5003).
-Provides that members of the Armed Forces who have served at least six years and agree to serve four more may transfer 18 to 36 months of their educational assistance entitlements to their spouse or children (Sec. 5003).
-Allows the President to waive sanctions against economic or military assistance to North Korea (Sec. 1405).
-Provides $400 million for Mexico and $65 million for Central America to combat drug trafficking (Sec. 1406-1407). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6124 Second Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill)
Outcome: Veto Override Passed (317/109)
Summary: -Grants $37 million in technical assistance to specialty crop producers (Sec. 3203).
-Prohibits persons with adjusted gross non-farm income of over $500,000 or adjusted gross farm income of over $750,000 from receiving certain types of subsidies (Sec. 1604).
-Reauthorizes the Federal Food and Nutrition Program, the Commodity Distribution Program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and distribution of surplus commodities to special nutrition projects through 2012 (Sec. 4406).
-Establishes a table of market assistance loan rates for 19 commodities including corn, wheat, barley, oats, and soybeans (Sec. 1202).
-Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to spend $991 million during 2008-2012 (and $206 million each subsequent fiscal year) for the purchase of fruits, vegetables, and nuts for nutritious foods in domestic nutrition assistance programs and an additional $250 million during 2008-2012 for fruits and vegetables for schools (Sec. 4404).
-Establishes a mandatory labeling of countries of origin for goat meat, chicken, ginseng, pecans, and macadamia nuts, and changes the designation criteria for United States country of origin labeling and allows multiple countries to be listed on labels for beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and goat meat (Sec. 11002).
-Supports the price of dairy products by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to buy cheddar cheese, butter, and nonfat dry milk made from milk produced in the United States (Sec. 1501).
-Extends the Dairy Export Incentive Program, the Dairy Indemnity Program, and the Dairy Promotion and Research Program through 2012 (Secs. 1503, 1505, 1507).
-Lowers the income tax credit for ethanol producers during 2009 and 2010 for a blender amount from 51 cents to 45 cents and for a low-proof blender amount from 37.78 cents to 33.33 cents (Sec. 15331).
-Extends the alcohol fuels credit to cellulosic biofuel (Sec. 15321).
-Establishes the Biomass Research and Development Initiative to award grants and financial assistance for the research of biofuels and biobased products (Sec. 9001).
-Provides assistance for landowners who have lost non-industrial private forestland due to wildfires, hurricanes, excessive winds, drought, ice storms, blizzards, or floods (Sec. 8203).
-Increases loan rates for sugar producers (Sec. 1401).
-Offers incentive payments for the production of oil seeds that reduce the need for hydrogenated oil (Sec. 1605).
-Extends the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program through the 2012 fiscal year (Secs. 2101, 2203).
-Renames the Food Stamp Program to the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" and replaces coupons used for the Food Stamp Program with electronic benefit transfer cards (EBTs) which can be used at any retail food store (Secs. 4001 and 4115).
-Requires pilot programs to reduce obesity in the United States (Sec. 4141).
-Authorizes $25 million for each fiscal year from 2008 through 2012 for loans to broadband internet service providers in rural areas that currently have two or fewer providers in the area and have at least 25 percent of the area serviced by not more than one provider (Sec. 6110).
-Eliminates priority status for food aid for countries that demonstrate the potential to become markets for competitively priced U.S. agricultural commodities (Sec. 3005). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 5749 Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008
Outcome: Bill Passed (274/137)
Summary: - Allows individuals who have no rights to federal or state regular unemployment compensation, or who have exhausted their rights to federal or state regular compensation, to receive emergency unemployment compensation for an additional 13 weeks (Sec. 2).
- Establishes the weekly benefit amount of emergency unemployment compensation as equal to the amount of regular unemployment compensation during the regular benefit year (Sec. 2).
- States that the total emergency benefits received will be equal to the lesser of either 50 percent of the total amount of regular compensation or 13 times the average weekly regular compensation (Sec. 3).
- Provides that emergency unemployment compensation shall last an additional 13 weeks, for a total of 26 weeks, for states that are in an extended benefit period, as defined by high unemployment rates (Sec. 3).
- States that the federal government shall pay 100 percent of the costs of emergency unemployment to states from the general fund (Sec. 4).
- Punishes individuals who receive emergency unemployment compensation under false pretenses with a fine or up to 5 years in prison (Sec. 6). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 2419 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill)
Outcome: Veto Override Passed (316/108)
Summary: -Prohibits persons with adjusted gross non-farm income of over $500,000 or adjusted gross farm income of over $750,000 from receiving certain types of subsidies (Sec. 1604).
-Reauthorizes the Federal Food and Nutrition Program, the Commodity Distribution Program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and distribution of surplus commodities to special nutrition projects through 2012 (Sec. 4406).
-Establishes a table of market assistance loan rates for 19 commodities including corn, wheat, barley, oats, and soybeans (Sec. 1202).
-Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to spend $991 million during 2008-2012 - and $206 million each subsequent fiscal year - for the purchase of fruits, vegetables, and nuts for nutritious foods in domestic nutrition assistance programs and an additional $250 million during 2008-2012 for fruits and vegetables for schools (Sec. 4404).
-Establishes a mandatory labeling of countries of origin for goat meat, chicken, ginseng, pecans, and macadamia nuts, and changes the designation criteria for United States country of origin labeling and allows multiple countries to be listed on labels for beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and goat meat (Sec. 11002).
-Supports the price of dairy products by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to buy cheddar cheese, butter, and nonfat dry milk made from milk produced in the United States (Sec. 1501).
-Extends the Dairy Export Incentive Program, the Dairy Indemnity Program, and the Dairy Promotion and Research Program through 2012 (Secs. 1503, 1505, 1507).
-Lowers the income tax credit for ethanol producers during 2009 and 2010 for a blender amount from 51 cents to 45 cents and for a low-proof blender amount from 37.78 cents to 33.33 cents (Sec. 15331).
-Extends the alcohol fuels credit to cellulosic biofuel (Sec. 15321).
-Establishes the Biomass Research and Development Initiative to award grants and financial assistance for the research of biofuels and biobased products (Sec. 9001).
-Provides assistance for landowners who have lost non-industrial private forestland due to wildfires, hurricanes, excessive winds, drought, ice storms, blizzards, or floods (Sec. 8203).
-Increases loan rates for sugar producers (Sec. 1401).
-Offers incentive payments for the production of oil seeds that reduce the need for hydrogenated oil (Sec. 1605).
-Extends the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program through the 2012 fiscal year (Secs. 2101, 2203).
-Renames the Food Stamp Program to the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" and replaces coupons used for the Food Stamp Program with electronic benefit transfer cards (EBTs) which can be used at any retail food store (Secs. 4001 and 4115).
-Requires pilot programs to reduce obesity in the United States (Sec. 4141).
-Authorizes $25 million for each fiscal year from 2008 through 2012 for loans to broadband internet service providers in rural areas that currently have two or fewer providers in the area and have at least 25 percent of the area serviced by not more than one provider (Sec. 6110).
-NOTE: Due to a clerical error, this bill was sent to the President without Title III (concerning trade), and therefore, the veto override votes by the House and Senate are on the bill without this title. On 5/22/2008 the House passed H.R. 6124, a new bill containing 15 farm bill titles. |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 6049 Alternative Energy Tax Incentives
Outcome: Bill Passed (263/160)
Summary: -Extends the renewable energy tax credit by one year for new wind facilities (Sec. 101).
-Extends the renewable energy tax credit by 3 years for new qualified closed-loop or open-loop biomass facilities, geothermal or solar energy facilities, small irrigation power facilities, landfill gas facilities, trash combustion facilities, and qualified hydropower facilities (Sec. 101).
-Designates marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy as being qualified energy resources eligible for the renewable energy tax credit (Sec. 102).
-Extends for 6 years the 30 percent energy tax credit for qualified fuel cell property and solar energy property and the 10 percent credit for microturbine property (Sec. 103).
-Extends the tax credit for certain new residential "energy efficient" property for 6 years and raises the total tax credit for new solar electric property from $2,000 to $4,000 (Sec. 104).
-Extends the research tax credit, restaurant property depreciation tax credits, and optional state sales tax deductions for one year (Sec. 221, 225, 201).
-Extends tax credits for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel for one year, and raises the biodiesel credits and biodiesel mixture credits from 50 cents per gallon to $1 per gallon (Sec. 122).
-Provides an additional standard deduction for real property taxes for non-itemizers of up to $350 or $700 for a joint return (Sec. 301).
-Increases the child tax credit for low-income parents (Sec. 302).
-Delays tax code provisions that would allow companies to allocate interest on a worldwide basis for 10 years (Sec. 402).
-Mandates that compensation deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan of a foreign corporation shall be includible in gross income in the absence of a substantial risk of forfeiture of rights to such compensation (Sec. 401).
|
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 2419 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill)
Outcome: Conference Report Adopted (318/106)
Summary: -Grants $37 million in technical assistance to specialty crop producers (Sec. 3203).
-Prohibits persons with adjusted gross non-farm income of over $500,000 or adjusted gross farm income of over $750,000 from receiving certain types of subsidies (Sec. 1604).
-Reauthorizes the Federal Food and Nutrition Program, the Commodity Distribution Program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and distribution of surplus commodities to special nutrition projects through 2012 (Sec. 4406).
-Establishes a table of market assistance loan rates for 19 commodities including corn, wheat, barley, oats, and soybeans (Sec. 1202).
-Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to spend $991 million during 2008-2012 (and $206 million each subsequent fiscal year) for the purchase of fruits, vegetables, and nuts for nutritious foods in domestic nutrition assistance programs and an additional $250 million during 2008-2012 for fruits and vegetables for schools (Sec. 4404).
-Establishes a mandatory labeling of countries of origin for goat meat, chicken, ginseng, pecans, and macadamia nuts, and changes the designation criteria for United States country of origin labeling and allows multiple countries to be listed on labels for beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and goat meat (Sec. 11002).
-Supports the price of dairy products by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to buy cheddar cheese, butter, and nonfat dry milk made from milk produced in the United States (Sec. 1501).
-Extends the Dairy Export Incentive Program, the Dairy Indemnity Program, and the Dairy Promotion and Research Program through 2012 (Secs. 1503, 1505, 1507).
-Lowers the income tax credit for ethanol producers during 2009 and 2010 for a blender amount from 51 cents to 45 cents and for a low-proof blender amount from 37.78 cents to 33.33 cents (Sec. 15331).
-Extends the alcohol fuels credit to cellulosic biofuel (Sec. 15321).
-Establishes the Biomass Research and Development Initiative to award grants and financial assistance for the research of biofuels and biobased products (Sec. 9001).
-Provides assistance for landowners who have lost non-industrial private forestland due to wildfires, hurricanes, excessive winds, drought, ice storms, blizzards, or floods (Sec. 8203).
-Increases loan rates for sugar producers (Sec. 1401).
-Offers incentive payments for the production of oil seeds that reduce the need for hydrogenated oil (Sec. 1605).
-Extends the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program through the 2012 fiscal year (Secs. 2101, 2203).
-Renames the Food Stamp Program to the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" and replaces coupons used for the Food Stamp Program with electronic benefit transfer cards (EBTs) which can be used at any retail food store (Secs. 4001 and 4115).
-Requires pilot programs to reduce obesity in the United States (Sec. 4141).
-Authorizes $25 million for each fiscal year from 2008 through 2012 for loans to broadband internet service providers in rural areas that currently have two or fewer providers in the area and have at least 25 percent of the area serviced by not more than one provider (Sec. 6110).
-Eliminates priority status for food aid for countries that demonstrate the potential to become markets for competitively priced U.S. agricultural commodities (Sec. 3005). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2008) HR 5522 Requiring OSHA to Establish Combustible Dust Safety Standards
Outcome: Bill Passed (247/165)
Summary: -Requires the Secretary of Labor to implement an interim final standard to regulate combustible dusts that applies to manufacturing, processing, blending, conveying, repackaging, and handling of particulate solids and their dusts, with the exception of processes already covered by OSHA's standards for grain facilities (Sec. 3).
-Requires the interim final standard to include hazard assessment, a written program with provisions for hazardous dust inspection, engineering controls and other procedures to control dust emissions and ignition sources, housekeeping to prevent accumulation of combustible dust in places of employment, employee participation in hazard assessment, and written safety and health information with annual training to employees (Sec. 3).
-States that the interim final standard shall be issued within 90 days of the enactment of the bill and shall take effect 30 days after it is issued, and a final standard shall be implemented within 18 months of enactment of the bill (Sec. 3). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 5719 Amending Tax Code Provisions and IRS Practices
Outcome: Bill Passed (238/179)
Summary: -Repeals the authority of the IRS to enter into debt collection contracts with private organizations (Sec. 14).
-Requires that amounts paid out of a health savings account must be substantiated in order to be exempt from income tax (Sec. 17).
-Requires that foreign persons or companies working under a U.S. government contract be treated as U.S. employers for tax purposes (Sec. 18).
-Removes cellular phones from the list of items an employee must include as income if the employee utilizes them for personal use (Sec. 3).
-Delays the application of a law requiring a withholding of three percent from the payment of any U.S. government contract from December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2011 (Sec. 4).
-Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to notify a taxpayer of any suspected identity theft or criminal charges of identity theft (Sec. 13).
-Requires that, in cases where a taxpayer may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit but has not previously filed for it, the Secretary of the Treasury must notify the taxpayer that they may be eligible (Sec. 8). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 3773 Electronic Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Review Act
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (213/197)
Summary: -Requires that the guidelines adopted by the Attorney General in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence related to compliance with the limitations on intelligence targeting authorizations shall be submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, as well as the Congressional intelligence and judiciary committees (Sec. 101).
-Allows the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence to direct electronic communication service providers to provide the government with assistance in acquiring intelligence as authorized in accordance with the provisions of this bill and releases electronic communication service providers from any liability resulting from compliance with a such a directive (Sec. 101).
-Mandates that the Attorney General provide semiannual reports to the Congressional intelligence and judiciary committees regarding the implementation of provisions of this bill (Sec. 101).
-Specifies that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court shall have authority to review and approve applications and enter orders to target "United States persons" who are reasonably believed to be located outside of the United States for intelligence acquisition (Sec. 101).
-Requires the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice, the Office of the National Director of Intelligence, the National Security Agency, and other elements of the intelligence community to review the intelligence activities involving communications that were authorized at any time between September 11, 2001 and January 17, 2007 (Sec. 110).
-Mandates that the Attorney General provide any relevant request or directive to the court in any civil case alleging that a person aided an element of the intelligence community as a result of such a directive or request during the time period from September 11, 2001, to January 17, 2007 (Sec. 201).
-Establishes the Commission on Warrantless Electronic Surveillance Activities within the legislative branch, to be composed of five members appointed jointly by the Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and four members appointed jointly by the Minority Leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and which will be charged with evaluating the legal justification for activities related to intelligence collection that occurred between September 11, 2001, and January 17, 2007 (Sec. 301).
-Note: Under United States Code (50 U.S.C. 1801) a "United States person" is defined as "a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 1101 (a)(20) of title 8), an unincorporated association a substantial number of members of which are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or a corporation which is incorporated in the United States, but does not include a corporation or an association which is a foreign power, as defined in subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section." |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2008) HR 1424 Mental Health Coverage Bill
Outcome: Bill Passed (268/148)
Summary: -Requires health insurance plans that provide mental health coverage to provide the same coverage limits and benefits to mental health and substance abuse treatment that are applied to medical and surgical health care (Division A, Sec. 102).
-States that any health coverage plan that provides mental health coverage must include benefits to any mental health or substance abuse condition listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association (Division A, Sec. 102).
-Prohibits health insurers from adjusting their premiums based on genetic information (Division B, Sec. 101 and 102)
-Prohibits health insurers in the individual market from establishing eligibility restrictions based on genetic information (Division B, Sec. 102).
-Prohibits employers from refusing to hire, from firing, or from otherwise reducing compensation or privileges based on genetic information (Division B, Sec. 202).
-States that labor organizations and employment agencies may not refuse to hire or refuse membership to people based on genetic information (Division B, Sec. 203, 204).
-Requires employers, employment agencies, and labor organizations to place any acquired genetic information into confidential medical records (Division B, Sec. 206). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 5351 Energy Law Amendments
Outcome: Bill Passed (236/182)
Summary: -Extends tax credits for wind facilities, closed loop and open loop biomass facilities, geothermal and solar facilities, small irrigation power facilities, landfill gas facilities, trash combustion facilities, and hydropower facilities for three years (Sec. 101).
-Designates tax credits for marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy (Sec. 102).
-Extends by eight years the 30 percent tax credit for solar energy property and fuel cell property (Sec. 103).
-Creates new "clean renewable energy" bonds and designates a $2 billion limit on those bonds, which would be allocated to qualified projects of public power providers and cooperative electric companies (Sec. 104).
-Extends tax credits for residential energy efficient property for six years (Sec. 106).
-Raises the maximum credit for solar electric property from $2,000 to $4,000 (Sec. 106).
-Allots income tax credits to consumers who buy plug-in hybrid vehicles (Sec. 201).
-Extends and modifies tax credits for energy efficient appliances (Sec. 234).
-Prevents tax deductions to major integrated oil companies for income resulting from the domestic production of oil and gas (Sec. 301).
-Reduces the tax deduction of taxpayers with oil-related qualified production activities income by 3 percent after 2008 (Sec. 301). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 5140 Economic Stimulus Plan
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (380/34)
Summary: - Allows a tax credit in 2008 of an amount equal to an individual's net income tax liability or $600 (or $1,200 for a joint return), whichever is less (Sec. 101).
- Allows at least a $300 tax credit (or a $600 credit for a joint return) for taxpayers who have a qualified income of at least $3,000 (Sec. 101).
- Defines "qualified income" as earned income, social security benefits for seniors and tier 1 railroad retirees, and certain veterans' compensations and pensions (Sec. 101).
- Allows a $300 tax credit per child (Sec. 101).
- Denies eligibility to undocumented immigrants (Sec. 101).
- Appropriates an additional $266.31 million for the Department of Treasury, to remain available until September 30, 2009 (Sec. 101).
- Increases the limits on the maximum original principal obligation of mortgages for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and for the Federal Housing Administration (Sec. 201, 202). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 5140 Economic Stimulus Plan
Outcome: Bill Passed (385/35)
Summary: - Allows a tax credit in 2008 of an amount equal to an individual's net income tax liability or $600 (or $1,200 for a joint return), whichever is less (Sec. 101).
- Allows at least a $300 tax credit (or $600 for a joint return) for a taxpayer who earned an income of at least $3,000 (Sec. 101).
- Allows a $300 tax credit per child (Sec. 101).
- Appropriates an additional $251.13 million for the Department of Treasury, to remain available until September 30, 2009 (Sec. 101).
- Increases the limits on the maximum original principal obligation of mortgages for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and for the Federal Housing Administration (Sec. 201, 202). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2008) HR 2768 S-MINER Act
Outcome: Bill Passed (214/199)
Summary: -Requires coal mines to use an electronic tracking system that will show the locations of people underground (Sec. 4).
-Requires miners to wear coal dust monitors and prohibits miners from being forced to work in air where the coal dust concentration exceeds 1.00 milligrams per cubic meter of air averaged over ten hours (Sec. 7).
-Provides that the Secretary of Labor may fine mine operators $50,000 to $250,000 for a pattern of safety violations in addition to any other authorized penalties (Sec. 5).
-States that the Mine Safety and Health Administration will have a full-time employee that will serve as liaison to families of miners trapped, injured, or killed in a mining accident (Sec. 6).
-Creates a Miner Ombudsman office to receive reports of safety concerns and review the responses of the Secretary of Labor for such reports (Sec. 5).
-Requires an independent investigation whenever a mining accident is responsible for multiple serious injuries, deaths, or entrapments (Sec. 6).
-Bans "belt air" ventilation systems (Sec. 4).
-Adds regulations to pillar extraction plans, otherwise known as "retreat mining," including requiring mine operators to submit these plans to a designated representative of the miners for comment and then submitting the plans and comments to the Secretary of Labor (Sec. 4).
-Permits the Secretary of Labor to shut down mines that do not pay fines or are in a pattern of violating safety regulations (Sec. 5).
-Allows the Secretary of Labor to establish a program to test miners for substance abuse and provide rehabilitation (Sec. 8).
-Increases regulation of seals used to protect miners from gases and explosions (Sec. 4).
-Requires conveyor belts to conform to the most recent recommendations of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to minimize smoke and flammability (Sec. 4).
-States that if the Mine Safety and Health Administration is involved in a rescue operation, the mine operator must follow the administration's requests (Sec. 6). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 6 Energy Act of 2007
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (314/100)
Summary: -Increases Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) to 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020 (Sec. 102).
-Requires a minimum standard of 27.5 miles per gallon for domestic passenger vehicles (Sec. 102).
-Requires an increase in the production of renewable fuels from 4.0 billion gallons to 36.0 billion gallons by 2022 (Sec. 202).
-Stipulates that all renewable fuel refineries built after enactment of this bill reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent of the current baseline (Sec. 202).
-Increases energy efficiency standards for certain household appliances, battery chargers, walk-in coolers and freezers, electric motors, light bulbs, and other devices (Title III).
- Establishes the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program to provide training to veterans, unemployed individuals, and workers impacted by energy and environmental policies (Sec. 1002). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 2764 Inclusion of Consolidated Appropriations
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (253/154)
Summary: - Prohibits funds made available in this Act from being used to enter into a "permanent basing rights agreement" between the United States and Iraq (Division J, Sec. 680).
- Prohibits funds made available in this Act from being used "in any way whatsoever to support or justify the use of torture, cruel or inhumane treatment by any official or contract employee of the United States Government" (Division B, Sec. 521; Division J, Sec. 681).
- Extends the implementation deadline for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires a passport for travel by land or sea to Canada or the United States, to after June 1, 2009 (Division E, Sec. 545).
- Allows individuals to import prescription drugs from Canada, so long as the drugs are not controlled substances and the amount does not exceed a 90-day supply (Division E, Sec. 558).
- Sets the maximum Pell Grant award for students at $4,241 during the 2008-2009 award year (Division G, Title III).
- Expresses the support of Congress for a nationwide program of "mandatory, market-based limits and incentives on emissions of greenhouse gases" to abate the growth of such emissions, in a manner that will not "significantly harm the United States economy" (Division E, Sec. 430).
- Prohibits the Department of the Interior from conducting oil or natural gas offshore pre-leasing, leasing, or related activities in certain coastal areas of California, Oregon, Washington, the North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico (Division F, Sec. 104-105).
- Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to construct at least 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the U.S. southwest border, including 370 miles to be completed by December 31, 2008 (Division E, Section 564).
- Prohibits funds made available in this Act from being used to establish a cross-border motor carrier program that would allow Mexico-based motor carriers to operate beyond the commercial zones along the border between the United States and Mexico (Division K, Sec. 136).
- Grants certain Iraqi and Afghan refugees access to resettlement assistance, entitlement programs, and other benefits for up to six months (Division G, Sec. 525).
- Expresses the sense of the Congress that the Arab League boycott of Israel is an "impediment to peace in the region," that the boycott should be immediately terminated, and that all Arab League states should normalize relations with Israel (Division J, Sec. 635).
- Directs the President to submit a report to Congress that outlines in classified and unclassified terms a comprehensive nuclear threat reduction plan for ensuring that all nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material at vulnerable sites are secure by 2012 (Division J, Sec. 699M).
- Allows a woman to breastfeed her child on federal property if she and her child are authorized to be at the location (Division D, Sec. 727).
- Prohibits funds from being used for "research, development, or demonstration activities related exclusively to the human exploration of Mars" (Division B, Title III).
- Appropriates $90.9 billion for the Departments of Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration, with $1.3 billion in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $89.6 billion (Division A).
- Appropriates $57.0 billion for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and Science, with $3.2 billion in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $53.8 billion (Division B).
- Appropriates $32.9 billion for the Departments of Energy and Interior and water development projects, with $2.0 billion in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $30.9 billion (Division C).
- Appropriates $34.5 billion for the Department of the Treasury, the Judiciary, the Executive Office of the President, and the District of Columbia, with $1.4 billion in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $33.1 billion (Division D).
- Appropriates $41.2 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, with $2.6 billion in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $38.6 billion (Division E).
- Appropriates $27.2 billion for the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, with $81.6 million in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $27.1 billion (Division F).
- Appropriates $410.3 billion for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, with $1.6 billion in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $408.7 billion (Division G).
- Appropriates $4.2 billion for the legislative branch, with $3.8 million in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $4.2 billion (Division H).
- Appropriates $108.6 billion for military construction and veterans' affairs, with $128.5 million in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $108.5 billion (Division I).
- Appropriates $35.8 billion for the Department of State and foreign operations, with $158.0 million in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $35.7 billion (Division J).
- Appropriates $311.3 billion for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, with $6.3 billion in rescissions and offsetting, for a net cost of $305.0 billion (Division K). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2007) HR 4299 Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension and Modification
Outcome: Bill Passed (303/116)
Summary: -Widens the definition of an "act of terrorism" to any individual regardless of nationality or interest (Sec. 2).
-Establishes a $100.00 billion cap on insurance policies (Sec. 4).
-Requires the Comptroller General to submit a report to Congress no later than one year after the enactment of this bill recommending whether it is "appropriate to expand the availability and affordability of insurance for nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological terrorist events" (Sec. 5).
-Expands program coverage to group life insurance companies (Sec.6).
-Lowers the amount at which the federal government would begin to share partial financial responsibility from terrorist attacks in 2007 from $100.00 million to $50.00 million (Sec. 9). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 6 Energy Act of 2007
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (235/181)
Summary: -Raises the required fleet average fuel economy for domestic automobile manufacturers to at least 35 miles per gallon by model year 2020 (Sec. 102).
-Requires 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels to be added to the gasoline supply by 2020 (Sec. 202).
-Increases energy efficiency standards for certain household appliances, battery chargers, walk-in coolers and freezers, electric motors, light bulbs, and other devices (Title III).
-Establishes a renewable energy and energy efficiency development program that will provide training to veterans, unemployed individuals, and workers impacted by energy and environmental policies (Sec. 1002).
-Makes bonds available for local projects to conserve energy (Sec. 1541).
-Requires retail electric energy suppliers to obtain 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2020 (Sec. 1401).
-Lowers the income tax deduction for income from oil-related qualified production activities (Sec. 1561). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 3773 Electronic Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Review Act
Outcome: Bill Passed (227/189)
Summary: -States that a court order is not necessary for electronic surveillance of any communications between persons who are not known to be United States persons and who are reasonably believed to be outside of the United States (Sec. 2).
-Requires the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence to apply to the court established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) for a court order to conduct surveillance for up to a year on the communications of a non-United States person who is reasonably believed to be outside the of United States and who may be communicating with persons inside the United States (Sec. 3).
-States that the application for a court order from the court established under FISA is not required to identify specific places of surveillance (Sec. 3).
-Allows that in emergency situations, the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence to authorize surveillance for up to 45 days of non-United States persons who are reasonably believed to be outside of the United States and who may be communicating with someone inside the United States, but that within seven days, an application must be filed for approval from the court established under FISA (Sec. 4).
-Requires that within seven days of an application to the court established under FISA, the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General must submit to Congress a copy of the application and a copy of the court order if one is granted (Sec. 5).
-Prohibits the disclosure of information obtained from surveillance that would identify a United States person unless such information is necessary to understand the foreign intelligence collected or to protect the national security of the United States or members of the Armed Forces (Sec. 6).
-States that FISA is the only means by which foreign electronic surveillance may be conducted (Sec. 9).
-States that the Attorney General may authorize surveillance without a court order for up to 15 days following a declaration of war by Congress if Congress specifically authorizes such surveillance without an order or if Congress is unable to convene because of an attack against the United States (Sec. 10).
-States that the government must inform the communications service providers used to conduct surveillance that the requirements of this law have been met (Sec. 19).
-Note: Under United States Code (50 U.S.C. 1801) a "United States Person" is defined as "a citizen of the United States, an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 1101 (a)(20) of title 8), an unincorporated association a substantial number of members of which are citizens of the United States or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or a corporation which is incorporated in the United States, but does not include a corporation or an association which is a foreign power, as defined in subsection (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section." |
Kucinich's Vote
- |
(2007) HR 3915 Mortgage Reform and Anti-Subprime Lending Act
Outcome: Bill Passed (291/127)
Summary: -Prohibits an individual from becoming a loan originator unless they can obtain and maintain a registration as a loan originator or a license as a state-licensed loan originator and an identification number assigned by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry (NMLSR)(Sec. 103).
-Requires anyone applying for registration as a state-licensed loan originator to supply information concerning the applicant's identity to the NMLSR for a background check, complete at least 20 hours of education as approved by the NMLSR, and pass a test developed by the NMLSR (Sec. 104).
-States that lenders cannot receive a license if they have had a similar license revoked in any governmental jurisdiction in the previous five years, or if the applicant has been found guilty or has pled no contest to a felony in any court in the last seven years (Sec. 104).
-Requires federal banking agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish regulations that prohibit mortgage lenders from steering borrowers to loans that the borrower lacks a "reasonable ability" to repay, that include equity stripping or excessive fees, or that, in cases of residential mortgage refinances, do not provide the borrower with a net tangible benefit (Sec. 123).
-Allows civil action to be taken against a creditor for the recession of a residential mortgage loan in violation of the Truth in Lending Act, unless the creditor corrects the violation within 90 days of notification (Sec. 204).
-Requires mortgage contracts to state the maximum amount of any payments and the additional amount required every month to cover taxes or insurance (Sec. 213).
-Establishes the universal mortgage disclosure requirement for good faith estimates, which must disclose the total loan amount, what type of loan it is, the length of the loan period, the estimated interest rate (APR) and the maximum it can adjust to, the total estimated monthly payment and what percentage it is of a borrowerÂ’s monthly income, the period to lock an interest rate, any prepayment penalties that exist, any increased final payment, any settlement charges, and the estimated cash needed at closing (Sec. 501). |
Kucinich's Vote
- |
(2007) HR 3685 Sexual Orientation Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA)
Outcome: Bill Passed (235/184)
Summary: -Prohibits employers from discriminating against any employee in respect to the conditions and privileges of employment based on the employee's actual or perceived sexual orientations (Sec. 4).
-Makes it unlawful for a labor organization or a training program to discriminate against anyone based on the individual's actual or perceived sexual orientation (Sec. 4).
-Forbids employment agencies from refusing to refer a worker based on that worker's actual or perceived sexual orientation (Sec. 4).
-States that these rules do not apply to organizations recognized by the Civil Rights Act as religious organizations that are exempt from equal employment opportunity requirements (Sec. 6).
-States that nothing in the bill requires employers to provide the same benefits to unmarried couples as they do to married couples, with marriage defined as a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife (Sec. 8).
-States that nothing in the bill requires or permits preferential treatment or quotas for any individual or group because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation (Sec. 4). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 2262 Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act
Outcome: Bill Passed (244/166)
Summary: -Prohibits patents from being issued for mining claims or millsites after the passage of this act, unless the application was filed before September 30, 1994 (Sec. 101).
-Requires royalty payments of 8% of gross income from mining a claim on Federal land, or 4% of claims on Federal land that existed prior to the passage of this act (Sec. 102).
-Requires an additional $50 fee for every mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site located before September 30, 1998 or after the passage of this act (Sec. 103).
-Prohibits certain areas from being open to the location of mining claims, including wilderness study areas, areas of critical environmental concern, areas included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and any area included in maps made for the Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation Final Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 2 (Sec. 201).
-Allows states or Indian tribes to petition the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw tracts of Federal land from the operation of mining laws in order to protect values such as watersheds that supply drinking water, wildlife habitat, cultural or historic resources, or scenic vistas important to the local economy (Sec. 202).
-Requires a 20-year operations permit from the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture before mining is allowed on Federal land that may disturb surface resources such as land, air, ground water, surface water, fish, or wildlife (Secs. 302-304).
-Requires operators of permits to provide financial assurance to cover the cost of restoration and reclamation of lands within the permit area and all water that may require treatment or other management of environmental hazards (Sec. 306).
-Allows the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to determine regulations for mineral activity operations and reclamations, addressing issues such as the protection and replacement of topsoil; stability of surface areas; prevention of erosion; minimization of acidic, alkaline, or metal-bearing liquid drainage; removal of structures and roads; and restoration of fish and wildlife habitat (Sec. 307).
-Establishes the Locatable Minerals Fund within the Treasury of the United States, to include a Hardrock Reclamation Account for the restoration of land and water resources affected by past mineral activities (Secs. 401, 411).
-Allows the Secretary of the Interior or Secretary of Agriculture to halt mineral activities if the claim holder is in violation of environmental protection requirements and does not take steps to remedy the violation within 30 days, and to issue penalties of up to $25,000 per violation, plus $1,000 per violation for each day the violation has not been corrected (Sec. 506).
-Sets the amount of the fine for operating mineral activities without a permit at $5,000 to $50,000 per day of violation or imprisonment up to three years for the first conviction, and a fine over $10,000 per day or up to six years imprisonment for any additional convictions (Sec. 506). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 3920 Trade and Globalization Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (264/157)
Summary: -Allows service sector workers and public workers to be covered by trade adjustment assistance (TAA) (Sec. 101-102, 141).
-Increases the amounts that can be appropriated for training under TAA from $220.00 million to $440.00 million for the 2008 and 2009 fiscal years, and to $660.00 million for all subsequent fiscal years (Sec. 127).
-Increases the income tax credit a TAA recipient can claim on payments for health coverage from 65 percent of the amount paid by the individual to 85 percent of the amount paid by the individual (Sec. 141).
-Declares that to be eligible for the health insurance tax credit in the year 2010 and afterwards, an individual must be continuously eligible starting in December 2009 or earlier (Sec. 141).
-Extends the TAA program until 2012 (Sec. 167).
-Delays until 2010 the scheduled 2007 decrease of the federal unemployment tax paid by employers from 6.2 percent to 6.0 percent (Sec. 403).
-Provides incentives for businesses to invest in areas designated as manufacturing redevelopment zones (Sec. 501).
-Increases the notice employers must give before closing a manufacturing plant from 60 days to 90 days (Sec. 602). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 3056 Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (232/173)
Summary: -Abolishes laws that allow the IRS to hire private companies for the purpose of collecting taxes (Sec. 2[a]).
-Provides that contracts made before July 18, 2007 may be retained, but cannot be renewed (Sec. 2[c]).
-Moves the enactment date of the requirement that all levels of government withhold 3% of the payment of all contracts from January 1, 2010 to Jan 1, 2011 (Sec. 3).
-Establishes that all property of an expatriate, with the exceptions of deferred compensation items, specified tax deferred accounts, and interest in a nongrantor trust, will be treated as having been sold on the day before the expatriation for its fair market value with any gain exceeding $600,000 classified as taxable income (Sec. 5 [a]).
-Permits a deferment of this tax until the due date of the tax return if adequate security is provided (Sec. 5 [a]).
-Provides that the payer of certain deferred compensation items to expatriates withhold 30 percent of the payment for tax purposes (Sec. 5 [a]).
-Provides that 30 percent of the payment of nongrantor trusts to expatriates be withheld for tax purposes (Sec. 5 [a]).
-Imposes a tax on gifts or bequests received by a United States citizen or resident from an expatriate, applicable to the extent that the gift or bequest exceeds $10,000 (Sec. 5 [b]).
-Repeals a period of suspension of interest and penalties for taxpayers who have underpaid their taxes but have not been notified of their underpayment by the IRS (Sec. 6).
-Increases penalties for failing to file correct tax information returns (Sec. 7). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 2740 Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) Expansion and Enforcement Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (389/30)
Summary: -Adds contractors of any department or agency of the United States working in or near an area where U.S. forces are executing a contingency operation to the list of persons who may be held criminally liable by the United States for certain crimes outside of U.S. borders (Sec. 2 [a]).
-Requires the Department of Justice to submit a report to Congress detailing the number of allegations received, the number of investigations opened, the number of criminal cases opened, and the number and results of cases that are closed (Sec. 2 [b]).
-Requires the FBI to establish Theater Investigative Units to examine possible incidents of criminal wrongdoing and provide the results of their examinations to the Attorney General for possible further action (Sec. 3).
-Requires the Director of the FBI to annually submit a report to Congress detailing the number of reports received concerning possible criminal wrongdoings or fatalities attributed to U.S. contractors, the number of cases referred to the Attorney General, and any recommended changes to the law that the FBI Director deems necessary to fulfill these duties of the office (Sec. 3 [e]). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 1400 Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (397/16)
Summary: -Determines that it is the sense of the Congress that:
-Iran's President Ahmadinejad is violating the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide by his denials of the Holocaust and calls to have Israel "wiped off the map"
-Iran should be prevented from joining the World Trade Organization until all nuclear program issues are resolved
-The UN Security Council should enact a sanction to prevent investment in Iran's energy sector
-United States concerns regarding Iran are strictly the result of actions of the Government of Iran(Sec. 2)
-States that this Act cannot be interpreted to authorize the use of force against Iran (Sec. 102).
-Requires parent companies to pay penalties for any of its subsidiaries that engage in business with Iran (Sec. 201).
-Bans the import of all goods originating from Iran, effective 120 days after enactment (Sec. 202).
-Requires the President to determine whether the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) should be designated as a foreign terrorist organization, placed on the list of specially designated global terrorists and on the list of weapons of mass destruction proliferators and supporters, and requires the President to report any justifications for not placing the IRGC on either list (Sec. 401).
-Authorizes $59.47 million for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence and $85.84 million for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, for the fiscal year 2008 (Sec. 402).
-Authorizes $10.00 million for fiscal year 2008 to fund cultural exchange programs with Iran under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act (Sec. 403).
-Prohibits agreements for exporting goods or services that can be used for nuclear programs between the US and the government of the Russian Federation or any other country determined by the President to be assisting the nuclear program of Iran or transferring advanced conventional weapons to Iran (Sec. 405). |
Kucinich's Vote
- |
(2007) HR 2761 Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act (TRIA)
Outcome: Bill Passed (312/110)
Summary: -Extends the TRIA termination date from December 31, 2007, to December 31, 2022 (Sec. 2).
-Defines terrorism as an act agreed upon by the Attorney General and the Secretaries of the Treasury, of Homeland Security, and of State to be a violent act that is dangerous to human life, property, or infrastructure or was committed to coerce U.S. civilians or the U.S. government (Sec. 3).
-Adds that TRIA will provide group life insurance in addition to property and casualty insurance to cover losses caused by a qualified terrorist act (Sec. 3).
-Provides coverage for certain nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological events and establishes a table for the federal share of compensation based on the amount of losses (Sec. 3).
-Sets a minimum of $50.00 million of aggregate industry insured losses from an act of terrorism before compensation through TRIA will be delivered (Sec. 3).
-Limits the amount of federal compensation to $100.00 billion per year (Sec. 3).
-Provides that no private insurer that has met its insurer deductible is liable for additional payments in a year where aggregate insured losses reach $100.00 billion (Sec. 3). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 1852 Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (348/72)
Summary: -Raises the maximum amount that may be approved for multi-family mortgage insurance by the FHA to 170 percent in normal cost areas and 215 percent in high cost areas (Sec. 27).
-Establishes the Affordable Housing Fund to provide grants that make rent and home ownership more affordable for low-income families (Sec. 31).
-Extends the term for mortgages from 35 years to 40 years (Sec. 4).
-Requires mortgage companies to notify foreclosure prevention counseling services and have them contact mortgagors over 60 days late with payments to offer counseling services funded by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Secs. 10, 31).
-Creates the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund to guarantee that mortgagors are being charged appropriate premiums for their risk level, to minimize the default risk to borrowers and the Fund, and to meet the housing needs of single family borrowers (Sec. 17).
-Limits mortgage origination fees to 1.5 percent of the total mortgage claim (Sec. 20).
- Allows the mortgagor to be rewarded the amount of the money not paid from escrow plus any penalties accrued or the penalty amount plus attorneys fees if a mortgagee or servicer fails to pay taxes, insurance premiums, or other charges from the mortgagor's escrow account (Sec. 23).
-Establishes a pilot program to allow mortgagors with insufficient credit histories to obtain an alternative credit rating based on rent, utilities, and insurance payment histories (Sec. 25).
-Sets the amount needed to fund housing counseling for mortgages insured under title II of the National Housing Act at $100 million for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 (Sec. 31).
-Authorizes the appropriation of $25 million for each fiscal year 2008 through 2012 to improve the technologies, procedures, processes, and salaries of mortgage insurance programs under title II of the National Housing Act (Sec. 31).
-Prohibits any programs under the National Housing Act from charging mortgage insurance premiums above the October 1, 2006 amounts (Sec. 32). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 2669 Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants
Outcome: Conference Report Adopted (292/97)
Summary: -Appropriates $33.60 billion to gradually increase Pell Grant amounts to $5,400 by 2012 and maintains funding through 2017 (Sec. 102).
-Incrementally lowers the current 6.8 percent interest rate for Federal Subsidized Student Loans and Federal Direct Stafford Loans every year until the rate is set at 3.4 percent for loans disbursed after July 1, 2011, and before July 1, 2012 (Sec. 201).
-Establishes an auction for each state to determine the lenders who will provide Federal PLUS Loans to colleges and universities in the state, to be held every two years in order to determine the two lenders with the lowest bids for special allowance payments (Sec. 701).
-Appropriates $57.00 million a year through 2011 for Upward Bound programs that did not receive funding in 2007 but have been given a grant score over 70 (Sec. 103).
-Creates $4,000 a year TEACH Grants to encourage teachers to take courses in mathematics, sciences, foreign languages, bilingual education, special education, reading, and other high-need fields and requires teachers to teach the subject they took courses in for at least four years (Sec. 104).
-Allows members of the military services to defer loan payments for up to 180 days after demobilization for Federal Family Education Loans, Stafford Loans, and Perkins Loans (Sec. 202).
-Allows loan forgiveness for employees who have made 120 monthly payments on student loans while employed in public service (Sec. 401).
-Raises the income protection allowance through 2013 to $6,000 for dependent students, $9,330 for single independent students without dependents or married independent students without dependents who are both enrolled in college, and $14,960 for married independent students where one is enrolled in college. Adopts a table detailing allowances for independent students with dependents through 2013 (Sec. 601).
-Raises the maximum income required to automatically attain a zero expected family contribution from $20,000 to $30,000 a year and adjusts the required income level in future years based on the Consumer Price Index (Sec. 602).
-States that if a borrower's income level is above 150 percent of the poverty line, student loan repayments can be capped at 15 percent of the amount that their income exceeds that rate (Sec. 203).
-Eliminates the "exceptional performer" status through which lenders are entitled to 100 percent payment of unpaid principles and interests from guaranty agencies (Sec. 302). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 1908 Patent Reform Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (220/175)
Summary: -Prevents people from obtaining patents for claimed inventions that have already had patent applications filed by a different inventor (Sec. 3).
-Allows a patent to be disputed up to 12 months after its issue or its published application date and requires the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to approve settlement claims (Sec. 3).
-Permits a challenged patent owner to amend patent drawings, substitute the claim, or cancel the claim (Sec. 6).
-States that any person may submit with their patent record any existing patents, published patent applications, or other publications of relevance (Sec. 9).
-Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office to submit a report to Congress on the operation of prior use rights in other industrialized countries (Sec. 5).
-Authorizes the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to award damages of three times the regular amount if a person is found guilty of willful infringement by continuing to use a patented product or idea after receiving written notification from the current patent owner (Sec. 5).
-Requires a review of the effectiveness of the patent amendments set out in this bill to be submitted to Congress every seven years (Sec. 3). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2007) HR 2776 Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (221/189)
Summary: -Extends the renewable energy credit from January 1, 2009 to January 1, 2013 (Sec. 101).
-Adds energy derived from waves, tides, ocean currents, free flowing rivers, free flowing canals, and other marine sources to the list of qualified energy sources for the purpose of claiming renewable energy credits, unless diversionary structures such as dams or impoundments are used (Sec. 102).
-Extends solar energy property credits to January 1, 2017 and fuel cell property credits to December 31, 2016 (Sec. 103).
-Allows a base tax credit for plug-in hybrid vehicles of $4,000 with an additional $200 per kilowatt-hour for vehicles with a capacity above five kilowatt-hours (Sec. 201).
-Phases out the hybrid tax credit a year after the number of hybrid vehicles sold totals 60,000 (Sec. 201)
-Authorizes a 50 cent per gallon credit for any qualified cellulosic alcohol fuel producer (Sec. 204).
-Repeals the 9 percent tax deduction for income attributable to "the sale, exchange, or other disposition of oil, natural gas, or any primary product thereof" (Sec. 301).
-Extends the amortization period of geological and geophysical expenditures for major integrated oil companies from 5 years to 7 years (Sec. 302).
NOTE:
Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 615, bill text was appended at the end of H.R. 3221 as a new matter. |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) H Amdt 734 Prescription Drug Imports
Outcome: Amendment Rejected (146/283)
Summary: |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2007) HR 2419 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill)
Outcome: Bill Passed (231/191)
Summary: -Grants $38 million in technical assistance to specialty crop producers (Sec. 3007).
-Allocates $1 million each year from 2008-2012 for loans to broadband internet providers in rural areas that currently have fewer than two providers in the area (Sec. 6023).
-Allows the Secretary of Agriculture to spend $991 million for the purchase of fruits, vegetables and nuts to provide nutritious foods in domestic nutrition assistance programs (Sec. 10103).
-Requires that the amount of taxes on payments to a subsidiary that would be subjected to a withholding tax cannot be less than the tax amount that would be owed had the payments been made directly to the foreign parent corporation (Sec. 12001).
-Establishes a table of market assistance loan rates for 20 commodities including corn, wheat, barley, oats and soybeans (Sec. 1202).
-Offers incentive payments for the production of oil seeds that reduce the need for hydrogenated oil (Sec. 1211).
-Supports the price of dairy products by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to buy cheddar cheese, butter and nonfat dry milk made from milk produced in the United States (Sec. 1401)
-Renames the Food Stamp Program to the "Secure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" and replaces coupons used for the Food Stamp Program with electronic benefit transfer cards (EBTs) which can be used at any retail food store (Secs. 4001, 4011)
-Develops the "Initiative to Address Obesity Among Low-Income Americans" by providing $10 million a year until 2012 to implement programs designed to lower the obesity rate in the United States (Sec. 4023).
-Allocates $125 million for the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for public schools, provided that the funding is used to buy locally grown produce wherever possible as part of the "Buy American" statutes (Sec. 4301).
-Provides grants up to $50,000 for landowners who have lost private forest land due to wildfires, hurricanes, drought, windstorms, insect and disease, ice storms or invasive species to help with reforestation (Sec. 8102).
-Provides $420 million for the Biomass Research and Development Initiative, to award grants and financial assistance for the research of biobased fuels and products (Sec. 9006).
-Grants $20 million to universities for studying the use of sweet sorghum and switchgrass as alternatives to corn in the production of ethanol fuel (Sec. 9020).
-Appropriates $50 million for grants of up to $10,000 a year for farmers who convert their farms into organic farms (Sec. 10303). |
Kucinich's Vote
- |
(2007) H Amdt 600 Funding Reduction for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation Account, Amtrak and Other Services
Outcome: Amendment Rejected (94/328)
Summary: |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2007) HR 2669 Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants
Outcome: Bill Passed (273/149)
Summary: -Appropriates $20.16 billion dollars authorized for Pell Grants for the fiscal years 2008-2017 and increases student Pell Grant award eligibility by $200 each award year during the 2008-10 academic years, $300 in 2010-2011, and $500 in 2011-2012 and each subsequent academic year (Title I (sec. 101 (b))).
-Increases the maximum Pell Grant award to $7,600 for the 2008-09 academic year, $8,600 for 2009-10, $9,600 for 2010-11, $10,600 for 2011-12, and $11,600 for 2012-13 (Title I (sec. 101 (b))).
-Repeals existing tuition sensitivity provisions, which reduce Pell Grant eligibility for students attending lower-cost schools (Title I (sec. 101 (d))).
-Reduces interest rates on Stafford and other federally backed loans from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over the period from 2008-2013 (Title I (sec. 111 (a))).
-Increases aggregate limits on federally insured loans from $23,000 to $30,500 for undergraduate students and from $65,500 to $73,000 for graduate and professional students (Title I (sec. 112 (b))).
-Reduces the percentage of student loans guaranteed by the federal student loan insurance program from 98 percent to 95 percent (Title I (sec. 115 (a))).
-Lowers the loan guaranty agency collection fee from 23 percent to 16 percent of funds collected from loan defaults (Title I (sec. 116)).
-Increases the loan origination fee from 0.5 percent to 1 percent of principal on loans made after October 1, 2007 (Title I (sec. 118)).
-Provides for $5,000 in loan forgiveness over a period of five years for those employed in areas of national need, including early childhood educators, nurses, librarians, foreign language specialists, highly qualified teachers in bilingual education or in low-income schools, child welfare workers, speech-language pathologists, those engaged in national service, school counselors, and public sector employees (Title I (sec. 131)).
-Releases public servants from federal loan obligations after 120 payments over ten years of repayment (Title I (sec. 132)).
-Limits monthly payments on loans to 15 percent of the amount by which the borrower's adjusted gross income exceeds 150% of the poverty line (Title I (sec. 133)).
-Provides for complete loan forgiveness for those who have experienced a period of economic hardship lasting over twenty years (Title I (sec. 133))
-Appropriates $60 million for the fiscal years 2008-2012 to institutions that have less than average annual tuition increases or guaranteed tuition to be used for additional grants from the schools for students who are also eligible for Pell grants (Title II (sec. 202)). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 556 Foreign Investment Oversight
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (370/45)
Summary: - Establishes the multi-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), composed of the Secretaries of the Treasury, Homeland Security, Commerce, Defense, State, Energy, Labor, and National Intelligence, as well as the Attorney General and heads of the other executive agencies as the President deems appropriate (sec. 3).
- Requires the President acting through CFIUS to review all covered transactions to determine the potential effects the transaction will have on national security (sec. 2).
- Defines covered transactions as any merger, acquisition, or takeover that is proposed or pending after August 23, 1988, by or with any foreign person which could result in foreign control of any person engaged in interstate commerce in the United States (sec. 2).
- Requires CFIUS to conduct an investigation on the effect of the transaction on national security if the covered transaction is a foreign government-controlled transaction, threatens to impair national security, or results in the control of a critical piece of U.S. infrastructure by a foreign person (sec. 2).
- Requires that investigations be completed within 45 days of being started (sec. 2).
- Requires CFIUS to submit a report of all investigations to Congress (sec. 2).
- Allows CFIUS or the lead agency (on behalf of CFIUS) to "negotiate, enter into or impose, and enforce any agreement or condition with any party to the covered transaction in order to mitigate any threat to the national security of the United States that arises as a result of the covered transaction" (sec. 5).
- Requires the President to determine a course of action regarding a covered transaction within 15 days after the investigation is completed (sec. 6).
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Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) H Amdt 1 Departmental Appropriations for Defense, Security, and Hurricane Recovery
Outcome: Amendment Adopted (348/73)
Summary: -Appropriates $12.42 billion for the Department of Defense, including $10.81 billion for non-civil operations, and $1.61 billion for civil operations.
-Appropriates $1.79 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, including $1.34 billion for medical related expenses.
-Appropriates $1.76 billion for the Department of Homeland Security.
-Appropriates $906.02 million for the Department of Transportation.
-Appropriates $713 million for the Department of Health and Human Services.
-Appropriates $422.40 million for the Department of State.
-Appropriates $257.50 million for the Department of Agriculture.
-Appropriates $193.44 million for the Department of Justice.
-Appropriates $136.19 million for the Department of the Interior.
-Appropriates $170.40 million for the Department of Commerce.
-Increases the federal minimum wage to $5.85 per hour on the 60th day after the enactment of HR 2206, $6.55 12 months after that 60th day, and $7.25 24 months after that 60th day (Sec. 8102).
-Enacts business tax modifications, including such adjustments as extending the work opportunity tax credit to 2011, extending and increasing expensing for small business, waiving alternative minimum tax limits on work opportunity credit and credit for taxes paid on employee tips, and other adjustments (Secs. 8211, 8212, 8214). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2007) HR 2206 Emergency Departmental Supplemental Appropriations Bill of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (221/205)
Summary: -Appropriates $101.93 billion for the Department of Defense.
-Appropriates $6.86 billion for the Department of Homeland Security.
-Appropriates $5.24 billion for the Department of State.
-Appropriates $1.79 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
-Appropriates $1.56 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services.
-Appropriates $909.5 million for the Department of Agriculture.
-Appropriates $717.94 million for the Department of Transportation.
-Expresses the sense of the Congress that U.S. troops should be redeployed from Iraq as battalions of Iraqi security forces become able to conduct security operations on their own (Sec. 1326).
-Increases the federal minimum wage to $5.85 per hour 60 days after the enactment of this bill, $6.55 per hour 12 months after that 60th day, and $7.25 per hour 24 months after that 60th day (Sec. 7102).
-Addresses business tax modifications, including such adjustments as extending the work opportunity tax credit, extending and increasing expensing for small business, extending and expanding the low-income housing credit rules under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Tax for buildings in the GO zones, and other adjustments (Secs. 7211, 7212, 7222). |
Kucinich's Vote
N |
(2007) HR 800 Union Organization Bill
Outcome: Bill Passed (241/185)
Summary: -Requires the National Labor Relations Board to review petitions filed by employees for the purpose of creating a labor organization for collective bargaining, and to determine whether or not a majority of employees have signed the petition (Sec. 2).
-Requires the National Labor Relations Board to not hold an election, but to certify the bargaining representative if a majority of employees have signed the petition (Sec. 2).
-Requires the parties to begin bargaining within 10 days of the receipt of the petition, or within a longer time frame acknowledged by both parties (Sec. 3).
-States that if the parties are unable to agree in the bargaining after 90 days, either party may contact the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which will mediate and attempt to facilitate an agreement (Sec. 3).
-States that if an agreement has not been reached within 30 days of the request for mediation, the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service may refer the matter to an arbitration board which in turn will render a decision binding to both parties for two years, unless both parties agree to amend the terms within that two years (Sec. 3).
-Provides civil penalties for employers who engage labor practices in violation of the National Labor Relations Act to affect the formation of a union, including back pay and liquidated damages for employees, and a penalty to be determined by the National Labor Relations Board not to exceed $20,000 per infraction (Sec. 4). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 6 Energy Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (264/163)
Summary: -Denies a deduction for income attributable to domestic production of oil, natural gas, or their related primary products (Sec. 102).
-Defines conditions of new leases authorizing oil or natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, requiring lessees to have: (1) renegotiated covered leases to change payment responsibilities to include price thresholds equal to or less than specified price thresholds; or (2) paid all conservation of resources fees or agreed to pay them (Sec. 204).
-Establishes fees for producing and nonproducing federal oil and gas leases in Gulf of Mexico (Sec. 204).
-Repeals incentives for natural gas production from wells in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Sec. 205).
-Creates reserve of funds received as result of this Act, that will be used to offset costs of accelerating the use of renewable energy resources and alternative fuels (Sec. 301). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 2 Minimum Wage Increase
Outcome: Bill Passed (315/116)
Summary: -Increases to $5.85 on the 60th day after passage of the legislation (Sec. 2).
-Increases to $6.55 12 months after that 60th day (Sec. 2).
-Increases to $7.25 24 months after that 60th day (Sec. 2). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
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