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 2847 Employment, Infrastructure, and Transportation Appropriations
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (217/212)
Summary: -Appropriates $90.83 billion, including the following (Div. A, Titles 1-3):-$70.88 billion for infrastructure and jobs investment, including, but not limited to, the following:-$37.3 billion for the Department of Transportation;
-$23.3 billion for the Department of Education;
-$2 billion for the Department of Energy;
-$2 billion for the Environmental Protection Agency;
-$1.25 billion for the Department of Labor; and
-$1.18 billion for the Department of Justice; -$19.5 billion for surface transportation extension; and
-$454 million for unemployment and "other emergency needs," $354 million of which is offset by rescissions of appropriations to the Converter Box Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for WIC. -Authorizes $12.12 billion in additional appropriations for surface transportation extension (Div. A, Title 2).
-Decreases the maximum limitation on the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to purchase "troubled assets" under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by $150 billion (Div. A, Sec. 1701).
-Establishes the Education Jobs Fund within the Department of Education, for which $23 billion is appropriated for the creation and retention of education jobs and for supporting early childhood, elementary, secondary, or postsecondary educational services or for modernization, renovation, and repair of school facilities, and specifies that funds cannot be used for a state's rainy day fund or to pay any debt obligations (Div. A, Chapter 5).
-Extends funding for several federal highway, transit, and transportation projects through September 2010, including but not limited to certain projects authorized under the Safe Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU); the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (Div. A, Sec. 2002).
-Extends the eligibility period for Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA) continuation coverage so that it ends on June 30, 2010 rather than December 31, 2009, and extends the maximum duration of assistance from 9 months to 15 months (Div. A, Sec. 3302).
-Specifies that certain employees whose work hours are reduced and are otherwise eligible may still apply for or continue COBRA benefits (Div. A, Sec. 3302).
-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 (Div. B, Secs. 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 the bill is voted on "if timely submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the chairs of the Committees on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Senate," or if not "timely submitted" by the chairs, upon enactment (Div. B, 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 (Div. B, 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 (Div. B, 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 (Div. B, Sec. 106).
-Resolves that unique PAYGO scoring rules will apply to the following types of legislation (Div. B, 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 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 (Div. B, 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 3548 Extending Federal Emergency Unemployment Benefits
Outcome: Bill Passed (331/83)
Summary: -Requires individual's to have exhausted all unemployment compensation available before accepting supplemental federal emergency unemployment compensation (Sec. 2).
-Specifies that recipients are eligible to receive the lesser of (Sec. 2):-50 percent of the total amount of compensation, including benefits paid to dependents, as provided by existing state law during the individual's benefit year; or
-13 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. 3). |
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) 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 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 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 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 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 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) S 2739 Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008
Outcome: Bill Passed (291/117)
Summary: -Establishes a 106,000 acre wilderness preservation known as the "Wild Sky Wilderness" in the state of Washington (Sec. 101).
-Applies United States immigration laws and immigration-related labor laws to the Northern Mariana Islands (Sec. 702).
-Establishes a commission to study the possible creation of a National Museum of the American Latino (Sec. 333).
-Creates the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area in Illinois (Sec. 443).
-Creates the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area in New York (Sec. 423).
-Provides the Northern Mariana Islands with a non-voting delegate in the United States House of Representatives (Sec. 711).
-Increases the powers of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, which is charged with establishing a permanent memorial for Former President Eisenhower (Sec. 332).
-Expands the Minidoka Internment National Monument in Idaho to include the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial site in Baingridge, Washington (Sec. 313). |
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 3043 Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Outcome: Veto Override Failed (277/141)
Summary: -Provides that Iraqi and Afghan immigrants who are granted special immigrant status are eligible for up to six months of resettlement assistance and entitlement programs available to refugees (Sec. 525).
-Prohibits funds in the bill from being used to implement a totalization agreement between the Social Security programs of the United States and Mexico (Sec. 526).
-$13.63 billion for the Department of Labor, including $3.37 billion for training and employment services, $3.47 billion for state unemployment insurance and employment service operations, and $1.65 billion for the office of the Job Corps
-$480.03 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, including $30.01 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $401.41 billion for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and $27.32 billion for the Administration for Children and Families
-$63.58 billion for the Department of Education, including $16.38 billion for student financial assistance, $15.93 billion for education for the disadvantaged, and $12.36 billion for special education
-$53.98 for related agencies, including $51.81 billion for the Social Security Administration, $1.35 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service, and $420.00 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting |
Kucinich's Vote
- |
(2007) HR 3043 Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Outcome: Concurrence Vote Passed (274/141)
Summary: -Provides that Iraqi and Afghan immigrants who are granted special immigrant status are eligible for up to six months of resettlement assistance and entitlement programs available to refugees (Sec. 525).
-Prohibits funds in the bill from being used to implement a totalization agreement between the Social Security programs of the United States and Mexico (Sec. 526).
-$13.63 billion for the Department of Labor, including $3.37 billion for training and employment services, $3.47 billion for state unemployment insurance and employment service operations, and $1.65 billion for the office of the Job Corps
-$480.03 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, including $30.01 billion for the National Institutes of Health, $401.41 billion for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and $27.32 billion for the Administration for Children and Families
-$63.58 billion for the Department of Education, including $16.38 billion for student financial assistance, $15.93 billion for education for the disadvantaged, and $12.36 billion for special education
-$53.98 for related agencies, including $51.81 billion for the Social Security Administration, $1.35 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service, and $420.00 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(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 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 3043 Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Outcome: Bill Passed (276/140)
Summary: -Increases the maximum Pell Grant for which a college student is eligible from $4,310 during the 2007-2008 award year to $4,700 during the 2008-2009 award year [Title III].
-Prohibits funding in this Act from being used for the transportation of teachers or students in order to overcome a racial imbalance or carry out a racial desegregation plan in any school or school system [Title III (sec. 301)].
-Prohibits funding in this Act from being used to require a student to attend a school other than the school which is nearest to the student's home, except in the case of a student requiring special education [Title III (sec. 302)].
-Prohibits funding in this Act from being "used to prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer and meditation in the public schools" [Title III (sec. 303)].
-Prohibits funds appropriated in this Act from being used to perform abortions or to provide health benefits coverage that includes the coverage of abortion [Title V (sec. 507)].
-Prohibits the expenditure of funds appropriated to the Department of Labor in the procurement of goods produced by forced or indentured child labor [Title I (sec. 102)].
-Requires the Secretary of Labor to issue a full monthly transit subsidy of at least $110 to each of its employees in the National Capital Region beginning September 30, 2007 [Title I (sec. 103)].
-Authorizes up to $20 million in grants to states "to address the gap in health care coverage faced by trade adjustment assistance participants and dislocated workers" [Title I (sec. 107)].
-Allows the Director of the National Institutes of Health and the Director of the Office of AIDS Research to transfer up to 3 percent of the total amount of funding among institutes for the purpose of research relating to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) [Title II (sec. 208)].
-$10.25 billion for the Department of Labor.
-$478.54 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, including $29.65 billion for the National Institutes of Health and $400.98 billion for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
-$64.94 billion for the Department of Education, including $16 billion for education for the disadvantaged and $12.3 billion for special education.
-$43.76 billion for related agencies, including $41.80 billion for the Social Security Administration.
- $63.54 million to establish the Medicare rural hospital flexibility grants program, $35 million for grant adjustments for existing community health centers, and $310.91 million for voluntary family planning projects, not to be expended for abortions.
- $2.66 billion for low-income home energy assistance, $3.95 billion for child support enforcement and family support programs, $2.14 billion for child care assistance for low-income families, $6.96 billion to fund the Head Start Act through September 30, 2009, and $136.7 million to provide abstinence education. |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(2007) HR 980 Collective Bargaining for Public Safety Officers
Outcome: Bill Passed (314/97)
Summary: -Defines public safety officer as "an employee of a public safety agency who is a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or emergency medical services personnel," including individuals who are "temporarily transferred to a supervisory or management position" (sec. 3).
-Requires states to allow public safety officers the right to join a labor organization for the purpose of collective bargaining over hours, wages, and working conditions (sec. 4).
-Prohibits lockouts by public safety employers and strikes by public safety officers (sec. 6). |
Kucinich's Vote
- |
(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 985 Whistleblower Protection Act of 2007
Outcome: Bill Passed (331/94)
Summary: -Protects disclosures by a federal employee or applicant that are believed to be credible evidence of waste, abuse, gross mismanagement, or substantial and specific danger to public health or safety without restriction as to time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure (Sec. 2).
-Defines "disclosure" as a formal or informal communication, not including a communication concerning policy decisions that lawfully exercise discretionary authority unless the employee providing the disclosure reasonably believes that the disclosure evidences: (1) any violation of law; or (2) mismanagement, waste, abuse of authority, or a danger to the public. (Sec. 3).
-Establishes a legal standard for determining whether a whistleblower has a reasonable belief that a disclosure evidences governmental waste, fraud, or abuse, or a violation of the law. (Sec. 4).
-Gives the President the authority to exclude certain agencies engaged in the conduct of foreign intelligence or counterintelligence activities from whistleblower protections if such exclusion is made prior to any personnel action against the whistleblower. (Sec. 6).
-Gives the Merit Systems Protection Board the authority to impose disciplinary action for prohibited personnel practices. (Sec. 9).
-States that an employee of a protected agency may not be discharged, demoted, or discriminated against as a reprisal for making a disclosure of covered information to an authorized Member of Congress, authorized executive official, or the Inspector General of the covered agency. (Sec. 10).
-Adds to the definition of "abuse of authority": (1) actions that compromise the validity of federally funded research or analysis; and (2) the dissemination of false or misleading scientific, medical, or technical information (Sec. 13). |
Kucinich's Vote
Y |
(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 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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