                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, September 25, 1994             TAG: 9409250035
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A18  EDITION: FINAL 
                                             LENGTH: Long  :  113 lines

CONGRESSIONAL ROLL CALL

Here's how area members of Congress were recorded on major roll call votes in the week ending Sept. 16.

HOUSE

MINING LAW: By a vote of 318 for and 64 against, the House urged a one-year moratorium on allowing private companies to acquire public mineral resources in western states at a small fraction of market value, as they now can do under the 1872 Mining Law. Separate administration proposals to modernize the 19th century law have been stuck in a House-Senate conference committee since June. With this nonbinding vote, the House recommended that the reform be achieved, at least for one year, as part of the FY '95 Interior Department appropriations bill (HR 4602).

A yes vote was to suspend government sales of mineral resources under the 1872 Mining Law.

Herbert H. Bateman, R-Va. Yes

Owen B. Pickett, D-Va. Yes

Robert C. Scott, D-Va. Yes

Norman Sisisky, D-Va. Yes

Eva Clayton, D-N.C. Yes

H. Martin Lancaster, D-N.C. Yes

VA-HUD BUDGET: By a vote of 313 for and 61 against, the House approved the conference report on the FY '95 appropriations bill (HR 4624) for the departments of Veterans' Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the new Corporation for National and Community Service and nearly 20 other agencies and boards. The $90.6 billion cost is 3 percent above the comparable 1994 bill. The veterans' department gets $37.6 billion, HUD $24.7 billion, NASA $14.4 billion, EPA $7.2 billion and national service $577 million, among other outlays.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Bateman Yes

Pickett Did not vote

Scott Yes

Sisisky Yes

Clayton Yes

Lancaster Yes

EARMARKING: By a vote of 189 for and 180 against, the House approved $280 million for 254 projects back home that were not authorized by any committee but handpicked for funding, without hearings, by leaders of the House and Senate appropriations committees. The practice is called ``earmarking.'' The vote occurred during debate on HR 4624. Funding will come from a HUD low-income housing account. Universities and local governments will get most of the earmarked grants.

A yes vote was to fund the earmarked projects.

Bateman Yes

Pickett Did not vote

Scott Yes

Sisisky Yes

Clayton Yes

Lancaster Yes

WETLANDS PRESERVATION: By a vote of 368 for and five against, the House passed a bill (HR 4308) to extend through FY '98 the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, a federal program to conserve and restore wetlands in coastal states. The four-year cost is $110 million, rising from $16 million in 1995 to $36 million in 1998.

A yes vote was to renew the wetlands conservation law.

Bateman Yes

Pickett Yes

Scott Yes

Sisisky Yes

Clayton Yes

Lancaster Yes

SENATE

INTERSTATE BANKING: By a vote of 94 for and four against, the Senate sent the White House a bill (HR 3841) permitting banks to operate branches in any state. One year after enactment, holding companies can acquire out-of-state banks. By June 1, 1997, banks can begin opening branches in other states. The bill also makes it more difficult for the Resolution Trust Corp. and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to prosecute negligence claims against those responsible for a savings-and-loan collapse. Added in House-Senate conference on the bill, the provision has the effect of limiting the time in which those regulators can file suits.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

John W. Warner, R-Va. Yes

Charles S. Robb, D-Va. Yes

Jesse A. Helms, R-N.C. Yes

Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C. Yes

DEFENSE BILL: By a vote of 80 for and 18 against, the Senate sent President Clinton the conference report on the FY '95 Defense Department authorization bill (S 2182). The $263.8 billion measure is up slightly over the comparable 1994 defense bill. In part, the measure funds a 2.6 percent military pay raise, reduces active duty personnel ceilings by 85,000 to 1.53 million slots, provides $3.66 billion for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and authorizes $125 million to keep the B-2 bomber industrial base from withering away.

A yes vote was to pass the FY '95 defense bill.

Warner Yes

Robb Yes

Helms Yes

Faircloth Yes