DATE: Tuesday, October 7, 1997              TAG: 9710070299

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B7   EDITION: FINAL 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   81 lines

ROLL CALL: HOW MEMBERS OF CONGRESS VOTED

Here's how area members of Congress were recorded on major roll call votes in the week ending Oct. 3. HOUSE

Census sampling: Voting 197 for and 228 against, the House rejected a Census Bureau plan to use statistical sampling for tallying hard-to-count populations such as those in inner cities. The vote preserved GOP language in a pending appropriations bill (HR 2267) to ban census sampling unless it clears the U.S. Supreme Court. The bureau says sampling, as a supplement to direct counting, would produce more realistic population figures. Critics note that the Constitution requires ``actual enumeration'' of the populace, and argue sampling could lead to manipulation of population numbers that determine the makeup of federal and state legislative districts.

A yes vote backed an administration plan to use statistical sampling in parts of the 2000 census.

Bateman Yes Pickett No

Scott No Sisisky No

Clayton No Jones Yes SENATE

Pay raise: The Senate adopted, 55 for and 45 against, a conference report (HR 2378) providing $25.6 billion in fiscal 1998 for the Treasury Department and other agencies. While the bill funds politically sensitive operations from tax collection to mail delivery to gun control, it drew its only major criticism during floor debate over something it does not fund, a proposed cost-of-living (COLA) hike in members' salaries. This was consistent with the Treasury budget's role in recent years as a lightning rod for congressional pay disputes, even though members receive their paychecks under separate, permanent, and automatic legal authority.

In July, the Senate amended the this bill to block a planned 2.3 percent COLA that would raise lawmakers' pay to $136,673 annually. But the House endorsed the raise, sending the issue to a conference committee that accepted the pay raise Sept. 29 on a three-to-three tie vote. Supporting the raise were Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Robert Byrd, D-W.Va. Opposing it were Sens. Herbert Kohl, D-Wis., Ben Campbell, D-Colo., and Richard Shelby, R-Ala.

The three-to-three conference committee vote apparently will be Congress's only direct, record vote on the $3,073 increase. The Senate opposed it July 29 on a non-record vote. The House endorsed it Sept. 24 on a procedural roll call that did not bear directly on the pay hike. In another provision, the bill expands taxpayer-subsidized pension benefits for a limited number of federal workers, congressional staff, and former and present members of Congress who joined the Civil Service Retirement System no later than 1983. They will be able to switch to the more beneficial Federal Employees Retirement System.

A yes vote was to approve the conference report.

Robb Yes Warner Yes

Helms No Faircloth No

School vouchers: The Senate failed to advance legislation to begin school vouchers on a pilot basis in the District of Columbia school system. On a tally of 58 for and 41 against, voucher advocates failed to overcome a threatened filibuster against their plan, which would provide 2,000 D.C. public school students with scholarships of $3,200 each for attending private or parochial school in the metropolitan area. They needed 60 votes to prevail.

A yes vote was to advance a school voucher plan for D.C. public schoolchildren.

Robb No Warner Yes

Helms Yes Faircloth Yes

Advertising alcohol: The Senate voted, 69 for and 27 against, to outlaw alcoholic beverage advertising on billboards, posters, and signs in areas of the District of Columbia where children are likely to walk to school or play. The amendment was added to a fiscal 1998 appropriations bill (S 1156) for the federal city that remained in debate.

A yes vote was to ban outdoor advertising of alcoholic beverages in certain D.C. areas near schools and playgrounds.

Robb No Warner Yes

Helms Yes Faircloth Yes ILLUSTRATION: Photos of area members

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