Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.insight From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: YEAS & NAYS;SENATE Date: Mon, 26 Oct 92 11:27:05 EST Message-ID: \SE YEAS & NAYS;SENATE \BY INSIGHT 1. HR 11 - Debt Reduction On Sept. 25, the Senate voted 36-58 to stop President Bush's plan to allow Americans to designate up to 10 percent of their income tax to reduce the national debt. New Hampshire Republican Bob Smith said his bill was "a chance for the president and the American people and the Congress to join hands " to make "the tough decisions together to balance this budget." If the bill passed, "not only [would] the national debt be wiped out by the year 2009, but so [would] the national government, lock, stock and barrel," warned Democrat Robert Byrd of West Virginia. D4-50; R 32-8. 2. HR 5504 - Boy Scouts A 49-49 vote Sept. 22 killed an amendment that would have prevented federal employees' donations from going to charities that have pressured the Boy Scouts of America to change the organization's admission policy barring homosexuals and atheists. North Carolina Republican Jesse Helms said he was not "going to stand idly by and watch these radical militants - and that is what they are - attempt to destroy what the Boy Scouts have stood for, for 80 years, without trying to do something about it." Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy said the measure "would set an ominous precedent for intrusion of government regulations into private charities." D18-37; R 31-12. 3. HR 11 - Campaign Checkoff On Sept. 25, the Senate killed, 62-31, an attempt to eliminate the $1 income tax checkoff for presidential campaigns. Texas Republican Phil Gramm noted that if the debt reduction tax checkoff was unreasonable, "then the checkoff concept is not something that we should have to benefit politicians." Majority Leader George Mitchell argued that eliminating public financing "would be a giant step backward" in the political process. D54-0; R 8-31. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM