FOR THE RECORD
The following is a report of how some major bills fared recently in Congress and a record of how local members of Congress voted. NV means Not Voting.</br></br>BANKING For-214/Against-213 The House passed a bill enabling banks, insurance companies and brokerages to combine into holding companies, for the purpose of entering each other's business. The bill removes barriers such as the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act and the 1956 Bank Holding Company Act that prevent most forms of direct competition among major segments of the money industry. It changes government regulation by giving the Federal Reserve Board authority to oversee the new financial conglomerates. The Fed thus would become the chief regulator of national banks and their non-banking affiliates, replacing the Comptroller of the Currency in the Treasury Department as the main overseer of banks. Agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and state insurance examiners would continue to regulate specific financial services. A yes vote was to pass the bill.</br></br>.... YES ... NO ... NV MARYLAND Bartlett (R) ..X Cardin (D) ............X Ehrlich (R) ...X Gilchrest (R) .X Hoyer (D) .............X Cummings (D)...........X Morella (R) ...X Wynn (D) ..............X</br></br>VIRGINIA Davis (R) .............X Moran (D) .....X Wolf (R) ......X Bateman (R) ................. X Bliley (R) ....X</br></br>RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION For-375/Against-41 The House passed a bill to penalize countries that engage in religious persecution. The bill creates a State Department office to monitor governments that regularly imprison, torture, kill and otherwise harm people on the basis of their faith. Targeted countries automatically would lose U.S. economic and military assistance except humanitarian aid as well as U.S. support in the International Monetary Fund. They also would be denied exports that could be used for torture. Victims would receive the highest U.S. immigration priority. A yes vote was to pass the bill.