For the Record Here's how so ...
Here's how some major bills fared recently in Congress and how local congressional members voted, as provided by Thomas Voting Reports. NV means Not Voting.</br></br>The House passed a bill (HR 1252) giving the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general added tools for prosecuting energy companies suspected of charging "unconscionably excessive" wholesale or retail prices. The bill defines what it terms "price gouging," directs the FTC to establish pricing transparency in wholesale markets, makes it a crime to publish false information on wholesale prices and allocates fines and penalties collected under the bill to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. The bill awaits Senate action.</br></br>The House sent President Bush a bill (S 214) to repeal a year-old USA Patriot Act provision used by the administration to appoint U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation. The provision is central to the ongoing dispute over the Justice Department's firing and replacement of several U.S. attorneys. The bill would restore previous limits on the department's authority to make interim appointments and give Congress and federal judges a greater role in such appointments.</br></br>The House passed a bill (HR 1427) to create the Federal Housing Finance Agency to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two federally backed corporations, which dominate the nation's secondary mortgage market, have been tarred in recent years by accounting scandals. The bill, which awaits Senate action, requires the companies to divert $3 billion of their profits over five years to affordable housing, including $500 million in the first year to replace hurricane-destroyed homes on the Gulf Coast.</br></br>Members voted to table a Republican bid for a reprimand of Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) for his official conduct. Republicans allege Murtha vowed improper legislative action against a GOP member who had publicly challenged an earmark of funds for Murtha's congressional district. As a privileged resolution, the measure (H Res 428) was not debatable.