HOW THEY VOTED

Summary of some votes by Ohio and Pennsylvania lawmakers last week in Washington, D.C.
HOUSE
Congrats, Sammy
The House approved a resolution congratulating outfielder Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs for hitting 500 home runs. The vote was 372-0.
YES
Ohio: Steven C. LaTourette, R-14th; Tim Ryan, D-17th; and Ted Strickland, D-6th.
Pa.: Phil English, R-3rd, and Melissa A. Hart, R-4th.
Naturalization act
The House, by a vote of 414-5, approved a bill to expedite naturalization for immigrants who serve in the U.S. military.
YES
All Mahoning and Shenango valley representatives.
Partial-birth abortion ban
The House approved a bill to outlaw the procedure known as partial-birth abortion. Proponents contended that the procedure amounted to killing babies. Opponents argued that a ban needed to allow an exclusion to protect the mother's health, and that the ban was a step toward criminalizing abortion. The vote was 282-139.
YES
All Mahoning and Shenango valley representatives.
Check processing
The House, by a vote of 220-198, agreed to consider a check-processing bill. Democrats sought to use the procedural vote as a referendum on whether the federal child tax credit should be extended to the low-income households that won't receive the credits under the recent tax-cut bill. Republicans said many of those low-income families don't pay income taxes and therefore don't deserve the tax credit.
YES
Ohio: LaTourette.
Pa.: Hart and English.
NO
Ohio: Ryan and Strickland.
Check processing II
The House unanimously approved a bill, sponsored by Rep. Melissa Hart, designed to make it easier to process checks electronically. The vote was 405-0.
YES
All Mahoning and Shenango valley lawmakers.
SENATE
Energy policy act
The Senate rejected an amendment to the energy bill to make states' participation in the ethanol gasoline program voluntary. Proponents said the amendment would give states additional flexibility and help keep gas prices stable. Opponents argued that it wouldn't reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and would be bad for Midwestern farmers. The vote was 34 yeas to 62 nays.
YES
Pa.: Rick Santorum, R, and Arlen Specter, R.
NO
Pa.: Mike DeWine, R, and George V. Voinovich, R.
Energy policy II
The Senate rejected an amendment to the energy bill to allow the Energy Secretary to waive the ethanol gasoline mandate if prices are surging or supplies are dwindling. Proponents said the amendment would help keep gas prices stable. Opponents argued that it would be bad for Midwestern farmers. The vote was 37 yeas to 58 nays.
YES
Pa.: Santorum and Specter.
NO
Ohio: DeWine.
NOT VOTING
Ohio: Voinovich.
Energy policy III
The Senate approved an amendment to the energy bill to increase the use of ethanol in gasoline refinement. Proponents said it would help Midwestern farmers and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Opponents argued it would hurt Northeastern and Western consumers who are farther away from the ethanol supplies. The vote was 68-28.
YES
Ohio: DeWine and Voinovich.
NO
Pa.: Santorum and Specter.
Defense act
The Senate, by a vote of 42-53, rejected an amendment to the defense authorization bill to repeal a provision that would close military bases in 2005. Proponents said closing bases would be bad for the economy and could hurt military readiness. Opponents of repealing the provision said the money spent on obsolete bases could be better used in the war on terrorism.
YES
Pa.: Specter.
NO
Ohio: DeWine.
Pa.: Santorum.
NOT VOTING
Ohio: Voinovich.
Working families tax
The Senate, by a vote of 94-2, approved a bill to expand eligibility for the federal child tax credit to low-income households that won't receive the credits under the recent tax-cut bill.
YES
All Ohio and Pennsylvania senators.
Source: States News Service