Politics

How They Voted on the Cap-and-Trade Bill

By Sunlight Foundation & Participatory Politics Foundation

As we reported last night, just before heading home for Independence Day recess and after a particularly tough floor debate, the House of Representatives passed the Waxman-Markey climate change bill (H.R. 2454) by a nail-biter vote of 219-212. Two-hundred and eighteen votes were needed to pass the bill.

Though they have tried in the past, this is the first time either chamber of Congress has been successful in passing a bill designed to address climate change. The bill’s central provision is a cap-and-trade mechanism, which would establish a gradually-tightening economy-wide cap on how much carbon can be produced and allocate carbon credits that energy companies and other polluters can buy and sell on an open market.

“This legislation will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy,” President Obama said after the vote. “That will lead to the creation of new businesses and entire new industries. And that will lead to American jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced.” The President said that he is looking forward to the debate over the legislation in the Senate and seeing it reach his desk ?so that we can say, at long last, that this was the moment when we decided to confront America?s energy challenge and reclaim America?s future.?

We’ll be covering the bill’s prospects as it moves into the Senate and highlighting key issues and critical senators as they develop. But for now, I want to take a closer look at the House’s vote on the bill yesterday. Below are complete lists of all the Representatives that voted against their party leadership on passing the bill and on the Republican substitute amendment. If they are not in the lists below, they voted with their party leadership (Democrats for the bill, Republicans against it) on both votes.

On Passage

You can view the full vote breakdown details at this link. Below are the 44 Democrats who voted against their party leadership and President Obama by voting “nay” on the bill, and the 8 Republicans that vote against their party but with Obama to help pass it. A full 29 of the Democrats who voted against the bill are members of the conservative Blue Dog Democrats. Because of how tight the vote was and the number of Democratic defections, the handful of Republicans who voted in favor of the bill basically gave the bill the final boost it needed to passed.

Democrats That Voted ‘Nay’

1. Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]
2. Rep. Michael Arcuri [D, NY-24]
3. Rep. John Barrow [D, GA-12]
4. Rep. Robert Berry [D, AR-1]
5. Rep. Dan Boren [D, OK-2]
6. Rep. Bobby Bright [D, AL-2]
7. Rep. Christopher Carney [D, PA-10]
8. Rep. Travis Childers [D, MS-1]
9. Rep. Jim Costa [D, CA-20]
10. Rep. Jerry Costello [D, IL-12]
11. Rep. Kathleen Dahlkemper [D, PA-3]
12. Rep. Lincoln Davis [D, TN-4]
13. Rep. Peter DeFazio [D, OR-4]
14. Rep. Joe Donnelly [D, IN-2]
15. Rep. Thomas Edwards [D, TX-17]
16. Rep. Brad Ellsworth [D, IN-8]
17. Rep. Bill Foster [D, IL-14]
18. Rep. Parker Griffith [D, AL-5]
19. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin [D, SD-0]
20. Rep. Tim Holden [D, PA-17]
21. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick [D, AZ-1]
22. Rep. Larry Kissell [D, NC-8]
23. Rep. Dennis Kucinich [D, OH-10]
24. Rep. James Marshall [D, GA-8]
25. Rep. Eric Massa [D, NY-29]
26. Rep. Jim Matheson [D, UT-2]
27. Rep. Mike McIntyre [D, NC-7]
28. Rep. Charles Melancon [D, LA-3]
29. Rep. Walter Minnick [D, ID-1]
30. Rep. Harry Mitchell [D, AZ-5]
31. Rep. Alan Mollohan [D, WV-1]
32. Rep. Glenn Nye [D, VA-2]
33. Rep. Earl Pomeroy [D, ND-0]
34. Rep. Nick Rahall [D, WV-3]
35. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez [D, TX-23]
36. Rep. Mike Ross [D, AR-4]
37. Rep. John Salazar [D, CO-3]
38. Rep. Fortney Stark [D, CA-13]
39. Rep. John Tanner [D, TN-8]
40. Rep. Gene Taylor [D, MS-4]
41. Rep. Peter Visclosky [D, IN-1]
42. Rep. Charles Wilson [D, OH-6]

Republicans That Voted ‘Aye’

1. Rep. Mary Bono Mack [R, CA-45]
2. Rep. Michael Castle [R, DE-0]
3. Rep. Mark Kirk [R, IL-10]
4. Rep. Leonard Lance [R, NJ-7]
5. Rep. Frank LoBiondo [R, NJ-2]
6. Rep. John McHugh [R, NY-23]
7. Rep. Dave Reichert [R, WA-8]
8. Rep. Christopher Smith [R, NJ-4]

On the Republican Substitute Amendment

Besides the vote on passage, the only other substantial vote the House placed on the climate change bill was on a Republican amendment that would have replaced the entirety of the bill with the text of H.R. 513, entitled the “New Manhattan Project for Energy Independence.” The amendment would have set non-binding energy independence goals and awarded cash prizes to companies that develop new technologies for improving automobile fuel efficiency, solar power, biofuels, carbon capture and nuclear-derived electricity. The full roll call details can be seen at this link. Below are the 7 Democrats who voted for replacing the Waxman-Markely bill with the Republicans alternative and the 11 Democrats who voted to keep the Waxman-Markley bill text the way it is.

The most noteworthy vote here is probably Rep. Waters’. Unlike the other Democrats who supported the Republican amendment, she is generally progressive on most issues.

Democrats That Voted ‘Aye’

1. Rep. Jason Altmire [D, PA-4]
2. Rep. John Barrow [D, GA-12]
3. Rep. Dan Boren [D, OK-2]
4. Rep. Christopher Carney [D, PA-10]
5. Rep. Tim Holden [D, PA-17]
6. Rep. James Marshall [D, GA-8]
7. Rep. Maxine Waters [D, CA-35]

Republicans That Voted ‘Nay’

1. Rep. Paul Broun [R, GA-10]
2. Rep. Virginia Foxx [R, NC-5]
3. Rep. Scott Garrett [R, NJ-5]
4. Rep. Dean Heller [R, NV-2]
5. Rep. Jim Jordan [R, OH-4]
6. Rep. Frank LoBiondo [R, NJ-2]
7. Rep. Tim Murphy [R, PA-18]
8. Rep. Tom Price [R, GA-6]
9. Rep. Paul Ryan [R, WI-1]
10. Rep. Christopher Smith [R, NJ-4]
11. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R, GA-3]

Full post as published by Open Congress on June 28, 2009 (boomark / email).