James Collins

[Congressional biography]

Born: April 29, 1916 in Hallsville, TX
Died: July 21, 1989 in Dallas, TX

Education:

Military Service:

Career:

Key House Vote Data for James Collins in 1977

Date	Subject	Result	Conserv. Position	Collins Voted
1977-02-23	Tax Rate Reduction [HCR110]	Rejected (148-258)
Rousselot (R-CA) substitute amendment to revise binding levels for fiscal 1977 revenues and outlays, providing for a $19 billion permanent tax rate reduction. This would provide needed relief for overburdened taxpayers and help curb runaway federal spending.
1977-03-14	Rhodesian Chrome Imports [HR1746]	Passed (250-146)
Passage of the bill to halt the importation of Rhodesian chrome in order to bring the United States into compliance with United Nations economic sanctions imposed on Rhodesia in 1966. The bill partially suspended the 1971 Byrd Amendment, named after Sen. Harry F. Byrd Jr., which barred the President from applying sanctions to non-Communist countries from which the United States imported strategic materials. This bill would force the U.S. to import higher-priced and inferior-grade chrome from the Soviet Union.
1977-03-16	Vietnam Amnesty [HR4877]	Agreed To (220-187)
Myers (R-IN) amendment to prohibit the use of funds in the bill to carry out President Carter's Vietnam amnesty program from draft dodgers and deserters.
1977-03-23	Common Situs Picketing [HR4250]	Defeated (205-217)
Passage of the bill to permit a labor union with a grievance against one contractor to picket all contractors on the same contruction site and to establish a construction industry collective bargaining committee. The aim is forced unionization of non-union employees, and would especially hurt minority contractors while increasing construction costs significantly.
1977-04-06	Aid to U.S. Enemies [HR5262]	Rejected (165-189)
Miller (R-OH) amendment to prohibit international financial institutions from using U.S. funds for aiding Cambodia, Cuba, Laos or Vietnam.
1977-04-27	Reduce Spending and Deficit [HCR195]	Rejected (150-250)
Latta (R-OH) substitute amendment to the Budget Committee amendment, to provide for fiscal 1978 revenues of $392.9 billion, budget authority of $481.5 billion, outlays of $440.6 billion, and a deficit of $47.7 billion. This would reduce revenues by $5 billion, budget authority by $26.5 billion, outlays by $19 billion, and reduce the deficit by $14 billion.
1977-05-03	Arms Control Verification [HR6179]	Agreed To (259-148)
Derwinski (R-IL) amendment to require reports to Congress on the prospects for verification of compliance with any proposed arms control agreement. Without verification, any new SALT II agreement would be meaningless.
1977-05-05	Defense Spending [HCR214]	Rejected (176-233)
Burleson (D-TX) amendment to the Mitchell (D-MD) amendment to add $3 billion in budget authority and $2 billion in outlays to the defense function. Current U.S. defense spending is far behind the Soviet Union's.
1977-05-18	Hatch Act [HR10]	Agreed To (229-168)
Ashbrook (R-OH) amendment to prohibit a federal employee organization from coercing, threatening or intimidating its workers into participating in any form of political activity and to prohibit the organization from using dues or fees for political purposes.
1977-05-25	Clean Air Act [HR6161]	Rejected (162-242)
Gammage (D-TX) amendment to postpone compliance measures in areas that have not attained public health standards for clean air until 60 days after completion of a one-year Environmental Protection Agency study. This would give many urban areas time to implement clean air programs without suffering an immediate loss of industry and jobs.
1977-06-06	Davis-Bacon Military Exemptions [HR6990]	Rejected (76-298)
Hagedorn (R-MN) amendment to exempt certain Defense Department construction contracts from the provisions of the Davis-Bacon Act. The Davis-Bacon act sets a "super-minimum" wage by importing inflated urban wage rates to rural and suburban America, adding $2.3 billion annually in unnecessary federal construction costs.
1977-06-16	OSHA Appropriations [HR7555]	Rejected (162-231)
Symms (R-ID) amendment to reduce the appropriation for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the Department of Labor by $6.3 million, to $130.3 million from $136.6 million. OSHA has cost business and consumers over $14.5 billion, while having no statistical impact on worker safety and health.
1977-06-16	Funds for Busing [HR7555]	Agreed To (225-157)
Mottl (D-OH) amendment to prohibit the use of federal funds for busing students beyond the schools nearest their homes and to prevent the Department of Health, Education and Welfare from requiring local school districts to merge, pair or cluster schools to foster integration.
1977-06-27	Legal Services Corporation [HR6666]	Rejected (166-214)
Ashbrook (R-OH) amendment to terminate the corporation on Sept. 30, 1979. The Legal Services Corporation provides money to activist attorneys, most of whom are engaged in supporting left-wing causes, often political in nature.
1977-06-29	Congressional Salaries [HR7932]	Rejected (181-241)
Grassley (R-IA) amendment to prohibit use of funds appropriated in the bill to pay for the 29 percent pay increase for high-level federal officials that took effect March 1, 1977. These undeserved raises, including a $12,500 boost for members of Congress, serve to insulate Congressmen and Senators from the inflationary effects of their budget-busting spending.
1977-07-27	Food Stamps for Strikers [HR7171]	Rejected (170-249)
Kelly (R-FL) amendment to the committee amendment, to eliminate from the food stamp program any household in which a member is on strike unless the household was eligible before the strike. The amendment would not apply to persons who refused to accept employment at a plant or site because of a strike or lockout.
1977-07-27	Food Stamp Payment [HR7171]	Rejected (102-317)
Symms (R-ID) amendment to the committee amendment, to require that recipients pay for a portion of their food stamp allotment. This amendment would cut runaway growth of the food stamp program, already riddled with waste and corruption.
1977-08-02	Energy Department [S826]	Failed (157-257)
Kindness (R-OH) motion to recommit the conference report, and thus kill, the bill to create a federal Department of Energy. This would have saved taxpayers $10 billion in fiscal 1977 alone.
1977-08-02	Federal Abortion Funding [HR7555]	Agreed To (238-182)
Flood (D-PA) motion to concur in a Senate-passed amendment relating to abortion with an amendment to bar the use of any funds appropriated in the bill for abortions, except where the life of the mother would be endangered by continuing the pregnancy.
1977-08-03	Deregulate Natural Gas [HR8444]	Rejected (199-227)
Brown (R-OH) amendment to end federal controls on the price of new onshore natural gas retroactive to April 20, 1977, and on new offshore natural gas beginning on April 20, 1982, and to extend the Emergency Natural Gas Act of 1977 for three years. This would allow producers of natural gas to make enough profit to encourage production, thus ensuring adequate supplies for consumers, and ultimately resulting in lower prices as supply increased. It would also decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil.
1977-09-08	B-1 Bomber [HR7933]	Agreed To (202-199)
Addabbo (D-NY) amendment to the Mahon (D-TX) amendment to recede and concur with the Senate amendment to delete $1.4 billion for the production of five B-1 bombers. The Mahon amendment would have insisted on the original House position appropriating the B-1 funds. The B-1 is necessary to replace our aging B-52 bomber force and to strengthen our deterrent system against Soviet attack.
1977-09-15	Minimum Wage [HR3744]	Passed (309-96)
Passage of the bill to raise the minimum wage from $2.30 an hour to $2.65 on Jan. 1, 1978, to $2.85 on Jan. 1, 1979, to $3.05 on Jan. 1, 1980, and make other changes in minimum wage and overtime coverage. Increases in the minimum wage force employers to increase prices or to lay off employees, particularly the young and minorities.
1977-09-29	Neutron Bomb [HR6566]	Rejected (109-297)
Weiss (D-NY) amendment to prohibit the use of appropriated funds for development or production of enhanced radiation weapons -- "neutron bombs". The neutron bomb is vitally necessary to offset the current military advantage of Warsaw Pact forces over NATO ground forces.
1977-10-06	Labor Law Revision [HR8410]	Passed (257-163)
Passage of the bill to aid union organizing and bargaining by streamlining regulatory procedures and stiffening penalties against employers who violated labor laws. This gives union organizers strong new legal weapons to use against employers who resist unionization efforts.
1977-10-12	Democrat Bureaucracy [HRE819]	Failed (160-252)
Adoption of the rule providing for House floor consideration of H Res 766, proposing numerous changes in House rules and procedures for dealing with employee discrimination in Congress, committee reform, congressional travel and perquisites and House administration. This is a massive power grab on the part of the Democrat leadership, would create a whole new layer of administrative bureaucracy in Congress, provide an irresponsible increase of congressional allowances, and allow for open-ended "junkets".
1977-10-19	Oil Cargo Preference [HR1037]	Defeated (165-257)
Passage of the bill to guarantee U.S. flag ships a 9.5 percent share of the country's oil imports. The bill would cost consumers $630 million annually in increased oil costs and would actually cause a net increase in U.S. unemployment.
1977-10-19	Clinch River Reactor [HR9375]	Agreed To (252-165)
Bevill (D-AL) amendment to delete language in the bill that would prohibit fiscal 1978 funds appropriated for the Energy Research and Development Administration's Clinch River nuclear breeder reactor program from being spent unless authorizing legislation was enacted. The original language would have stopped development of breeder technology, which is needed to supply future energy needs.
1977-10-27	Raise Social Security Taxes [HR9346]	Passed (275-146)
Passage of the bill to raise Social Security payroll taxes, above scheduled levels, by increasing the taxable wage base for employers and employees starting in 1978 and increasing employer and employee tax rates starting in 1981, and to make various adjustments in benefit schedules. Estimated cost to the taxpayers: $227 billion over the next decade.
1977-11-02	Loans to Panama [HR9179]	Rejected (188-215)
Crane (R-IL) amendment to prohibit the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) from making any loans to or guaranteeing or insuring any borrowings of the National Finance Corporation of Panama unless such loans or guarantees were first approved by Congress. This was an effort to obtain House approval of a portion of the Panama Canal treaty negotiations, which included OPIC loan guarantees to Panama.
1977-11-30	Social Security Earnings Limit [HR9346]	Failed (183-209)
Archer (R-TX) motion to instruct the House conferees on the bill to insist on a House provision that would phase out by 1982 the limitation on outside earnings by recipients aged 65-72.

Represents a "Yes" vote.   Represents a "No" vote.   Indicates that this member voted against the conservative position on a particular vote. "No vote" means that this member did not cast a vote (or voted 'Present' instead of Yes or No).