Ralph Hall

[Congressional biography]

Born: May 3, 1923 in Fate, TX
Died: March 7, 2019 in Rockwall, TX

Military Service:

Elected Office:

Other notes:

Key House Vote Data for Ralph Hall in 1991

Date	Subject	Result	Conserv. Position	Hall Voted
1991-01-12	Use of Force Against Iraq [HJRES77]	Passed (250-183)
Passage of the joint resolution authorizing President Bush to use military force if Iraq has not withdrawn from Kuwait and complied with U.N. Security Council resolutions by Jan. 15. The resolution authorizes the use of force and the expenditure of funds under the War Powers Act and requires the President to report to Congress every 60 days on the efforts to obtain Iraqi compliance.
1991-03-13	Fiscal 1991 Defense Supplemental Authorization [HR1175]	Failed (145-281)
Cox (R-CA) motion to recommit to the Armed Services Committee the bill to authorize supplemental defense programs for fiscal 1991, with instructions to report it back to the House with provisions stating it is the sense of the Congress that the administration should negotiate an agreement with the Soviet Union that would allow the research, development, testing and deployment of defenses against ballistic missiles of all ranges. These activities were restricted by the ABM Treaty.
1991-04-17	Fiscal 1992 Budget Resolution [HCONRES121]	Rejected (79-332)
Dannemeyer (R-CA) substitute amendment to hold domestic discretionary spending at fiscal 1990 levels with certain adjustments for inflation, resulting in outlays that were about $18 billion lower than the domestic cap set in the Budget Enforcement Act of 1990. Also, the amendment called on the Treasury Department to issue $10-20 billion in gold bonds in order to calculate their effectiveness in reducing interest costs.
1991-05-08	Handgun Waiting Period [HR7]	Passed (239-186)
Passage of the bill to require law-abiding citizens to wait seven days before purchasing a handgun. The bill would allow local law enforcement authorities to check the background of prospective buyers to determine whether they have a criminal record. The waiting period requirement would end when a national computer system for instant checks began.
1991-05-15	Fiscal 1992-93 State Department Authorization [HR1415]	Rejected (196-207)
Upton (R-MI) substitute amendment which directed the State Department to tear down and rebuild the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and require the Secretary of State to seek reimbursement from the Soviet Union for full costs incurred by the United States in reconstructions of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. The original embassy had been extensively bugged by the KGB.
1991-05-15	Fiscal 1992-93 State Department Authorization [HR1415]	Rejected (145-265)
Solomon (R-NY) amendment to require random drug testing of all State Department employees.
1991-05-21	Fiscal 1992 Defense Authorization [HR2100]	Rejected (127-287)
Michel (R-IL) amendment to substitute the administration's defense request for the committee's. The amendment would increase Strategic Defense Initiative funding by $1.7 billion to $5.2 billion; terminate the remanufacture of Navy F-14 fighters; authorize $3.2 billion for procurement of four new B-2 stealth bombers and start-up costs for seven more; eliminate funds for the V-22 Osprey; authorize $124 million in procurement funds for the M-1 tank and no funds for upgrading older M-1 tanks; and authorize selected reserve troop cuts of 67,496.
1991-05-22	Fiscal 1992 Budget Resolution [HCONRES121]	Agreed To (239-181)
Adoption of the conference report on the resolution to set binding budget levels for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1992: budget authority, $1.59 trillion; outlays, $1.448 trillion; revenues, $1.169 trillion; deficit, $278.8 billion. The House report contained several budget-busting programs.
1991-06-05	Civil Rights Act of 1991 [HR1]	Passed (273-158)
Vote on passage of the bill to reverse or modify recent Supreme Court decisions that had reestablished more reasonable standards of proof in discrimination cases. The bill will shift the burden of proof onto the accused and effectively force businesses to adopt quota hiring policies to prevent endless litigation.
1991-06-05	Fiscal 1992 Legislative Branch Appropriations [HR2506]	Rejected (198-227)
Penny (D-MN) amendment to cut $21 million from the $80 million appropriation for House official mail costs (i.e., free mailing privileges for members of Congress and their staffs), bringing it to the fiscal 1991 level of $59 million.
1991-06-12	Fiscal 1992-93 Foreign Aid Authorization [HR2508]	Agreed To (234-188)
Kostmayer (D-PA) amendment to the Smith (R-NJ) amendment, to preserve the $20 million in funding for the United Nations population fund (UNFPA), which supports family-planning programs in many countries. The Smith amendment would have removed the funding on the grounds that the UNFPA operated in China, which uses forced abortions and involuntary sterilization as means of family planning; the UNFPA promotes those forced abortions in China.
1991-06-20	Fiscal 1992-93 Foreign Aid Authorization [HR2508]	Agreed To (279-134)
Walker (R-PA) substitute amendment to the Burton (R-IN) amendment, to prohibit aid to the South African Communist Party and to any organization or association affiliated with a Communist party and to require the President to ensure that recipients of such aid have democratic processes in place for selecting leaders and do not have a record of human rights abuses.
1991-06-25	Fiscal 1992 Interior Appropriations [HR2686]	Rejected (66-361)
Vote on a Crane (R-IL) amendment to eliminate the $178 million budget for the National Endowment for the Arts which in the past has funded "hate art" that is blasphemous and pornographic.
1991-07-17	Striker Replacement [HR5]	Passed (247-182)
Passage of the bill to prohibit employers from hiring permanent replacements for workers striking over economic issues, if the strike was by union-represented employees.
1991-09-17	Unemployment Benefits Extension [HR3040]	Passed (283-125)
Passage of the bill to permanently extend unemployment benefits to long-term unemployed workers for up to 20 additional weeks at an estimated cost of $6.3 billion through fiscal 1996. The bill automatically declares the benefits to be "emergency" spending and would not require a presidential declaration to be exempt from the spending requirements of the 1990 budget agreement. As such, it represents a further reduction of incentive for workers.
1991-10-16	Omnibus Crime Bill [HR3371]	Agreed To (213-206)
Gekas (R-PA) amendment to allow the jury in capital cases to impose the death penalty where there has been a reckless disregard for life. The amendment also removes the requirement that the jury be told that it does not have to impose the death penalty anytime before sentencing.
1991-10-17	Omnibus Crime Bill [HR3371]	Rejected (208-218)
Hyde (R-IL) amendment to prohibit habeas corpus appeals in cases that had a "full and fair" hearing at the state level; require all habeas corpus appeals to be filed within one year of exhausting state appeals; limit death row prisoners to one federal habeas corpus petition that must be filed within six months of exhausting appeals; and set time limits for consideration of habeas corpus petitions.
1991-10-22	Omnibus Crime Bill [HR3371]	Agreed To (223-191)
McCollum (R-FL) amendment to strike provisions in the Omnibus Crime Bill that would have effectively nullified all state and federal death penalty statutes. The Crime Bill provisions would have prohibited the execution of death row prisoners who claim that evidence demonstrates that the death penalty had been previously imposed in that jurisdiction in a racially disproportionate manner. This amendment would prohibit considering race in determining a defendant's sentence, and prohibit using statistics to invalidate a sentence.
1991-11-13	Family and Medical Leave Act [HR2]	Passed (253-177)
Vote on passage of the bill to force public and private employers to give employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year for serious illness, or to care for a new child or a sick child, parent, or spouse. On top of the onerous cost to small businesses, the unintended effect of the bill is to reduce employment opportunities for young married women.

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).