Charles Schumer

[Congressional biography]

Born: November 23, 1950 in Brooklyn, NY

Education:

Career:

Elected Office:

Key House Vote Data for Charles Schumer in 1996

Date	Subject	Result	Conserv. Position	Schumer Voted
1996-01-31	Fiscal 1996 District of Columbia Appropriations [HR2546]	Failed (180-232)
Dixon (D-CA) motion to recommit to the conference committee the conference report on the bill, with instructions to delete the bill's provisions concerning scholarships for low-income students.
1996-03-07	Fiscal 1996 Omnibus Appropriations [HR3019]	Agreed To (211-209)
Istook (R-OK) amendment to require private groups that receive federal grants to report the total amount they spend on lobbying the federal government or any state or local government, on advocating the defeat or election of any candidate for public office, or on advocating the defeat or passage of any ballot proposition. The amendment exempts individuals and state, local and tribal governments. The amendment would ensure that taxpayer funds are not used for lobbying or electioneering activities.
1996-03-12	State Department Authorization [HR1561]	Agreed To (226-172)
Adoption of the conference report on the bill to require the President to abolish one of three international affairs agencies (the Agency for International Development, the U.S. Information Agency or the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency) and to shift its activites to the State Department. The measure would authorize $6.5 billion for fiscal 1996 and $6.5 billion for fiscal 1997 for the State Department, related agencies, and various foreign aid programs. The legislation also would ban funding for the forced repatriation of Indochinese boat people and grant political asylum to refugees fleeing countries with coercive population regimes, like China.
1996-03-14	Anti-Terrorism and Death Penalty Enforcement [HR2703]	Rejected (135-283)
Watt (D-NC) amendment to strike the bill's habeas corpus provisions that place strict limits on the ability of state death-row and other prisoners to challenge in federal court the constitutionality of their sentence.
1996-03-22	Assault Weapons Ban Repeal [HR125]	Passed (239-173)
Passage of the bill to repeal the ban on certain semiautomatic so-called "assualt"-style weapons and eliminate the prohibition on selling or manufacturing such guns. The bill also repeals the ban on large-capacity ammunition feeding devices and any combination of parts that could be assembled into a large-capacity ammunition feeding device; requires mandatory minimum prison sentences for committing violent crimes with certain firearms and increases penalties for subsequent offenses; and directs the Justice Department to set up a program enhancing prosecution of violent criminals who use firearms.
1996-03-29	Product Liability [HR956]	Agreed To (259-158)
Adoption of the conference report to limit punitive damages in product liability cases to two times compensatory damages or $250,000, whichever is greater, with lower limits for small businesses. Under the bill, a plaintiff could bring a lawsuit up to two years after discovering both the cause and the injury itself. The bill would limit the time to file a suit to 15 years after the delivery of a product, but the limit would apply only to some types of products. The bill also would abolish joint-and-several liability for non-economic damages.
1996-04-15	Tax Limitation Constitutional Amendment [HJRES159]	Defeated (243-177)
Passage of the joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate in order to raise taxes. Congress would be able to waive this supermajority requirement to pass a tax increase during a period of declared war between the United States and another country or when Congress and the President enact a joint resolution stating that the United States is engaged in a military conflict that threatens national security.
1996-05-16	Fiscal 1997 Budget Resolution [HCONRES178]	Agreed To (225-195)
Adoption of the concurrent resolution to adopt a six-year budget plan that would balance the budget by 2002 by cutting projected spending by $714 billion and cutting taxes by $124 billion, for a net deficit reduction of $592 billion. Projected spending cuts woild come from reductions of $158 billion to Medicare, $72 billion to Medicaid, and $311 billion to discretionary spending. The resolution also calls for the elimination of the Commerce and Energy Departments and more than 130 programs, including the Goals 2000 school reform program, the AmeriCorps national service program, and the Legal Services Corporation. The resolution set binding budget levels for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1997: budget authority, $1,629.9 billion; outlays, $1,618.1 billion; revenues, $1,470.4 billion; and deficit, $147.7 billion.
1996-05-23	Employee Commuting Act [HR1227]	Agreed To (266-162)
Riggs (R-CA) amendment to increase the minimum wage by 90 cents per hour over two years, thereby raising the minimum wage from its current level of $4.25 per hour to $4.75 per hour on July 1, 1996, and to $5.15 per hour on July 1, 1997.
1996-05-23	Employee Commuting Act [HR1227]	Rejected (196-229)
Goodling (R-PA) amendment to exempt employees of businesses with annual gross sales under $500,000 from the minimum wage and overtime law. Current law exempts employees of such firms from the minimum wage, provided they are not involved in interstate commerce.
1996-06-13	Fiscal 1997 Defense Appropriations [HR3610]	Rejected (190-208)
DeFazio (D-OR) amendment, as amended by the Dicks (D-WA) amendment, to prohibit the use of funds under the National Missile Defense program to procure space-based interceptors or space-based directed-energy weapons.
1996-06-26	Fiscal 1997 VA-HUD Appropriatons [HR3666]	Rejected (183-240)
Hostettler (R-IN) amendment to eliminate the bill's $367 million for the AmeriCorps National Service program, thereby terminating the program which pays so-called "volunteers" to work.
1996-07-18	Budget Reconciliation [HR3734]	Passed (256-170)
Passage of the bill to save about $61.1 billion through fiscal 2002, mostly by cutting aid to legal immigrants and scaling back food stamp benefits. The bill would end the federal guarantee of welfare benefits, give states broad discretion over their own programs through block grants, require welfare recipients to work within two years of receiving benefits and generally limit recipients to five years of welfare benefits. The bill would also make it harder for disabled children to qualify for Supplemental Security Income, restrict food stamp benefits and deny most legal aliens Supplemental Security Income, food stamps and Medicaid benefits.
1996-07-23	Fiscal 1997 Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations [HR3814]	Agreed To (247-179)
Mollohan (D-WV) amendment to increase by $109 million the $141 million provided in the bill for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The amendment would offset this increase by reducing funding for several programs, including the assets forfeiture fund, the federal prison system, the Patent and Trademark Office, judicial services, diplomatic and consular programs, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. This breaks the budget agreement reached just last year, which called for a two-year phaseout of the LSC.
1996-07-25	Campaign Finance Overhaul [HR3820]	Rejected (177-243)
Fazio (D-CA) amendment to establish a voluntary spending limit of $600,000 in each election cycle. Candidtaes who adhere to the voluntary limits would get discounted rates for broadcast time and postage. The bill also would limit contributions from PACs to $8,000 each two-year election cycle and allow PACs to give no more than $5,000 per election. It would limit contributions to a candidate from large individual donors to no more than $200,000 in an election cycle, eliminate "bundling" except for independent PACs that do not lobby, eliminate the use of "soft money" contributions to parties by individuals or corporations and create a new state-level fund for party-building activities. Candidates could use no more than $50,000 of their own money, including loans, during an election.
1996-08-01	English as the Official Language of the U.S. Government [HR123]	Passed (259-169)
Passage of the bill to declare English as the official language of the U.S. government and to require the federal government to conduct most of its official business in English. The bill also eliminates the current requirement that bilingual voting ballots be provided in areas populated by large numbers of voters whose first language is not English.
1996-09-05	U.N. Commanders [HR3308]	Agreed To (276-130)
Bartlett (R-MD) amendment to prohibit members of the U.S. armed forces from being forced to wear a United Nations uniform or insignia unless specifically authorized by Congress.
1996-09-19	Abortion Procedure Ban [HR1833]	Veto Overridden (285-137)
Passage, over President Clinton's April 10 veto, of the bill banning a late-term abortion procedure, where the physician partially delivers the fetus before completing the abortion. Anyone convicted of performing such an abortion would be subject to a fine and up to two years in prison. An exception would be granted when the procedure is necessary to save the life of the woman, provided no other medical procedure can be used.
1996-09-25	Illegal Immigrant Education Restrictions [HR4134]	Passed (254-175)
Passage of the bill to permit states to bar illegal immigrants from public education, beginning with enrollments after July 1, 1997. States would not be permitted to prevent previously enrolled students from completing their schooling.
1996-09-26	U.N. Conservation Restrictions [HR3752]	Failed (246-178)
Young (R-AK) motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill to prohibit federal officials from nominating U.S. lands for "protection" under United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) conservation programs without previous congressional approval.

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).