Pete Sessions votes "no" on responsible drilling

Pete Sessions and House Republicans helped sink a bill designed to require energy companies to explore and drill on land where they've already obtained leases. H.R. 6511 passed 244-173, but failed to attain the 2/3 necessary to override a veto. (See Roll No. 511).

Sessions breaks with Bush to support Medicare

In a rare break with Bush (and his own previous vote), Pete Sessions voted to override the president's veto of the Medicare bill. See Roll Call 491.

Pete Sessions joins Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn and many other Republicans who decided just this once to vote with the constituents instead of the President.

But then, Pete Sessions demonstrated his loyalty to Bush by voting "no" to H. Res. 1345, to investigate Bush's rationale for starting the war in Iraq. The resolution passed 238 - 180 (See Roll Call 492)

A panel will now conduct hearings on whether or not Bush mislead the nation into war.

Funny that Pete Sessions would vote no to an impeachment inquiry against Bush, when he was so doggedly determined to impeach Clinton for...what was it again? Lying about having sex? Maybe one day Pete Sessions will remind us how many thousands of military personnel died when Clinton lied to us.

Pete Sessions votes no to preserving presidential e-mail

From Congress.Org:

The House passed H.R. 5811, to amend title 44, United States Code, to require preservation of certain electronic records by Federal agencies and to require a certification and reports relating to Presidential records, by a yea-and-nay vote of 286 yeas to 137 nays.

Pete Sessions was among the majority of Republicans who vote no. (See Roll No. 477).

Pete Sessions votes against Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail

I heard this on the news, that Congress amended the National Trails System Act to include an historic route "taken by the armies of General George Washington and Count Rochambeau between Newport, Rhode Island, and Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781 and 1782." This is one of those votes I consider to be a "no-brainer" vote, one agreeable to most patriotic Americans. The majority of Republicans voted "yes," as did Democrats. The bill passed 345 - 69, with Pete Sessions as one of the nay-sayers.

Doesn't it seem odd that Pete Sessions, who is so involved with the Boy Scouts of America, would vote against a national trail?

Pete Sessions responds to H.R. 6331 vote

Today, I received an email from Pete Sessions, in response to my email urging him to vote yes to H.R. 6331. In response, he sent a form letter about Medicare Advantage, which did not acknowledge my call for passage of H.R. 6331. He writes:

Thank you for contacting Congressman Sessions regarding the Medicare Advantage program. I appreciate you taking the time to share your views on this matter.

In the past, when individuals became eligible for Medicare they had no choice; they were enrolled in traditional Medicare fee-for-service. Now, however, those enrolled in Medicare Advantage may choose from Preferred Provider Organizations, Provider Sponsored Organizations, Private Fee-For-Service, Medical Savings Accounts, and Health Maintenance Organizations. By allowing choice, market competition has increased and consumers are able to receive a higher quality of service at lower rates.

The available options in the Medicare Advantage program allow senior citizens to choose their plan according to their individual needs. Without these choices, the quality of health care for America's senior citizens would diminish. I believe Medicare patients are best equipped to choose the most suitable plan, not the federal government...

Medicare Advantage is a privatized plan, generating huge profits for the insurance industry and not much of anything for the rest of us. This document, prepared by the Alliance of Retired Americans calls Medicare Advantage A Windfall For Insurers; Downfall for Beneficiaries; an article by Ben Wasserman of FoodConsumer.org explains that payments to Medicare private insurers for Medicare Advantage plans cost the government 13 percent more than traditional Medicare, and presents a concise overview of the latest Medicare votes.

Pete Sessions voted against G.I. Bill 2008

This afternoon, I got an email from the IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) saying that President Bush has signed the G.I. Bill 2008 into law:

Today, history was made.

Just this morning, President Bush signed the new GI Bill into law. Since we are only a few days away from celebrating the 4th of July, this milestone is a fitting way to honor our veterans who have bravely served this nation.

IAVA has led the fight for the new GI Bill from the beginning, and your dedication over the past year and a half ensured that our lawmakers kept it a top priority. Over 20,000 of you called your representatives in Congress, spread the word in your communities and signed the petition at www.GIBill2008.org. Thanks to your hard work, we finally achieved our goal...

On the website, there's a link to see if your representative voted for the bill. I'm thinking that surely Pete Sessions would support our veterans and sign this bill.

But no, Pete Session let the troops down and voted no to H.R. 2642. List of yeas and nays available at this link: Roll Call No. 330. For more information about this new G.I. Bill, see the "quickfacts" at the IAVA website: A New G.I. Bill: Rewarding our Troops, Rebuilding our Military

Pete Sessions one of only 19 against Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008

Pete Sessions was one of only 19 House members to vote against the Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008, "To direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to utilize all its authority, including its emergency powers, to curb immediately the role of excessive speculation in any contract market within the jurisdiction and control of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, on or through which energy futures or swaps are traded, and to eliminate excessive speculation, price distortion, sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or unwarranted changes in prices, or other unlawful activity that is causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities."

This bill passed 402-19, with 13 not voting. Roll call information available at this link: Roll Call 468