In part, the bill adds 1,500 diplomats and staff to the Foreign Service and stations 300 additional Foreign Service personnel in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The bill also increases the number of Americans studying abroad; expands programs that bring foreign youths to the United States for high school or college; funds international broadcasting programs and bolsters Radio Free Asia; authorizes $654 million to bring the U.S. up to date in its United Nations dues; and requires gay partners of U.S. diplomats to receive benefits equal to those of diplomats' spouses.
Additionally, the bill orders the first overhaul of U.S. foreign aid since 1961; requires quadrennial State Department reviews of U.S. foreign operations; bolsters arms control and nuclear nonproliferation programs; revamps export controls; expands protections for U.S. intellectual property' and supports U.N. peacekeeping missions in Darfur, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Maryland
Bartlett, no
Pennsylvania
Shuster, no
West Virginia
Capito, no
Dispute over Iran
Voting 174 for and 250 against, the House on June 10 defeated a Republican motion to scrap the entire foreign affairs bill (HR 2410) and replace it with a measure using international economic sanctions to block foreign investments and deliveries of refined-oil products that help sustain Iran's nuclear programs.
A yes vote backed the GOP motion.
Maryland
Bartlett, yes
Pennsylvania
Shuster, yes
West Virginia
Capito, yes
Afghanistan documentary
Voting 178 for and 254 against, the House on June 10 refused to block dissemination in the United States of a Voice of America documentary that depicts how Afghanistan's poppy and heroin industry fuels its economy and provides the Taliban with financial support. The underlying bill (HR 2410) waives the 1948 Smith-Mundt law so the federally produced "A Fateful Harvest" can be shown to U.S. audiences. The law originally was intended to keep federal officials from airing Cold War propaganda domestically.
A yes vote backed the amendment,
Maryland
Bartlett, yes
Pennsylvania
Shuster, yes
West Virginia
Capito, yes
Tobacco regulation
Voting 307 for and 97 against, the House on June 12 gave final congressional approval to a bill (HR 1256) launching Food and Drug Administration regulation of tobacco products, with the cost to be paid by fees on tobacco manufacturers and importers. The bill empowers the FDA to regulate cigarette ingredients, require public disclosure of those ingredients, limit cigarette advertising, require health warnings to cover at least half of each side of a cigarette package and put the burden on manufacturers to verify health claims.
A yes vote was to send the bill to President Obama.
Maryland
Bartlett, yes
Pennsylvania
Shuster, no
West Virginia
Capito, yes
Aid to Pakistan
Voting 234 for and 185 against, the House on June 11 authorized $10.5 billion in U.S. economic and military aid to Pakistan through 2014. The bill (HR 1886) puts the Department of State in charge of the funding and sets benchmarks for Pakistan to meet. The bill provides $6 billion to bolster Pakistan's civilian institutions and economy, $2.9 billion for counter-insurgency efforts and $1.6 billion in general military aid. Now awaiting Senate action, the bill signals growing U.S. concern over the stability of Pakistan and its nuclear arsenal.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Maryland
Bartlett, no
Pennsylvania
Shuster, no
West Virginia
Capito, no
GOP alternative
Voting 173 for and 246 against, the House on June 11 defeated a Republican alternative to HR 1886 that differed mainly by putting the Department of Defense in charge of implementing the bill.
A yes vote backed the Republican alternative.
Maryland
Bartlett, yes
Pennsylvania
Shuster, yes
West Virginia
Capito, yes
Pakistan benchmarks
