FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 9, 2002Contact: Carrie Benzschawel, Peace Action Education Fund
(202) 862-9740 ext. 3041
cbenzschawel@peace-action.orgCongressional Voting Record Released by Peace Action Education Fund:
In 2001 Congress Ceded Wartime Decisions to AdministrationWashington, DC – The Peace Action Education Fund (PAEF), an organization that works to build an informed US citizenry on issues relating to nuclear weapons, military spending, and foreign policy, has released its Congressional Voting Record for 2001. The Voting Record is an educational tool that allows policy makers, journalists, and citizens to easily access the votes of members of Congress on legislation ranging from the war on terrorism to nuclear weapons spending to military aid to Colombia. The 2001 Congressional Voting Record also includes the amount of money that each member of Congress received from military related political action committees (PACs).
The 2001 Congressional Voting Record includes seven votes in the Senate and eight votes in the House. To score 100 percent, a member of Congress had to have voted in the best interests of peace for each vote included. The only member to do so was California Democrat Barbara Lee. Representative Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the September 14 resolutions authorizing the administration to use nearly unlimited force in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Representative Lee received no money from military related PACs in 2001.
The top scorer in the Senate was Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) who scored an 86%. Senator Feingold was the only Senator to vote against legislation, initiated by Attorney General Ashcroft, that curbs Americans’ civil liberties. Senator Feingold also accepted no money from military related PACs in 2001.
The largest military PAC recipient (of $115, 750) was Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), the ranking Republican on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Senator Stevens earned a score of 14% on the 2001 Voting Record. Second in PAC gifts was California Republican Randy Cunningham, who received $75,400. Representative Cunningham is a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and earned a 0% on the 2001 Voting Record. The largest military PAC contributor in 2001 was the General Dynamics Corporation which gave $435,500. Altogether, members of Congress received over $4 million from military related PACs in 2001.
"While military PACs wrote big checks to Congress, Congress did little to check the administration’s extreme right wing policies." said Martin, "From the current war and limits on civil liberties to Pentagon spending, few members of Congress did anything to halt, or even question, the administration’s program. The 2001 Voting Record indicates that unless Congress gets in line with the moral considerations of its constituents, 2002 will be more of the same. The administration will continue to be in the driver’s seat using the war on terrorism to justify its unilateralist, Pentagon-oriented agenda, and Congress will go along for the ride."
The 2001 Voting Record is available online at www.peace-action.org. Print copies can be ordered by contacting Carrie Benzschawel at cbenzschawel@peace-action.org or 202-862-9740 x3041.
The Peace Action Education Fund (formerly Sane and The Freeze) informs the public, media, and policy makers about alternatives in order to cut military spending, end global weapons trafficking, and abolish nuclear weapons. www.peace-action.org
