Time on Capitol Hill

Dear Reader,

In recent weeks, Congress has acted on several controversial issues. Here's how your Representative and Senators cast their votes:

THE ISSUES

VOTE 1

ASSAULT WEAPONS: In a lobbying showdown between the National Rifle Association and the gun-control movement, the House voted 216 to 214 on May 5 to ban the sale of 19 designated assault weapons. Last fall the Senate passed a similar measure 50 to 49. Now an uncontested part of the Omnibus Anti-Crime Bill, the weapons ban will face its next legislative test when reconciliation is completed, probably in the next two weeks.

VOTE 2

ACCESS TO ABORTION CLINICS: On consecutive Thursdays in early May, both the House and the Senate adopted a joint conference report that creates federal civil and criminal penalties for those who use force, the threat of force or physical obstruction to block access to abortion clinics. The measure, which President Clinton signed into law last week, passed in the House 241 to 174 and in the Senate by a vote of 69 to 30. First-time violators can be fined up to $100,000; repeat offenders could get penalties of $250,000 and three years in prison.

BOSNIAN ARMS EMBARGO: Within half an hour on May 12, the Senate voted twice to lift the arms embargo widely believed to be handicapping the Bosnian Muslim side in the Balkan conflict. The outcomes were numerically identical -- 50 to 49 -- but the vote lineup was quite different.

VOTE 3

Unilateral termination: Sponsored by minority leader Robert Dole, this version amounted to a challenge to President Clinton, directing him to lift the U.S. embargo unilaterally, contrary to Administration policy.

VOTE 4

Allied consultation: Crafted by majority leader George Mitchell as a means of blunting Dole's challenge, this amendment merely called upon the President to seek a U.N. Security Council resolution and NATO support for lifting the embargo. Not a single Republican voted in favor.