The House : Foreign Ownership in the U.S.

By a vote of 250 to 170, the House passed and sent to the Senate a bill (HR 5410) requiring foreigners who buy heavily into U.S. assets to register with the Commerce Department and make certain information available to the government.

In part, these buyers would have to identify to Commerce their officers and directors by nationality and divulge certain internal financial information.

Supporter James J. Florio (D-N.J.) said: “We want to know who owns America and that is what this legislation is all about.”

Opponent Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) called the bill “an exercise in election year xenophobia,” damaging to states that court foreign investment.

Members voting yes want foreign buyers of America to provide certain internal data to the U.S. government.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Moorhead (R) X Rep. Roybal (D) X Rep. Waxman (D) X

Textile Bill Veto

By a vote of 272 to 152, the House failed to achieve the two-thirds majority it needed to override President Reagan’s veto of legislation (S 2662) freezing non-rubber footwear imports at present levels and limiting textile and clothing imports to a growth rate of 1% annually over 1987 levels.

Override supporter James A. Traficant Jr. (D-Ohio) said the bill is needed because unfair competitors abroad “are laughing in our face.”

Rep. Jim Slattery (D-Kan.) said the bill would inflict “unnecessary increases in clothing and shoe prices” on American consumers.

Members voting yes wanted to override President Reagan’s veto of the textile bill.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Moorhead (R) X Rep. Roybal (D) X Rep. Waxman (D) X

Welfare Reform

By a vote of 347 to 53, the House sent to President Reagan legislation (HR 1720) giving the federal-state welfare system the first major overhaul in its 53 years. Seeking to end welfare dependency, the bill requires most recipients to enroll in state job-training and education programs as a condition of getting their welfare check. It also requires payroll withholding of absent parents’ child-support obligations and institutes “workfare” under which one parent in a welfare family must spend at least 16 hours weekly in a government or community service job.

Supporter Don J. Pease (D-Ohio) termed the bill “a clear signal that we expect people on welfare to move on to regular employment.”

Opponent Bill Archer (R-Tex.) said “the bill will approach $1 billion a year in extra spending” after five years.

Members voting yes supported the bill.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Moorhead (R) X Rep. Roybal (D) X Rep. Waxman (D) X

Civil Rights in the House

The House voted 408 to 12 to give its employees the same protection against job discrimination that other workers nationwide receive under the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Some 12,000 workers on the House payroll, including personal staff and committee aides, will immediately benefit from this change (H Res 558) in House rules. The vote created an in-house procedure to resolve complaints of job discrimination based on sex, race, age, handicap, national origin, religion, color or age.

The Senate at week’s end had not yet extended similar protection to its employees.

Members voting yes wanted House workers to be legally protected against discrimination by their employers.

How They Voted Yea Nay No vote Rep. Moorhead (R) X Rep. Roybal (D) X Rep. Waxman (D) X