Here is how members of Maryland's Senate delegation on Capitol Hill were recorded on important roll-call votes last week. There were no House votes:
Y: YES N: NO X: NOT VOTING
SENATE: EDUCATION ISSUE
By a 57-36 vote, the Senate rejected a voucher plan under which federal education aid would pay the private school tuition of a limited number of poor students. This occurred during debate on a bill (S 2) authorizing $850 million in fiscal 1992 to states and localities for upgrading public education.
The defeated voucher plan is a key reform proposal of President Bush and Senate Republicans, who say it would give poor children their only chance to transfer out of inadequate public schools. But foes said it would violate the separation of church and state, and further weaken inner city education.
A yes vote supported the voucher proposal.
Y N X Member Y N X Member
* N * Mikulski, Barbara A., D
* N * Sarbanes, Paul S., D
SENATE: SCHOOL PRAYER
The Senate refused by a 55-38 vote to urge the return of organized prayer to public schools. This rejected a "sense of the Senate" expression that the Supreme Court reverse its 1960s rulings against school prayer. The vote occurred during consideration of S 2 (above).
A yes vote was to urge the Supreme Court to permit prayer in public schools.
Y N X Member Y N X Member
* N * Mikulski, Barbara A., D
* N * Sarbanes, Paul S., D
SENATE: TO PRESERVE EDUCATION FORMULA
By a 55-37 vote, the Senate preserved the traditional formula for allocating federal elementary and secondary education money among the states. The vote occurred during debate on S 2 (above). It killed an amendment to give the 28 less-urbanized states a bigger slice of available funds by lessening the importance of student poverty in the distribution formula. Daniel P. Moynihan, D-N.Y., said the formula change would cost large states in the Northeast one-fifth of their elementary and secondary education aid.
A yes vote was to preserve the existing formula for distributing aid to public schools.
Y N X Member Y N X Member
Y * * Mikulski, Barbara A., D
Y * * Sarbanes, Paul S., D