* 'USE IT OR LOSE IT': Voting 244 for and 173 against, the House on Thursday failed to reach a two-thirds majority needed to pass a bill (HR 6515) giving oil companies a "use it or lose it" mandate to either drill on federal land they have leased or give up the right to do so. The bill was directed at dormant leases covering 68 million acres, including 33 million offshore acres. The bill also required expanded drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and called upon President Bush to gradually put on the market 10 percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's 700 million barrels. The bill urged the president to expedite construction of a proposed pipeline to deliver natural gas from Alaska to the lower 48 states. A yes vote was to pass the bill.

VOTING YES: G.K. Butterfield, D-1; Bob Etheridge, D-2; Walter Jones, R-3; David Price, D-4; Mike McIntyre, D-7; Robin Hayes, R-8; Heath Shuler, D-11; Melvin Watt, D-12; Brad Miller, D-13

VOTING NO: Virginia Foxx, R-5; Howard Coble, R-6; Sue Myrick, R-9; Patrick McHenry, R-10

* INTELLIGENCE BUDGET, ENERGY: Voting 200 for and 225 against, the House on Wednesday refused to send the 2009 intelligence budget (HR 5959) back to committee, where it would be changed to require a National Intelligence Estimate of the impact of global energy conditions on U.S. security. The Republican motion called for "promptly" adding the estimate. Democrats said they would accept the motion if it set an immediate timetable that did not delay the bill. The budget for the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies was then passed on a nonrecord vote. The classified sum is unofficially reported at $50 billion or higher. A yes vote backed the GOP motion.

VOTING YES: Jones, Foxx, Coble, McIntyre, Hayes, Myrick, McHenry

VOTING NO: Butterfield, Etheridge, Price, Shuler, Watt, Miller

* BUSH MEDICARE VETO: Voting 383 for and 41 against, the House on Tuesday overrode President Bush's veto of a bill (HR 6331) that would cancel the administration's 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors. The bill's projected cost of $19.8 billion over six years would be offset mainly by cuts in the privately run, federally subsidized Medicare Advantage program. The bill would increase doctor payments by 1.1 percent in January, require equal copayment rates under Medicare for mental and physical coverage and delay a competitive-bidding process for durable medical equipment, among other provisions. A yes vote was to override the veto.

VOTING YES: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, Foxx, Coble, McIntyre, Hayes, Myrick, McHenry, Shuler, Watt, Miller

VOTING NO: None

* BUSH IMPEACHMENT BID: Members on Tuesday voted, 238 for and 180 against, to send to the Judiciary Committee one article of impeachment against President Bush related to the reasons he presented to the public for his decision to invade Iraq. Sponsored by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, the privileged resolution (H Res 1345) was not debatable. Democratic leaders said they will not seek to impeach Bush but may conduct broader committee hearings on his presidency. A yes vote was to send the measure to committee.

VOTING YES: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Shuler, Watt, Miller

VOTING NO: Foxx, Coble, Hayes, Myrick, McHenry

* BACKUP PAPER BALLOTS: Voting 248 for and 170 against, the House on Tuesday failed to reach a two-thirds majority needed to pass a bill (HR 5803) authorizing $75 million in grants to help states and localities purchase backup paper ballots for use in this year's elections if electronic systems break down. A yes vote was to pass the bill.

VOTING YES: Butterfield, Etheridge, Jones, Price, McIntyre, Shuler, Watt, Miller

VOTING NO: Foxx, Coble, Hayes, Myrick, McHenry

U.S. SENATE

* BUSH MEDICARE VETO: Voting 70 for and 26 against, the Senate on Tuesday joined the House (above) in overriding President Bush's veto of a bill (HR 6331) to continue Medicare reimbursement rates to doctors at their current level this year and raise them by 1.1 percent in January. The bill then became law. A yes vote was to enact the bill.

VOTING YES: Elizabeth Dole, R

VOTING NO: Richard Burr, R

* GLOBAL AIDS FUNDS: Voting 80 for and 16 against, the Senate on Wednesday passed a bill (HR 5501) authorizing $50 billion over five years for U.S. support of global programs to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean. A yes vote was to pass the bill.

VOTING YES: Dole, Burr

VOTING NO: None<