The Conservative Index: our fourth look at the 108th Congress shows how every member of the House and Senate voted on key issues, including foreign aid, national defense, and taxes.(Congress)

House Vote Descriptions

31 Defunding U.S. Participation in UNESCO. This amendment to the appropriations bill for the Commerce, Justice, and State Departments (H.R. 4754) would effectively end U.S. participation in UNESCO by defunding it. Introduced by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), the amendment stated: "None of the funds made available in this Act may be used to pay expenses for any United States contribution to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)." The U.S. rejoined UNESCO in 2002 after withdrawing from it in 1984.

The House rejected Paul's amendment on July 7, 2004 by a vote of 135 to 283 (Roll Call 333). We have assigned pluses to the "yeas" because our national independence must be preserved by getting out and staying out of the UN and all of its agencies, including UNESCO.

32 Defunding U.S. Participation in the United Nations. In addition to sponsoring an amendment to defund U.S. participation in UNESCO (House Vote #31 above), Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) also proposed an amendment to defund U.S. participation in the UN as a whole. The latter amendment stated: "None of the funds made available in this Act [H.R. 4754] may be used to pay any United States contribution to the United Nations or any affiliated agency of the United Nations."

The House rejected Paul's broader defunding amendment on July 7, 2004 by a vote of 83 to 335 (Roll Call 335). We have assigned pluses to the "yeas" because blocking U.S. funding of the UN would be a significant step toward getting out of the world body and fully restoring U.S. independence.

33 Agriculture Appropriations. This bill (H.R. 4766) would appropriate $83.7 billion for agriculture, rural development, and nutrition programs in fiscal 2005. Over half ($50.2 billion) of the funding in the so-called agriculture appropriations bill would be for domestic food and nutrition programs, including $33.6 billion for the food stamp program and $11.3 billion for child nutrition programs. Another $27 billion would be for agriculture programs, including $16.5 billion for the Commodity Credit Corporation.

The House passed H.R. 4766 on July 13, 2004 by a vote of 389 to 31 (Roll Call 370). We have assigned pluses to the "nays" because federal aid to farmers and federal food aid to individuals are unconstitutional activities of the federal government.