Griffin says ‘no’ vote was error

Resolution to add Ukraine to loan-assistance list passed

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin said Friday that he was as surprised as anyone to see that he voted against loan guarantees for Ukraine.


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Thursday’s vote on House Resolution 4152 was the last vote of the week. The resolution added Ukraine to the list of countries eligible to receive loan guarantee assistance through the State Department’s Economic Support Fund.

When the United States backs or guarantees a loan to another country, it is seen as less risky, similar to having a parent co-sign a student loan. Such a guarantee does not cost American taxpayers anything, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Griffin said he supports the resolution.

“I was surprised when my staff indicated that the clerk had recorded me as a no,” the Little Rock Republican said.

The vote on H.R. 4152 was recorded electronically. To do this, members insert their voting cards into a voting station and select “yea,” “nay” or “present.”

Members can also vote directly with a House staff member called the tally clerk who manually enters the vote.

Griffin said he used his card to vote, and he is not sure what went wrong.

“I have no idea what happened. I’ve taken thousands of votes and never had that happen before,” he said.

Griffin submitted a clarification, called a personal explanation, that was printed in the Congressional Record on Thursday.

It does not explain what happened.

“Mr. Speaker on roll-call vote No. 114 on March 6, 2014, for H.R. 4152, to provide for the costs of loan guarantees for Ukraine, I was recorded as voting ‘no’ when I wanted to be recorded as voting ‘yes,’” it states.

The House Legislative Research Office said it does not track how often a member clarifies a vote in the daily record.

Staff in the House Library said seven of the 435 House members have submitted personal explanations since the beginning of February. The House has taken 82 votes in that time.

The resolution was the first congressional response to Russia’s invasion of its eastern European neighbor. Russian officials say they are protecting people of Russian descent living in Ukraine.

Griffin issued a news release after the vote praising the resolution.

“Russia’s Vladimir Putin is a menace to freedom. America must do all it can diplomatically and economically to prevent Russia from violating the sovereignty of its neighbors and encroaching on the freedom of people who declared independence from the former Soviet Union,” he said.

A clarification does not change Griffin’s official vote.

The resolution was approved 385-23. U.S. Reps. Steve Womack and Tom Cotton voted yes.

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford did not vote. His staff said the storm in Arkansas kept the congressman from reaching Washington all week.

Crawford would not have supported the resolution, said his chief of staff, Jonah Shumate.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 03/08/2014

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