WASHINGTON — Along with roll call votes last week, the Senate also passed the Federal Law Enforcement Self-Defense and Protection Act (H.R. 2137), to ensure federal law enforcement officers can ensure their own safety, and the safety of their families, during a covered furlough; passed the Indian Trust Asset Reform Act (H.R. 812), to reform management of Indian trust assets; passed a resolution (S. Res. 496), condemning the terrorist attack on the Pulse Orlando nightclub; and passed the Rapid DNA Act (S. 2348), to implement the use of Rapid DNA instruments in the judiciary system.

The House also passed the FOIA Improvement Act (S. 337), to improve the Freedom of Information Act; passed the Oversee Visa Integrity with Stakeholder Advisories Act (H.R. 3636), to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow labor organizations and management organizations to receive the results of visa petitions about which such organizations have submitted advisory opinions; passed the Strategy To Oppose Predatory Organ Trafficking Act (H.R. 3694), to combat trafficking in human organs; and passed a resolution (H. Res. 343), expressing concern regarding persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in China.

HOUSE VOTES

House Vote 1

CUTTING LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SPENDING: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act (H.R. 5325). The amendment would have cut spending for programs covered by the bill by 1 percent, other than keeping funding flat for Capitol security accounts. Blackburn said the cut would put the federal government on a better track toward less spending and increased fiscal responsibility. An amendment opponent, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., said it “would do nothing more than hurt the service we are able to provide to our constituents” by cutting resources available for Congress to legislate wisely. The vote, on June 10, was 165 yeas to 237 nays.

NAYS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District

YEAS: Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District

House Vote 2

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SPENDING: The House has passed the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act (H.R. 5325), sponsored by Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga. The bill would provide $3.481 billion of funding for fiscal 2017 programs in the federal government’s legislative branch, including the Capitol building, but not including the Senate. Graves said it curbed wasteful spending by making tough budgetary choices while continuing to “preserve the beauty, enhance the security, and improve the institutions of the United States Capitol complex.” A bill opponent, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., questioned its $32.5 million increase in funding for the Capitol’s police force and said its $107.9 million to fund the Congressional Research Service was insufficient. The vote, on June 10, was 233 yeas to 175 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 3

CARBON TAX: The House has passed a resolution (H. Con. Res. 89), sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., expressing the sense of Congress that a tax on carbon dioxide emissions would harm the U.S. economy. Scalise said the tax would have no impact on global CO2 levels while costing more than a million U.S. jobs and increasing costs for consumers, especially low-income people. A resolution opponent, Rep. Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., said “the scientific evidence of climate change is overwhelming, and the consensus is clear” that CO2 emissions are linked to harmful impacts from climate change, such as more intense hurricanes. The vote, on June 10, was 237 yeas to 163 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 4

OIL PRODUCTION TAX: The House has passed a resolution (H. Con. Res. 112), sponsored by Rep. Charles W. Boustany Jr., R-La., expressing the sense of Congress in opposition to President Obama’s proposed $10 per barrel excise tax on crude oil production in the U.S. Boustany said the tax “would not only add significantly to the cost of a gallon of gasoline at the pump, certainly disproportionately hurting fixed-income families, seniors, and so forth, it would also have a detrimental impact on job creation, on wages, and on the Nation’s overall economic health.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., said it was based on a Republican denial of climate change and the role of oil and other fossil fuels in causing global warming, and blocking the tax would impair the country’s ability to combat the climate change threat. The vote, on June 10, was 253 yeas to 144 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 5

RELATIONS WITH CARIBBEAN NATIONS: The House has passed the United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act (H.R. 4939), sponsored by Rep. Eliot L. Engel, D-N.Y. The bill would require a State Department report to Congress outlining a strategy for U.S. policy toward Caribbean nations, including improving the region’s public safety and its economy. Engel said the bill would improve U.S. diplomatic and economic engagement with the strategically important Caribbean by adopting new policies. The vote, on June 13, was 386 yeas to 6 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

House Vote 6

GOVERNMENT NETWORKING AND IT RESEARCH: The House has passed the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Modernization Act (H.R. 5312), sponsored by Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill. The bill would rename the National High-Performance Computing Program as the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program, and charge the renamed program with researching cybersecurity, human-computer interactions, big data, and the use of data analytics to integrate city-scale information technology and physical infrastructures. LaHood said information technology developed by the program “bolsters economic competitiveness and creates new industries and businesses; it helps ensure future national security, including cybersecurity; and creates the good-paying jobs we need for today and tomorrow.” The vote, on June 13, was 385 yeas to 7 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

House Vote 7

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FACILITIES: The House has passed the National Science Foundation Major Research Facility Reform Act (H.R. 5049), sponsored by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. The bill would change the role of the Large Facilities Office at the National Science Foundation, with the goal of improving the NSF’s management of large research buildings. Loudermilk said reforming the Office to improve oversight of facility construction and management of the NSF should reduce waste and time and cost overruns at the agency. The vote, on June 14, was 412 yeas to 9 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

House Vote 8

TAX-EXEMPT GROUPS AND THE IRS: The House has passed the Preventing IRS Abuse and Protecting Free Speech Act (H.R. 5053), sponsored by Rep. Peter J. Roskam, R-Ill. The bill would bar the Internal Revenue Service from requiring tax-exempt organizations to provide information identifying their contributors in their annual tax returns. Roskam said the IRS has stated that it does not need to identify contributors in order to review filings by the organizations, and that the IRS has shown a tendency to illegitimately leak contributor information with resulting harassment of the contributors by hostile groups. A bill opponent, Rep. Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., said keeping contributor information from the IRS “removes the last safeguard against foreign governments and foreign individuals from influencing our elections.” The vote, on June 14, was 240 yeas to 182 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 9

MILITARY CLIMATE CHANGE DIRECTIVE: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5293). The amendment would bar funding for implementation of the Defense Department’s directive on climate change adaptation and resilience. Buck said the directive, by forcing military officials to prioritize climate change over measures to combat U.S. enemies, would distract the military from its ultimate purpose of protecting national security. An amendment opponent, Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, D-Ind., said it would hamstring the military’s capacity to account for problems created by climate change and a changing global environment. The vote, on June 16, was 216 yeas to 205 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 10

MILITARY BASES AND ALIEN CHILDREN: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5293). The amendment would bar funding for building facilities on military bases to provide temporary housing for unaccompanied alien children. Byrne said “it simply makes no sense for these individuals to be held at military installations” that often lack basic infrastructure such as sewage facilities or are near live artillery ranges and active airfields. An amendment opponent, Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, D-Ind., said the military should be allowed to use domestic bases “to provide the same type of humanitarian assistance to minor children that we do in the Philippines, Pakistan, Japan, Bangladesh, and Haiti.” The vote, on June 16, was 223 yeas to 198 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 11

DETAINING ENEMY COMBATANTS DOMESTICALLY: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5293). The amendment would bar funding for surveying and other initiatives related to the potential use of locations within the U.S. to detain enemy combatants now held at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. Lamborn said “it is against the law for the terrorists held at Guantanamo to be brought to the United States,” so Congress should provide no funding toward that purpose. An amendment opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said replacing Guantanamo Bay would save many millions of dollars while improving national security by removing a propaganda tool for terrorist groups. The vote, on June 16, was 245 yeas to 175 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 12

WARRANTLESS DATABASE SEARCHES: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5293). The amendment would have barred funding for the federal government to use a foreign intelligence database to conduct searches for information about U.S. citizens. Massie said the ban would maintain the Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless searches of Americans, without hampering the ability of intelligence agencies to detect external threats to the country. An amendment opponent, Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., said the ban, by impeding the government’s ability to locate information about threats, “would put a lot more American lives at risk both at home and abroad.” The vote, on June 16, was 198 yeas to 222 nays.

YEAS: Pingree

NAYS: Poliquin

House Vote 13

GREEN ENERGY AND THE MILITARY: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5293). The amendment would bar funding for Defense Department efforts to meet various green energy mandates set out in law and by the president. McClintock said the mandates “require the military to squander billions of dollars on so-called green energy” that is expensive and wasteful of scarce military resources. An amendment opponent, Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, D-Ind., said it would block a wide range of sensible military initiatives, including portable solar power for soldiers in combat. The vote, on June 16, was 221 yeas to 197 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 14

AFGHANISTAN INFRASTRUCTURE SPENDING: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5293). The amendment would bar funding for projects under the military’s Afghanistan infrastructure fund. Walberg said the infrastructure fund was poorly run, wasteful, and lacked adequate oversight, and needed no further funding from Congress. An amendment opponent, Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., said the ban would leave many large electric power projects in Afghanistan unfinished, disrupting efforts to provide basic necessary infrastructure to the nation and improve its security. The vote, on June 16, was 218 yeas to 201 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

House Vote 15

MILITARY SPENDING IN 2017: The House has passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 5293), sponsored by Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. The bill would fund $575.8 billion of fiscal 2017 military spending by the Defense Department, including $58.6 billion for combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other overseas countries. Frelinghuysen said it “wisely invests more money for our troops, more training for our troops, more modern equipment, expanded cybersecurity, more intelligence-gathering capabilities, and better healthcare outcomes for our troops and their families.” A bill opponent, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, faulted it for failing to provide funding after April of 2017, saying that it “recklessly endangers our servicemembers by severely restricting the financial stability, certainty, and budgeting predictability that commanders need to plan beyond next April.” The vote, on June 16, was 282 yeas to 138 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

House Vote 16

CAMPAIGNS TO COUNTER TERRORISM: The House has passed the Countering Terrorist Radicalization Act (H.R. 5471), sponsored by Rep. Michael T. McCaul, R-Texas. The bill would authorize initiatives at the Homeland Security Department to counter violent extremism through public education, intelligence, and other measures. McCaul said that increasing the use of testimonials from former members of the Islamic State group (ISIS) was among the measures the bill advanced “to help communities spot signs of violent radicalization and to actively combat the propaganda of terrorist groups like ISIS.” The vote, on June 16, was 402 yeas to 15 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

SENATE VOTES

Senate Vote 1

MILITARY SPENDING AUTHORIZATION: The Senate has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2943), sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. The bill would authorize $603.9 billion of fiscal 2017 spending on the military, military construction programs, and the Energy Department’s military programs, and set out personnel levels for the various branches of the military. McCain said it would reform the military and give it a greater capability to fight radical terrorist Islam both domestically and overseas. A bill opponent, Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., criticized it for insufficient measures to address rape and other sexual crimes within the military. The vote, on June 14, was 85 yeas to 13 nays.

YEAS: Susan Collins R-Maine; Angus King, I-Maine

Senate Vote 2

FUNDING COUNTER-OPIOID MEASURES: The Senate has agreed to a motion sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, R-N.H., to instruct conferees with the House on negotiating the two chambers’ versions of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 524). The motion insisted that the bill’s conference report include provisions funding prevention, treatment, and recovery programs by state and local governments to combat heroin and opioid abuse. Shaheen said “the opioid crisis is a national public health emergency, and it is long past time that Congress treat it like one” by adequately funding anti-opioid measures. The vote, on June 16, was 66 yeas to 29 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

Senate Vote 3

NEGOTIATING VERSIONS OF OPIOID ABUSE BILL: The Senate has agreed to a motion sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., to instruct conferees with the House on negotiating the two chambers’ versions of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 524). The motion insisted that the bill’s conference report establish a single grant program for efforts related to opioid abuse and that it address the unique concerns of rural areas impacted by opioid abuse, among other provisions. Whitehouse said the measures sought to improve the bill and “focus on the rural communities for which opioid has been a plague.” The vote, on June 16, was 70 yeas to 24 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King