WASHINGTON — In addition to roll call votes, the House and Senate also passed the following measures without a roll call vote: The Senate passed the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act (S. 1493), to increase compensation for disabled veterans and their survivors; it passed the Superstorm Sandy Relief and Disaster Loan Program Improvement Act (H.R. 208), to improve Small Business Administration disaster assistance programs; and passed the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act (H.R. 774), to expand enforcement measures to stop illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.

HOUSE VOTES

House Vote 1

CITIES AND NUCLEAR TERRORIST ATTACKS: The House has passed the Securing the Cities Act (H.R. 3493), sponsored by Rep. Daniel M. Donovan Jr., D-N.Y. The bill would establish the Securing the Cities program, aimed at improving the federal government’s ability to detect and prevent terrorist attacks with nuclear or other radiological materials in the nation’s cities. Donovan said the bill would build on Homeland Security’s Securing the Cities pilot program, which has succeeded in training thousands of New York City-area law enforcement personnel against a nuclear attack, by expanding the program to other vulnerable municipalities. The vote, on Oct. 20, was 411 yeas to 4 nays.

NOT VOTING: Chellie Pingree D-Maine

YEAS: Bruce Poliquin R-Maine

House Vote 2

UKRAINIAN SELF-DETERMINATION: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res 348), sponsored by Rep. David N. Cicilline, D-R.I., to state the House’s support for free and fair democratic elections in Ukraine and condemn attempts by Russia and other countries to interfere in Ukraine’s elections. Cicilline said it was essential for the U.S. to join the European Union in demonstrating “firm support for Ukrainian territorial integrity, sovereignty, and the right of Ukrainian people to participate in free and fair elections.” The vote, on Oct. 20, was 413 yeas to 4 nays.

NOT VOTING: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 3

MAKING GOVERNMENT DEBT PAYMENTS: The House has passed the Default Prevention Act (H.R. 692), sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif. The bill would authorize the Treasury Secretary to make payments on the interest and principal of U.S. debt should the federal government reach its debt ceiling. McClintock said “it is imperative that credit markets are supremely confident that their loans to the United States are secure” regardless of whether Congress has passed legislation to increase the debt ceiling once government debt has reached the current ceiling. A bill opponent, Rep. Sander M. Levin, D-Mich., said it “essentially attacks the credit of the United States of America” by enabling Congress to imperil the nation’s ability to pay its debts, and would wrongly put debtholders and Social Security recipients ahead of millions of soldiers and veterans and other government beneficiaries. The vote, on Oct. 21, was 235 yeas to 194 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 4

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR WASHINGTON, D.C., CHILDREN: The House has passed the SOAR Reauthorization Act H.R. 10, sponsored by Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio. The bill would reauthorize through fiscal 2021 the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results Act, which provides scholarships for children in Washington, D.C., to attend private charter schools. Boehner said since the scholarship program began in 2003, it has proved successful in enabling students in underperforming schools to switch schools and, in most cases, go on to graduate high school and attend college. A bill opponent, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said private charter schools have failed to provide children in the District with a better education, and Congress should provide funding for public charter schools instead of poorer-performing private charter schools. The vote, on Oct. 21, was 240 yeas to 191 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

House Vote 5

DEVELOPING STRATEGIC MINERAL RESOURCES: The House has passed the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act (H.R. 1937), sponsored by Rep. Mark E. Amodei, R-Nev. The bill would take a variety of measures to streamline the environmental permitting and regulatory and legal review process for mining minerals on federal land that are deemed to be strategic and critical to the country. Amodei said streamlining would boost the supply of minerals vital to sustaining and expanding infrastructure, improving the U.S. economy and its trade deficit by encouraging the development of needed resources. A bill opponent, Rep. Alan S. Lowenthal, D-Calif., said the definition of strategic and critical minerals was overly broad, and the bill would remove environmental and legal protections that protect the public from bad mining practices. The vote, on Oct. 22, was 254 yeas to 177 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

SENATE VOTES

Senate Vote 1

NEW YORK DISTRICT JUDGE: Senate has confirmed the nomination of Ann Donnelly to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York. A supporter, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., cited Donnelly’s experience as a New York state judge and prosecutor in New York City. He said Donnelly “is fair, open-minded, and has exactly the kind of temperament that will make her an exceptional Federal judge.” The vote, on Oct. 20, was 95 yeas to 2 nays.

YEAS: Collins R-Maine, King I-Maine

Senate Vote 2

SANCTUARY CITIES: The Senate has rejected a cloture motion to end debate on the Stop Sanctuary Policies and Protect Americans Act (S. 2146), sponsored by Sen. David Vitter, R-La. The bill would disqualify sanctuary cities and other government jurisdictions that disobey the federal government’s immigration laws from receiving community development block grants, funding under the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, or funding under the Cops on the Beat program. Vitter said sanctuary policies “are dangerous and counterproductive to both law enforcement efforts and reducing illegal immigration,” and cited instances of illegal aliens committing serious crimes after being released by local governments with sanctuary policies. A bill opponent, Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said “punishing cities and communities and yanking Federal funding from cops will not get us to a better immigration system or safeguard our communities. The vote, on Oct. 20, was 54 yeas to 45 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to end debate.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King

Senate Vote 3

SHARING CYBERSECURITY INFORMATION: The Senate has agreed to a cloture motion to end debate on a substitute amendment sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., to the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (S. 754). The substitute amendment would require several federal agencies to adopt procedures that promote sharing information about cybersecurity threats with other government entities and the private sector, as well as the broader public. Burr said encouraging cybersecurity information sharing would minimize the loss of data when public and private computer networks are hacked by outsiders. An amendment opponent, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said it lacked measures to protect personal privacy when networks are attacked. The vote to end debate, on Oct. 22, was 83 yeas to 14 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King