Along with roll call votes last week, the Senate also passed the Nick Castle Peace Corps Reform Act (S. 2286), to amend the Peace Corps Act to provide greater protection and services for Peace Corps volunteers; and the Eliminating Government-funded Oil-painting Act (S. 188), to prohibit the use of federal funds for the costs of painting portraits of officers and employees of the federal government.

The House also passed the State Veterans Home Adult Day Health Care Improvement Act (S. 324), to improve the provision of adult day health care services for veterans.

HOUSE VOTES

EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENTS FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL: The House has rejected the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn, and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act (H.R. 5247), sponsored by Rep. Brian K. Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. The bill would have authorized investigational drug treatments for patients who have terminal illnesses expected to cause death within months. Fitzpatrick said expanding on the Food and Drug Administration’s current compassionate use program for such treatments could help establish “new pathways to potentially lifesaving treatment” for the terminally ill. A bill opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said it was “based on the false premise that patients are not receiving access to the investigational treatments as a result of the Food and Drug Administration,” but the FDA already rapidly approved the vast majority of requests for investigational treatment while providing ways to protect patient safety. The vote, on March 13, was 259 yeas to 140 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for passage.

NAYS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District

YEAS: Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District

WESTERN ENDANGERED FISH SPECIES: The House has passed the Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Extension Act (H.R. 4465), sponsored by Rep. John R. Curtis, R-Utah, to authorize through 2023 recovery programs for endangered fish species in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River basins. Curtis said reauthorization through 2023 could give the programs enough time to take four fish species in the basins off the endangered species list. The vote, on March 13, was 392 yeas to 6 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

SECURITY AT SCHOOLS: The House has passed the Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act (H.R. 4909), sponsored by Rep. John H. Rutherford, R-Fla., to modify and reauthorize through fiscal 2028 the Secure Our Schools federal grant program for funding school security measures. Rutherford highlighted measures in the bill to fund early intervention and violence prevention programs in schools as efforts “to give students, teachers, and law enforcement the tools and training they need to identify warning signs and to know who to contact” with information about potential threats. The vote, on March 14, was 407 yeas to 10 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

IMPACT OF FINANCIAL REGULATIONS: The House has passed the Taking Account of Institutions with Low Operation Risk Act (H.R. 1116), sponsored by Rep. Scott R. Tipton, R-Colo. The bill would require federal financial regulators to tailor their regulatory actions to limit burdens on the regulated institutions, with the requirement applied to both future regulatory actions and regulations adopted in the last seven years. Tipton said that forcing regulators to take often excessive compliance burdens into account would better enable community financial institutions to serve the lending needs of their customers. An opponent, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., criticized the bill’s use of a vague, undefined standard discussing a regulation’s impact on the regulated institution’s ability to serve evolving and diverse customer needs, and the lack of an offsetting “mandate that regulators consider the benefits of federal regulations” for consumers and financial stability. The vote, on March 14, was 247 yeas to 169 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

FUNDRAISING BY SMALL COMPANIES: The House has passed the Regulation A+ Improvement Act (H.R. 4263), sponsored by Rep. Thomas MacArthur, R-N.J. The bill would raise the cap on the amount of securities funds that can be raised by small companies under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s A+ rule from $50 million to $75 million. MacArthur said the higher cap, by allowing for larger sales of stock in private growing companies, would promote the flow of capital to young firms that are creating new jobs and boosting the economy. A bill opponent, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said the higher cap would put “mom-and-pop investors” at risk of losing the money they invest in small companies. The vote, on March 15, was 246 yeas to 170 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

APPEALING FINANCIAL REGULATORY EXAMS: The House has passed the Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act (H.R. 4545), sponsored by Rep. Scott R. Tipton, R-Colo. The bill would establish the Office of Independent Examination Review, to consider complaints by financial institutions about the results of examinations of their financial health carried out by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Tipton said community banks and credit unions in particular needed an impartial venue for appealing exam results, and the Office would provide that venue, giving them greater regulatory certainty. A bill opponent, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., said the appeals process would excessively favor banks whose reckless behavior caused the financial crisis a decade ago by shielding them from “effective, prudential, and consumer protection supervision.” The vote, on March 15, was 283 yeas to 133 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

SENATE VOTES

CUTTING FINANCIAL REGULATIONS: The Senate has passed the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S. 2155), sponsored by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho. The bill would waive certain regulations for financial institutions that have less than $10 billion in assets and change other regulations of consumer credit and the banking system. Crapo said the measures aimed to improve economic growth, provide regulatory relief, and increase consumer protections. An opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, ID-Vt., called the bill a move to deregulate some of the banks responsible for the 2007-2009 financial crisis, making it “more likely that we will see another financial crisis, another taxpayer bailout, and massive dislocation of our economy.” The vote, on March 14, was 67 yeas to 31 nays.

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