In addition to roll call votes this week, the House also passed the Kissimmee River Wild and Scenic River Study Act (H.R. 3961), to study the potential designation of segments of the Kissimmee River and its tributaries in Florida for addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; a bill (H.R. 5446) to restrict the immediate sale of seized property by the Secretary of the Treasury to perishable goods; a bill (H.R. 5439) to provide for a single point of contact at the Internal Revenue Service for the taxpayers who are victims of tax-related identity theft; and the Social Security Child Protection Act (H.R. 1512), to provide for the reissuance of Social Security account numbers to young children in cases where confidentiality of the initial numbers has been compromised.

HOUSE VOTES

MEMORIAL TO FALLEN EDUCATORS: The House has passed the National Memorial to Fallen Educators Act (S. 167), sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., to designate a National Memorial to Fallen Educators at the National Teachers Hall of Fame in Emporia, Kan. A supporter, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said federal recognition of the memorial would be “a small token of respect and appreciation from the American people” for the 119 American educators who have lost their lives while teaching. The vote, on April 16, was 384 yeas to 1 nay.

YEAS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District; Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District

IDENTITY THEFT AND CHILDREN: The House has passed the Protecting Children from Identity Theft Act (H.R. 5192), sponsored by Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., to require the Social Security Administration to develop a database for allowing financial institutions to electronically ask the administration to verify credit-related information about their customers. Curbelo said the database was needed to stop the growth of synthetic identity theft, in which an actual Social Security number, typically belonging to a minor who has no credit record, is combined with a made-up name. The vote, on April 17, was 420 yeas to 1 nay.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

IRS CYBERSECURITY: The House has passed the 21st Century Internal Revenue Service Act (H.R. 5445), sponsored by Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Mich. The bill would require the IRS to take an array of measures to ensure cybersecurity for its systems and protect the identity of taxpayers as they file their returns with the IRS. Bishop said it “will help move the IRS in the right direction with meaningful and bipartisan solutions” against new security threats from sophisticated criminals. The vote, on April 18, was 414 yeas to 3 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

IRS REFORMS: The House has passed the Taxpayer First Act (H.R. 5444), sponsored by Rep. Lynn Jenkins, R-Kan., to establish the Independent Office of Appeals at the Internal Revenue Service to review tax disputes, require the IRS to submit a reorganization plan to Congress, and revise certain enforcement and taxpayer service procedures at the IRS. Jenkins said the bill’s various provisions had the common goal of making the IRS “a truly customer service-focused agency, placing a renewed focus on treating taxpayers with respect and dignity” and increasing the transparency and fairness of the IRS’s use of its enforcement powers. The vote, on April 18, was unanimous with 414 yeas.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

IRS IMPERSONATION IDENTITY THEFT: The House has passed the Justice for Victims of IRS Scams and Identity Theft Act (H.R. 2905), sponsored by Rep. David Young, R-Iowa, to require the Justice Department to take measures to speed the review and prosecution of cases in which people solicit personal information under the guise of being IRS representatives, for the purpose of committing identity theft. Young said the IRS impersonation scams target many thousands of Americans yearly, and the government needed to do more to understand and combat the crime. The vote, on April 18, was 403 yeas to 3 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

SENATE VOTES

REGULATING CAR DEALER LOANS: The Senate has passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 57), sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., providing for Congress’s disapproval and voiding of a 2013 Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection action issuing regulatory guidance on appropriate interest rates charged by car dealers. Moran said the Bureau’s guidance was not authorized by law and was issued merely as a weapon to help the bureau intimidate car dealers into agreeing to settlements in order to stop cases brought against them. An opponent, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said canceling the bureau’s guidance would mean Congress “giving its stamp of approval saying that it is OK to discriminate and to charge higher interest rates to people of color” who buy cars. The vote to disapprove of the rule, on April 18, was 51 yeas to 47 nays.

YEAS: Susan Collins, R-Maine

NAYS: Angus King, I-Maine

EDUCATION OFFICIAL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Carlos G. Muniz to be general counsel for the Education Department. A supporter, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., cited Muniz’s experience as a leading official in Florida’s attorney general office, and called Muniz a well-qualified nominee whose confirmation by the Senate had been unreasonably delayed for a half-year. An opponent, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Muniz once “worked for a for-profit college company that preyed upon students and cheated them out of their education and their savings,” and if confirmed, Muniz likely would not “stand up for student loan borrowers defrauded by other predatory for-profit colleges.” The vote, on April 18, was 55 yeas to 43 nays.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King

NASA ADMINISTRATOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of James Bridenstine to serve as administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration agency. Bridenstine, a House member from Oklahoma first elected in 2012, previously was a Navy combat pilot and executive director of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium. A supporter, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Bridenstine was a proven strong leader who “will work to lead NASA in a way to ensure that America continues to lead in space.” An opponent, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said Bridenstine’s military and political experience “does not qualify him to make the complex and nuanced engineering, safety, and budgetary decisions for which the head of NASA has to be accountable.” The vote, on April 19, was 50 yeas to 49 nays.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King