WASHINGTON — Along with roll call votes this week, the House also passed the Preventing Overdoses While in Emergency Rooms Act (H.R. 5176), to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide coordinated care to patients who have experienced a non-fatal overdose after emergency room discharge; the Stop Counterfeit Drugs by Regulating and Enhancing Enforcement Now Act (H.R. 5228), to strengthen the authorities of the Food and Drug Administration to address counterfeit drugs, illegal and synthetic opioids, and opioidlike substances; the Medicare Opioid Safety Education Act (H.R. 5685), to provide educational resources regarding opioid use and pain management as part of the Medicare & You handbook; and the Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO) in the Emergency Department Act (H.R. 5197), to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a demonstration program to test alternative pain management protocols to limit the use of opioids in emergency departments.

HOUSE VOTES

SOCIAL COST OF CARBON ESTIMATE: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5895). The amendment would bar funding to adopt regulations that relies on the social cost of carbon dioxide emissions estimate developed during the Obama administration. Gohmert said the social cost of carbon estimate was based on “wishful bureaucratic thinking” that speculatively assigned unverifiable climate change-related costs to carbon dioxide emissions, driving up the price of energy. An amendment opponent, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, called it an “irresponsible and a blatant disregard to the well-being and security of our great nation, not just now but into the future.” The vote, on June 8, was 212 yeas to 201 nays.

NAYS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District

YEAS: Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District

SPENDING BY JUSTICE INDEPENDENT COUNSELS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5895). The amendment would restore a requirement for the Government Accountability Office to semi-annually audit spending by independent counsels within the Justice Department. Meadows said the audit requirement, which was repealed in 2010, would help Congress “properly take account of” spending by the counsels. An opponent, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, called it an effort “to attack Special Counsel Mueller and his team to imply that there is some sort of impropriety going on here with the Russian investigation.” The vote, on June 8, was 207 yeas to 201 nays.

NAYS: Pingree, Poliquin

FUNDING ENERGY, WATER PROGRAMS: The House has passed the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5895), sponsored by Rep. Michael K. Simpson, R-Idaho. The bill would provide $44.7 billion of funding for federal energy and water development agencies for fiscal 2019, including the Energy Department and Army Corps of Engineers. Simpson highlighted spending increases for nuclear weapons security programs at Energy and for infrastructure programs at the Corps of Engineers that he said would help “to provide for our nation’s defense and to support our nation’s infrastructure.” A bill opponent, Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, criticized its “unsustainable spending” on nuclear weapons programs, including a new type of ballistic missile. The vote, on June 8, was 235 yeas to 179 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

OPIOID TREATMENT CENTERS: The House has passed the Comprehensive Opioid Recovery Centers Act (H.R. 5327), sponsored by Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky. The bill would establish a program at the Department of Health and Human Services to issue grants for building and operating 10 or more comprehensive opioid recovery centers across the country. Guthrie said the centers would give patients a better chance of beating their addictions. The vote, on June 12, was 383 yeas to 13 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

DISPOSING OF HOSPICE MEDICATIONS: The House has passed the Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act (H.R. 5041), sponsored by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., to authorize employees of a hospice program to help dispose of controlled substance medications that had been prescribed for a deceased hospice patient. Walberg said remedying the current situation, in which hospice workers cannot dispose of the medications, should help stop the dangerous dispersal of potentially tens of thousands of opioid and other medication pills that remain after hospice patients die. The vote, on June 12, was unanimous with 398 yeas.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

CHILDREN AFFECTED BY SUBSTANCE ABUSE: The House has passed the Assisting States’ Implementation of Plans of Safe Care Act (H.R. 5890), sponsored by Rep. Thomas A. Garrett, R-Va. The bill would require the Health and Human Services Department to offer the states guidance and technical aid for their planned implementation of a federal requirement to assure the safe care of children affected by substance abuse by their parents. Garrett said the aid would make states better able to “protect the well-being of children and infants when working with families impacted by the trauma related to opioid abuse.” The vote, on June 13, was 406 yeas to 3 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

OPIOIDS TASK FORCE: The House has passed the Improving the Federal Response to Families Impacted by Substance Use Disorder Act (H.R. 5891), sponsored by Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., to create a federal interagency task force charged with recommending strategies for improving the government’s response to substance use disorders and the opioid crisis. Grothman said: “We must put our full weight behind a coordinated strategy to bring stability and health to our communities” by having agencies work with each other to prevent drug abuse. The vote, on June 13, was 409 yeas to 8 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

LABELING INTERNATIONAL MAIL PACKAGES: The House has passed the Securing the International Mail Against Opioids Act (H.R. 5788), sponsored by Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Mich., to require electronic package identification data for all international mail shipments into the U.S. that are handled by the post office. Bishop said the package identification requirement was intended to prevent the importation of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, as well as other dangerous materials. The vote, on June 14, was 353 yeas to 52 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

HUD HOUSING VOUCHERS AND OPIOIDS: The House has passed the THRIVE Act (H.R. 5735), sponsored by Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., to establish a demonstration program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to examine the desirability of using rental vouchers distributed by private nonprofit housing groups to offer supportive housing for people recovering from opioid abuse and other substance abuse disorders. Barr said the program, which would use up to 10,000 Section 8 housing vouchers, “would save American lives, as well as taxpayer funds in the long run, by helping more individuals rise above addiction and poverty.” An opponent, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., criticized its reduction in Section 8 voucher availability “for millions of other households already seeking a voucher” from HUD due to the bill’s failure to increase overall funding for HUD’s affordable housing and Section 8 programs. The vote, on June 14, was 230 yeas to 173 nays.

NAYS: Pingree YEAS: Poliquin

SENATE VOTES

AUTHORIZING NEW NUCLEAR WEAPONS: The Senate has rejected a motion to table an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5515). The amendment would require specific authorization and funding by Congress in order for the military to develop any new or modified type of nuclear weapons. Reed said Congress had a fundamental duty to ensure that the military does not act on its own to create new nuclear weapons, especially given “the complex and unstable times of present day, with so many more states seeking nuclear weapons.” An amendment opponent, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said it could hamper U.S. ability to develop low-yield nuclear weapons that help deter Russia from using its own low-yield nuclear weapons against the U.S. The vote to table, on June 13, was 47 yeas to 51 nays.

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

WAR AND IMPRISONMENT OF U.S. CITIZENS: The Senate has rejected a motion to table an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5515). The amendment would state that declarations of war do not permit the federal government to detain on U.S. soil, without charge, citizens or lawful permanent residents of the U.S. Lee said the amendment’s guarantee of due process for the country’s citizens would affirm Constitutional protections against “arbitrary unlawful imprisonment.” An amendment opponent, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said: “American citizens are high on the list of al-Qaida and ISIS to use against us. When we capture them, I don’t want to read them the Miranda rights.” The vote to table, on June 13, was 30 yeas to 68 nays.

NAYS: Collins, King

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