Along with roll call votes this week, the House also passed: the Building Up Independent Lives and Dreams Act (H.R. 5953), to provide regulatory relief to charitable organizations that provide housing assistance; the Intercountry Adoption Information Act (H.R. 5626), to require the secretary of state to report on intercountry adoptions from countries which have significantly reduced adoption rates involving immigration to the United States; and a resolution (H. Res. 644), strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya.

HOUSE VOTES

HUD HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS: The House has passed the Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Demonstration Act (H.R. 5793), sponsored by Rep. Sean P. Duffy, R-Wis., to authorize a demonstration program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development for issuing housing choice vouchers designed to encourage families to move to lower-poverty areas. Duffy said the voucher program would work toward the goal of giving “families the opportunity to pick themselves up so they can find a better job, they can live in a safer environment, and they can better provide for their children.” The vote, on July 10, was 368 yeas to 19 nays.

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

MANAGING FISHERIES: The House has passed the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act (H.R. 200), sponsored by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, to reauthorize and revise federal fisheries management programs. Young said the bill aimed “to ensure a proper balance between the biological needs of fish stocks and the economic needs of fishermen in coastal communities.”

The vote, on July 11, was 222 yeas to 193 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

TRANSFERRING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS: The House has passed the Reclamation Title Transfer and Non-Federal Infrastructure Incentivization Act (H.R. 3281), sponsored by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo. The bill would authorize the Interior Department to transfer federal water reclamation assets to state governments and other public and private entities. Lamborn said replacing the current transfer process, in which each individual transfer requires authorization from Congress, would make it easier for communities taking ownership of water projects they already operate to improve those projects. A bill opponent, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., said it would mean “the de facto privatization of some of the public’s most important water infrastructure, without safeguards to protect the American taxpayer or our natural heritage.” The vote, on July 12, was 233 yeas to 184 nays.

NAYS: Pingree

YEAS: Poliquin

INTELLIGENCE SPENDING AUTHORIZATION: The House has passed the Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act (H.R. 6237), sponsored by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., to authorize spending in fiscal 2018 and 2019 on the federal government’s intelligence and intelligence-related programs. Nunes said the authorization was needed to adequately support intelligence workers as they respond to national security threats coming from Iran, China, Russia, and an array of other countries and terrorist groups. The vote, on July 12, was 363 yeas to 54 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

SENATE VOTES

APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Mark Jeremy Bennett to serve as a judge on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Bennett was Hawaii’s attorney general from 2003 to 2010, and has since worked as a private practice lawyer there. A supporter, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., praised Bennett’s nomination as the result of the White House working closely with Hawaii’s Democratic senators “to find a consensus nominee that would get broad bipartisan support.” The vote, on July 10, was 72 yeas to 27 nays.

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

CONFERENCE FOR MILITARY SPENDING BILL: The Senate has passed a motion to insist on its amendment to the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5515) and go to conference with the House to negotiate the two chambers’ differing versions of the bill. The vote, on July 10, was 91 yeas to 8 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND MILITARY TECHNOLOGY: The Senate has passed a motion, sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to instruct conferees in negotiations with the House for the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5515). The motion insist that the final conference report for the bill include language calling for the modernization of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Cornyn said the Committee needed to make changes in order to better counter China’s efforts to weaponize its investments in the U.S. “to exploit national security vulnerabilities, including backdoor transfers of dual-use U.S. technology and related know-how.” The vote, on July 10, was 97 yeas to 2 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

COUNTER-RUSSIA STRATEGY: The Senate has passed a motion, sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to instruct conferees in negotiations with the House for the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5515). The motion reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and called for a comprehensive White House strategy to counter anti-U.S. activities by Russia, including working with European allies to deter and defeat Russian aggression. Reed said it “recognizes our traditional, long-term support for NATO, and it looks forward to continued support.” The vote, on July 10, was 97 yeas to 2 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

FLOOD INSURANCE EXTENSION: The Senate has passed a motion sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., regarding the final conference report with the House on the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act (H.R. 5895). The motion instructed conferees to insist that the report extend the National Flood Insurance Program through January 2019. Cassidy said the extension, by giving Congress time to craft a longer-term reauthorization of the flood insurance program, would maintain insurance during the peak hurricane season. The vote, on July 11, was 94 yeas to 5 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

NATIONAL SECURITY AND TARIFFS: The Senate has passed a motion sponsored by Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., regarding the final conference report with the House on the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act (H.R. 5895). The motion insisted that the conference report state the sense of the Senate that Congress should have a role in determining when to use a section of a 1962 law to impose tariffs on grounds of the need to protect national security. Corker said President Trump was abusing his authority by using the law “in order to try to create some kind of leverage on NAFTA” renegotiations with Canada and Mexico, and Congress needed to assert its authority to shape U.S. trade policy. A motion opponent, Sen. Sonny Perdue, R-Ga., said that by weakening the president’s power in trade talks with other heads of state, it would deprive him of the ability to redress unfair trade practices that hurt the U.S. economy. The vote, on July 11, was 88 yeas to 11 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT EXECUTIVE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Brian Allen Benczkowski to head the criminal division of the Justice Department. Benczkowski, a former staff official on various House and Senate committees, has also worked in senior leadership positions in several divisions of the Justice Department. A supporter, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Benczkowski had “deep knowledge of federal criminal law, experience in government investigations, and strong management skills,” as well as support from five recent heads of the criminal division. The vote, on July 11, was 51 yeas to 48 nays.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT GENERAL COUNSEL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Paul C. Ney to serve as general counsel for the Defense Department. Ney, most recently Tennessee’s chief deputy attorney general, previously worked in the general counsel offices of the Navy and the Defense Department. The vote, on July 12, was 70 yeas to 23 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

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