Along with this week’s roll call votes, the Senate also passed the Alaska Remote Generator Reliability and Protection Act (S. 163), to prevent catastrophic failure or shutdown of remote diesel power engines due to emission control devices; and the Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act (S. 1370), to treat certain military survivor benefits as earned income for purposes of the kiddie tax.    

The House also passed: the Global Fragility Act (H.R. 2116), to enhance stabilization of conflict-affected areas and prevent violence and fragility globally; the Refugee Sanitation Facility Safety Act (H.R. 615), to provide women and girls safe access to sanitation facilities in refugee camps; the Global Electoral Exchange Act (H.R. 753), to promote international exchanges on best election practices, cultivate more secure democratic institutions around the world; and the Fostering Intergovernmental Health Transparency in Veteran Suicides Act (H.R. 2340), to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide to Congress notice of any suicide or attempted suicide of a veteran in a Department of Veterans Affairs facility.    

HOUSE VOTES

SEX DISCRIMINATION: The House has passed the Equality Act (H.R. 5), sponsored by Rep. David N. Cicilline, D-R.I. The bill would bar discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in various venues, including public accommodations and facilities, and define public accommodations to include places that provide transport services, goods, or entertainment or recreational facilities. Cicilline said the bill “adds sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes through existing civil rights law, ensuring that the LGBTQ community enjoys the same protections as everyone else.” An opponent, Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., said it “puts women at risk by promoting a federal law that would overrule any restriction on gender identity claims and abolish the protections of biological sex-specific practices and spaces.” The vote, on May 17, was 236 yeas to 173 nays.

YEAS: Chellie Pingree D-1st District, Jared Golden D-2nd District    

REPORT ON INTERCOUNTRY ADOPTIONS: The House has passed the Intercountry Adoption Information Act (H.R. 1952), sponsored by Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., to require a State Department report on intercountry adoptions by U.S. families of children in countries that have significantly reduced adoption rates involving immigration to the U.S. Collins said that in light of actions by Russia and other countries to block efforts by American families to adopt children and bring them to the U.S., the report was needed to give families “the most accurate and up-to-date information as they labor to bring their adoptive children into loving homes.” The vote, on May 20, was unanimous with 397 yeas.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden    

FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 106), sponsored by Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., declaring female genital mutilation to be a human rights violation and calling for the federal government to do more to eliminate mutilation. Frankel called mutilation “a barbaric violation of girls’ and women’s human rights” that causes significant health problems and sometimes death, requiring increased U.S. efforts to eliminate mutilation internationally. The vote, on May 20, was unanimous with 393 yeas.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden            

SETTLING FINANCIAL DISPUTES: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, to the Consumers First Act (H.R. 1500), that would require the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to reissue a rule designed to limit the ability of financial companies to require their customers to agree to mandatory arbitration of disputes between the company and the customer. Green said the rule would help customers by giving them choices in how to pursue a dispute, including filing a lawsuit. An opponent, Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C., said “consumers fare better under arbitration than under litigation,” and the Bureau’s rule would mostly benefit plaintiffs’ attorneys, while doing little for the plaintiffs. The vote, on May 22, was 235 yeas to 193 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden        

CHANGING FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU: The House has passed the Consumers First Act (H.R. 1500), sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. The bill would enact a variety of changes to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including reinstating both its consumer advisory board and its Office of Fair Lending and Equal Opportunity’s enforcement powers, and establishing an Office of Students and Young Consumers at the Bureau. Waters said the bill was needed to enable the Bureau to “carry out its mission of protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices by financial institutions.” An opponent, Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., said it sought to restore the Bureau’s pattern of overreach during the Obama administration, during which time its bureaucrats “worked diligently to eliminate options for Americans, arrogantly believing they were better equipped to make financial decisions than consumers themselves.” The vote, on May 22, was 231 yeas to 191 nays.    

YEAS: Pingree, Golden    

RETIREMENT SAVINGS PLANS: The House has passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (H.R. 1994), sponsored by Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Mass. The bill would take various measures to change tax-favored retirement savings accounts, including repealing the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions and ending penalties for withdrawals from retirement plans if a child is born or adopted. Neal said the changes aimed at “helping American workers of all ages prepare for a financially secure retirement” by making it easier to save for the future. The vote, on May 23, was 417 yeas to 3 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden   

SENATE VOTES

APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Daniel P. Collins to serve as a judge on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Collins has been a private practice lawyer at the Munger, Tolles & Olson law firm in Los Angeles since 2003, and previously was a Justice Department lawyer and federal prosecutor. An opponent, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said: “Mr. Collins’s record on women’s reproductive rights, executive power, civil liberties, and criminal justice matters puts him far outside the judicial mainstream.” The vote, on May 21, was 53 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS: Susan Collins, R-Maine

NAYS: Angus King, I-Maine    

UTAH DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Howard C. Nielson, Jr., to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Utah. Nielson, currently a private practice lawyer in Washington, D.C., and law lecturer at Brigham Young University, was a Justice Department official in the George W. Bush administration. An opponent, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., called Nielson a judge “who will strip away women’s reproductive choices and who will strip away and potentially eliminate the rights under Roe v. Wade.” The vote, on May 22, was 51 yeas to 47 nays.

NAYS: Collins, King    

MISSOURI DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Stephen R. Clark, Sr., to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the eastern district of Missouri. Clark has been a private practice lawyer in St. Louis since 1991, and founded his own law firm in 2008. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Clark “an accomplished litigator with nearly three decades of experience in practice.” An opponent, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., criticized Clark for opposition to contraception being included in health insurance plans and for declaring Roe v. Wade to be bad law. The vote, on May 22, was 53 yeas to 45 nays.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King    

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Carl J. Nichols to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Washington, D.C. Nichols, a Justice Department official in the second half of the George W. Bush administration, has since 2010 been a partner at a Washington, D.C. law firm. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Nichols a talented, well-regarded nominee “committed to applying what the text of our laws and our Constitution actually say.” The vote, on May 22, was 55 yeas to 43 nays.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King    

NORTH CAROLINA JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Kenneth D. Bell to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the eastern district of North Carolina. Bell was an assistant attorney for the district’s U.S. Attorney’s Office for most of the 1983 to 2003 time period, then became a private practice lawyer in Charlotte. An opponent, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said Bell “would deny women the right of reproductive choice.” The vote, on May 22, was 55 yeas to 43 nays.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King    

PUNISHING ROBOCALLERS: The Senate has passed the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (S. 151), sponsored by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. The bill would establish financial penalties for making illegal robocalls that use automated messages in attempts to perpetrate frauds upon consumers, and require private and government efforts to prevent robocalls. Thune called the bill “a big step in the right direction. It will make life a lot more difficult for scam artists and help ensure that more scammers face punishment for their crimes.” The vote, on May 23, was 97 yeas to 1 nay.

YEAS: Collins, King

BUDGET AND DISASTER RECOVERY: The Senate has passed a motion to waive budgetary discipline as it applies to the Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 2157). The vote, on May 23, was 84 yeas to 9 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King    

FUNDING DISASTER RECOVERY EFFORTS: The Senate has passed the Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 2157), sponsored by Rep. Nita M. Lowey, D-N.Y., to provide $17.2 billion of fiscal 2019 supplemental emergency funds for natural disaster recovery efforts by various federal agencies. A supporter, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., said the funding “reflects that we are one nation in times of need and that all Americans can count on each other” to provide assistance in response to disasters. The vote, on May 23, was 85 yeas to 8 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

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