Along with roll call votes this week, the Senate passed: the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act (S. 178), to condemn gross human rights violations of ethnic Turkic Muslims in Xinjian and calling for an end to arbitrary detention, torture and harassment of these communities inside and outside China.
The House passed: the Enhancing State Energy Security Planning and Emergency Preparedness Act (H.R. 2114), to provide federal financial assistance to states to implement, review and revise state energy security plans; the Strategy and Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act (H.R. 3620), to provide rental assistance to low-income tenants in certain multifamily rural housing projects financed by the Rural Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture; and the Ensuring Diverse Leadership Act (H.R. 281), to require Federal Reserve banks to interview at least one individual reflective of gender diversity and one individual reflective of racial or ethnic diversity when appointing Federal Reserve bank presidents; and the Safe Housing for Families Act (H.R. 1690), to require carbon monoxide detectors in certain federally assisted housing.
HOUSE VOTES
GOVERNMENT DATA CENTERS: The House has passed the Energy Efficient Government Technology Act (H.R. 1420), sponsored by Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., to require federal government agencies to take measures to reduce energy use at data centers. Eshoo said data center energy efficiency efforts “could save the federal government over $5 billion in energy costs over 10 years.” The vote, on Sept. 9, was 384 yeas to 23 nays.
NOT VOTING: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District
YEAS: Jared Golden, D-2nd District
CUTTING DIESEL EMISSIONS: The House has passed the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (H.R. 1768), sponsored by Rep. Doris O. Matsui, D-Calif., to reauthorize through fiscal 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency’s diesel engine emissions reduction program. Matsui said the program helps “reduce air pollution, improve public health and make our communities better places to live and raise a family.” An opponent, Rep. Gary J. Palmer, R-Ala., said there were already 13 similar diesel emissions reduction programs, and Palmer questioned the cost effectiveness of reauthorizing the EPA’s program, which had expired in 2016. The vote, on Sept. 9, was 295 yeas to 114 nays.
NOT VOTING: Pingree
YEAS: Golden
APPRAISALS AND FEDERALLY INSURED MORTGAGES: The House has passed the Homebuyer Assistance Act (H.R. 2852), sponsored by Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., to authorize state-licensed real estate appraisers to conduct appraisals in connection with single-family housing mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration and require appraisers to comply with appraiser education standards. Sherman said the existence of appraiser education standards meant it was not necessary to have the FHA require federally certified appraisers for its mortgages, and requiring only a state license would make it easier for home buyers to buy homes with FHA mortgages “by expanding the number of appraisers that are allowed to do the appraisals of those homes.” The vote, on Sept. 10, was 419 yeas to 5 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
EASTERN GULF OIL AND GAS DRILLING: The House has passed the Protecting and Securing Florida’s Coastline Act (H.R. 205), sponsored by Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., to permanently extend the moratorium on oil and natural gas leasing in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Rooney said the permanent moratorium was needed because of “the existential threat offshore drilling poses to us on the west coast of Florida. It jeopardizes our tourist and recreational economy.” A bill opponent, Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., said it “overly restricts offshore exploration and development, which would eliminate opportunities to create jobs, grow the economy and increase U.S. energy development to lower prices for consumers.” The vote, on Sept. 11, was 248 yeas to 180 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
OFFSHORE OIL AND NATURAL GAS DEVELOPMENT: The House has passed the Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act (H.R. 1941), sponsored by Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., to bar the Interior Department from leasing for oil and natural gas development the outer continental shelf of the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Cunningham said: “Offshore drilling is reckless, it is harmful, and it is absolutely disruptive to the communities that we call home.” A bill opponent, Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., said developing the oil and gas resources of the Outer Continental Shelf “provides money for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and it provides national security for places like New England and lessens their dependence on a foreign source of natural gas.” The vote, on Sept. 11, was 238 yeas to 189 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
ARCTIC WILDLIFE REFUGE: The House has passed the Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act (H.R. 1146), sponsored by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif. The bill would bar the Bureau of Land Management from implementing an oil and natural gas development program in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Huffman said the bar was needed to preserve “not just the Arctic Refuge but the wildlife and the indigenous people who depend on this sacred natural landscape.” A bill opponent, Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said the oil and gas development was supported by the Alaska Natives who live closest to the refuge and that development could be done without harming wildlife in the refuge. The vote, on Sept. 12, was 225 yeas to 193 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
SENATE VOTES
U.N. AMBASSADOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Kelly Craft to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. Craft has been the ambassador to Canada for two years and previously was a director of numerous nonprofit groups in Kentucky, as well as running a marketing and business consultancy. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said that in her time as ambassador, Craft has effectively advocated for the U.S. while strengthening cooperation with Canada on trade and other policy issues. The vote, on Sept. 10, was 56 yeas to 38 nays.
YEAS: Susan Collins, R-Maine
NAYS: Angus King, I-Maine
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES COMMISSIONER: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Elizabeth Darling to serve as the Health and Human Services Department’s commissioner on children, youth and families. Darling was a human resources executive in the Maryland state government in the mid-2000s and has been CEO of the OneStar Foundation since 2009. The vote, on Sept. 10, was 57 yeas to 37 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
MANAGING GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Dale Cabaniss to serve as director of the Office of Personnel Management for a four-year term. Cabaniss, Republican staff director on a Senate appropriations subcommittee from 2010 to 2018, was chairwoman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority from 2001 to 2008. The vote, on Sept. 11, was 54 yeas to 38 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King
VA DEPUTY SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of James Byrne to serve as deputy secretary of the Veterans Affairs Department. Byrne, who had been acting deputy secretary since August 2018, was previously a Justice Department narcotics prosecutor, general counsel at the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and an executive at Lockheed Martin. A supporter, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., said: “The VA is working. We have some problems, but we have a lot fewer than we used to have. A lot of that is because of James Byrne.” The vote, on Sept. 11, was 81 yeas to 11 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
TEXAS DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Ada E. Brown to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the northern district of Texas. Brown, a Texas state appeals court judge since 2013, was previously a private practice lawyer in Dallas, criminal prosecutor for the Dallas County District Attorney and criminal court judge in Dallas County. The vote, on Sept. 11, was 80 yeas to 13 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
GEORGIA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Steven D. Grimberg to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the northern district of Georgia. Grimberg has been a private practice lawyer in Atlanta for a year, specializing in bribery, corruption and other economic crimes, and was previously a Justice Department attorney in the northern district of Georgia. The vote, on Sept. 11, was 75 yeas to 18 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michelle Bowman to serve on the board of governors at the Federal Reserve for a 14-year term. Bowman had been on the board since November 2018, was vice president of a Kansas bank from 2010 to 2017 and was a government executive and senior Congressional aide in the 1990s and 2000s. The vote, on Sept. 12, was 60 yeas to 31 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King
ASSISTANT TREASURY SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Thomas Peter Freddo to serve as the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for investment security. Freddo has been a member of the Alston & Bird law firm in Washington, D.C., since 2016, and from 2009 to 2016 was an official at Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The vote, on Sept. 12, was 85 yeas to 1 nay.
YEAS: Collins, King
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