Along with this week’s roll call votes, the House also passed the Small Airport Mothers’ Rooms Act (H.R. 3362), to require small hub airports to construct areas for nursing mothers; the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (H.R. 4998), to prohibit certain federal loans, grants and subsidies from being used to purchase communications equipment or services posing national security risks; the Mapping Accuracy Promotes Services Act (H.R. 4227), to prohibit the submission to the Federal Communications Commission of broadband internet access service coverage information or data for the purposes of compiling an inaccurate broadband coverage map; and the Banning Smoking on Amtrak Act (H.R. 2726), to prohibit smoking on Amtrak trains.
The Senate also passed the Combating Global Corruption Act (S. 1309), to identify and combat corruption in countries, to establish a tiered system of countries with respect to levels of corruption by their governments and their efforts to combat such corruption, and to assess United States assistance to designated countries in order to advance anti-corruption efforts in those countries and better serve U.S. taxpayers.
HOUSE VOTES
BENEFITS FOR NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS: The House has passed the Identifying Barriers and Best Practices Study Act (H.R. 4183), sponsored by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to require a Government Accountability Office report on disability and pension benefits that the Department of Veterans Affairs provides to members of the National Guard and reserve components of the military. A supporter, Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said: “The findings in the report will best inform Congress on next steps toward providing Reserve and National Guard veterans the compensation and benefits that they have earned.” The vote, on Dec. 17, was 408 yeas to 1 nay.
YEAS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District; Jared Golden, D-2nd District
MEDICAL CARE FOR VETERANS: The House has passed the Improving Confidence in Veterans’ Care Act (H.R. 3530), sponsored by Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, to require the Department of Veterans Affairs to better enforce its policies on licensing requirements for doctors and other medical personnel who care for veterans. Cloud said that by addressing problems of neglect and malpractice by doctors with suspended or cancelled licenses, the bill sought to “ensure that veterans receive a high standard of care from qualified workers.” The vote, on Dec. 17, was 409 yeas to 1 nay.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
DISASTER RECOVERY FUNDS: The House has passed the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects Act (H.R. 2548), sponsored by Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Texas, to authorize local governments that are seeking federal aid under a hazard mitigation assistance program to also receive aid for certain projects already in progress. Fletcher said that remedying the current inability for local governments to get reimbursement for costs they incur before receiving the aid will allow them “to respond more quickly to the needs of their community and to plan disaster mitigation more efficiently and effectively.” The vote, on Dec. 17, was 409 yeas to 7 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
2020 GOVERNMENT SPENDING: The House has concurred in the Senate amendment to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1865), to provide about $540 billion of fiscal 2020 appropriations for numerous discretionary federal government agencies. A supporter, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the health care elements of the bill lay “the groundwork for further progress to end the financial catastrophe of surprise billing, to lower prescription drug costs and to extend robust funding for key health initiatives.” The vote, on Dec. 17, was 297 yeas to 120 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
2020 MILITARY SPENDING: The House has concurred in the Senate amendment to the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158), to appropriate $695 billion for military spending, including military construction programs and Energy Department military-related spending, in fiscal 2020, as well as spending by the Homeland Security Department and several other government agencies. A supporter, Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, said it “will make us safer by ensuring we have the funding and tools to protect ourselves at home and abroad.” An amendment opponent, Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., said it would provide “continued and higher spending for the Defense Department with little or no oversight, especially when it comes to wasteful spending on over-budget programs.” The vote, on Dec. 17, was 280 yeas to 138 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
IMPEACHMENT INVESTIGATION: The House has approved a motion to table a resolution (H. Res. 770), sponsored by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that would have disapproved of the manner in which the chairs of the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees have run the President Trump impeachment inquiry. The resolution was not debated on the House floor. The vote to table, on Dec. 18, was 226 yeas to 191 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION: The House has agreed to article one of a resolution (H. Res. 755), sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., under which President Trump was impeached for allegedly abusing the powers of the presidency, namely by asking Ukraine’s government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden in exchange for receiving aid from the U.S. Nadler said Trump “has shown us he will continue to put his selfish interests above the good of the country” and thereby corrupt the 2020 election if he is not removed from office beforehand. An opponent, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., said “there is zero direct evidence in the record of these proceedings to show that President Trump engaged in any abuse of power,” making the allegation dependent on hearsay, speculation, and conjecture. The vote, on Dec. 18, was 230 yeas to 197 nays, with one voting present.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden
SECOND IMPEACHMENT ARTICLE: The House has agreed to article two of a resolution (H. Res. 755), sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., under which President Trump was impeached for allegedly obstructing Congress by defying House subpoenas issued to the executive branch in the course of its impeachment inquiry. Nadler said: “Within our system of checks and balances, the president may not decide for himself what constitutes a valid impeachment inquiry, nor may he ignore lawful subpoenas or direct others to do so.” An opponent, Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., said the obstruction article “basically says that, unless the president gives us (the House) everything we want, when we want it, then he has committed an impeachable offense. That is a bunch of bunk.” The vote, on Dec. 18, was 229 yeas to 198 nays, with one voting present.
YEAS: Pingree
NAYS: Golden
INCOME TAX CHANGES: The House has passed the Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act (H.R. 5377), sponsored by Rep. Thomas R. Suozzi, D-N.Y., to increase the top income tax rate to 39.6 percent starting in 2020, lower the dollar amount at which the new higher rate would take effect and eliminate the $10,000 cap on the income tax deduction for state and local taxes in 2020 and 2021. Suozzi said the bill, by temporarily reversing the cap on deducting state and local taxes that was included in the 2017 tax bill, addressed the resulting unfair burden on state and local governments that have relied on the deduction for more than a century. An opponent, Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C., said: “This bill would make our tax code more regressive. It would provide a huge tax benefit to the 1 percent. This benefit would increase income inequality.” The vote, on Dec. 19, was 218 yeas to 206 nays.
YEAS: Pingree
NAYS: Golden
TRADE PACT WITH MEXICO AND CANADA: The House has passed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (H.R. 5430), sponsored by House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., to implement the trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada that was preliminarily reached a year ago. Hoyer said changes made to the pact since its initial signing will help “ensure that its enforcement mechanisms are stronger, that it protects American workers and that it will help lower prescription drug costs and improve access to medications.” An opponent, Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., said the pact failed to “overhaul the entrenched system in Mexico that denies workers their rights, keeps wages unconscionably low and, consequently, incentivizes companies to ship jobs to Mexico.” The vote, on Dec. 19, was 385 yeas to 41 nays.
NAYS: Pingree, Golden
SENATE VOTES
2020 MILITARY BUDGET: The Senate has agreed to the conference report with the House for the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1790), to authorize military spending, including military construction programs and Energy Department military-related spending, in fiscal 2020. A supporter, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said the report “addresses critical issues facing our military and our country’s national security.” An opponent, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said it did nothing to address the military’s chronic problem of wasteful spending and involvement in far-flung conflicts that have minimal impact on national security. The vote, on Dec. 17, was 86 yeas to 8 nays.
YEAS: Susan Collins, R-Maine; Angus King, I-Maine
OHIO DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Matthew W. McFarland to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the southern district of Ohio. McFarland has been an Ohio state appeals court judge since 2004; before that, he was a magistrate judge and Ohio state prosecutor. The vote, on Dec. 18, was 56 yeas to 38 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King
2020 GOVERNMENT SPENDING: The Senate has concurred in the House amendment to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1865), to provide about $540 billion of fiscal 2020 appropriations for numerous discretionary federal government agencies. A supporter, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said programs funded by the bill “benefit our communities all across this nation and the families, veterans, children and our seniors that rely on these programs.” The vote, on Dec. 19, was 71 yeas to 23 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
NORTH DAKOTA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Daniel Mack Traynor to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the North Dakota district. Traynor has been a private practice lawyer at his own law firm since 1998, as well as the attorney for the city of Devils Lake. The vote, on Dec. 19, was 51 yeas to 41 nays.
YEAS: Collins
NAYS: King
NEW MEXICO DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Kea Whetzal Riggs to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the New Mexico district. Riggs has been a New Mexico state district judge since 2014 and previously was a private practice lawyer and state prosecutor for New Mexico. The vote, on Dec. 19, was unanimous with 94 yeas.
YEAS: Collins, King
PENNSYLVANIA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Robert J. Colville to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the western district of Pennsylvania. Colville has been a state court judge for Alleghany County since 2000. The vote, on Dec. 19, was 66 yeas to 27 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
NEW YORK DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lewis J. Liman to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the southern district of New York. Liman has been a partner at various New York City law firms since 1999. The vote, on Dec. 19, was 64 yeas to 29 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Stephen E. Biegun to serve as Deputy Secretary of State. Biegun was named U.S. special representative for North Korea in August 2018; previously, he was a senior lobbyist for Ford Motor and a national security adviser in the George W. Bush administration. The vote, on Dec. 19, was 90 yeas to 3 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
2020 MILITARY SPENDING: The Senate has concurred in the House amendment to the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158), to appropriate $695 billion for military spending, including military construction programs and Energy Department military-related spending, in fiscal 2020, as well as spending by the Homeland Security Department and several other government agencies. A supporter, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, cited the bill’s spending on Navy ships and research and development efforts in saying that it sought “to ensure our men and women in uniform are able to fight and defend our nation as well as deter potential adversaries.” An opponent, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said the bill failed “to assert Congress’s role in the appropriations process in the face of a president who is willing to disregard the laws we pass – and he signs – to further his individual agenda.” The vote, on Dec. 19, was 81 yeas to 11 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
FLORIDA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Anuraag Singhal to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the southern district of Florida. Singhal has been a state circuit court judge in Broward County since 2011; previously, he was a criminal defense lawyer practicing in Fort Lauderdale. The vote, on Dec. 19, was 76 yeas to 17 nays.
YEAS: Collins, King
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