Along with last week’s roll call votes, the Senate also passed the Social Security Act (S. 4091), to provide authority for fiscal year 2020 for increased payments for temporary assistance to U.S. citizens returned from foreign countries; the Stopping Improper Payments to Deceased People Act (S. 4104), to amend the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act of 2012, including making changes to the Do Not Pay Initiative, for improved detection, prevention, and recovery of improper payments to deceased individuals; a bill (S. 4116), to extend the authority for commitments for the paycheck protection program and separate amounts authorized for other loans under section 7(a) of the Small Business Act; and a bill (H.R. 7440), to impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons involved in the erosion of certain obligations of China with respect to Hong Kong.

HOUSE VOTES

STUDENT LOANS AND FRAUD: The House has failed to override President Trump’s veto of a resolution (H.J. Res. 76), sponsored by Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., that would have voided a September 2019 Education Department rule concerning the process by which former students at public and private schools seek forgiveness of their federal student loans due to alleged fraud by their schools. Lee said the rule would allow for-profit schools to “wreak havoc on the lives of these students and take advantage of American taxpayers.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said preserving the rule would ensure that “all colleges and universities will be held accountable, defrauded students will see relief, and taxpayer dollars will be better protected.” The vote, on June 26, was 238 yeas to 173 nays, with a two-thirds majority required to override the veto.
YEAS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District; Jared Golden, D-2nd District

STATUS OF WASHINGTON, D.C.: The House has passed the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51), sponsored by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C. The bill would make Washington, D.C., a state, to be governed by the district’s existing laws, and with two senators and one representative in Congress. Norton said statehood was needed to end Congress’s “undemocratic or autocratic authority over the 705,000 American citizens who reside in our nation’s capital.” An opponent, Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., said: “Congress does not have the authority to take this district and create a state out of it. At least one constitutional amendment would be required for that to happen.” The vote, on June 26, was 232 yeas to 180 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden

HEALTH INSURANCE: The House has passed the State Health Care Premium Reduction Act (H.R. 1425), sponsored by Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn. The bill would establish the Improve Health Insurance Affordability Fund, to provide money to state governments for sending reinsurance payments to health insurers, with the goal of thereby reducing the cost of insurance plans bought in the individual health insurance market. Craig said that reducing insurance costs would make health care more accessible. An opponent, Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said that providing billions of dollars to health insurers was a misuse of funds that would be better spent on community health care efforts. The vote, on June 29, was 234 yeas to 179 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden

CONSUMER CREDIT REPORTS: The House has passed the Protecting Your Credit Score Act (H.R. 5332), sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., to establish a variety of measures regulating consumer credit reporting agencies. Consumers would be able to receive an annual credit report and credit score for free, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would be given oversight power of the agencies, and the agencies would be subject to data security requirements. Gottheimer said the bill “empowers all consumers, especially those facing new challenges with this new pandemic, with transparency and the ability to correct errors to their credit reports.” An opponent, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., cited the security risks created by establishing a centralized consumer credit portal and the expansion of the authority of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The vote, on June 29, was 234 yeas to 179 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden

CORONAVIRUS AND HOUSING: The House has passed the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act (H.R. 7301), sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., to provide $100 billion for an emergency rental assistance fund and $75 billion for a homeowners’ assistance fund, and both extend and expand moratoriums on eviction and foreclosure of renters and homeowners. Waters said: “This is an emergency, and it calls for the emergency response provided by this legislation.” An opponent, Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., said it was too costly and would do little to create housing and economic security for families hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. The vote, on June 29, was 232 yeas to 180 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden

LOW-INCOME BANKING: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 90), sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., to disapprove of and void a Treasury Department rule issued in June 2020 to change Community Reinvestment Act loans made by banks in lower-income communities. Waters said the rule would likely hurt those communities by leading to weaker lending standards that do not promote affordable housing. A resolution opponent, Rep. Patrick T. McHenry, R-N.C., called the new rule a needed response to changes in banking technology, and highlighted its incentives for banks to open branches in relatively unbanked communities that lack adequate financial opportunities. The vote, on June 29, was 230 yeas to 179 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden

CHINA AND TRANSPORTATION SPENDING: The House has passed a motion sponsored by Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ala., to recommit the INVEST in America Act (H.R. 2) to the House Transportation Committee and report the bill back to the House with an amendment barring companies that are based in nonmarket economy countries, such as China, from receiving funds authorized by the bill. Crawford said of the need for a funding ban: “China has demonstrated its hostility to America’s interests and international standards of transparency and accountability, while violating basic human morality.” A motion opponent, Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Ore., said the amendment was not needed because the bill already took a strong stand against human rights violations. The vote, on July 1, was 224 yeas to 193 nays.
NAYS: Pingree
YEAS: Golden

TRANSPORTATION SPENDING: The House has passed the INVEST in America Act (H.R. 2), sponsored by Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Ore., to reauthorize through fiscal 2025 the federal government’s surface transportation programs. DeFazio said that along with providing needed funding to repair and upgrade transportation, the bill made necessary investments in improving public housing, aging school buildings, and the postal service. An opponent, Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio, said it failed to reform the time-consuming process of reviewing transportation proposals and did not adequately fund either rural transportation needs or work on the “roads, bridges, and highways that keep the economy moving and Americans employed.” The vote, on July 1, was 233 yeas to 188 nays.
YEAS: Pingree, Golden

SENATE VOTES

WAR IN AFGHANISTAN: The Senate has tabled an amendment sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to the 2021 military appropriations bill (S. 4049) that would have withdrawn all remaining U.S. soldiers from Afghanistan within a year. Paul said: “The war shows no sign of ending. It is not sustainable to keep fighting in Afghanistan generation after generation.” An opponent, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., said a scheduled withdrawal “undermines peace negotiations and the Trump administration’s Afghan strategy,” including negotiations with the Taliban regarding its counterterrorism commitments. The vote to table, on July 1, was 60 yeas to 33 nays.
YEAS: Susan Collins, R-Maine; Angus King, I-Maine

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