Washington, D.C., Roll Call report

WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the week ending March 31.

Along with the week’s roll call votes, the House also passed the following measure by voice vote: the Undersea Cable Control Act (H.R. 1189), to require the development of a strategy for eliminating the availability to foreign adversaries of products and technologies for deploying undersea telecommunications cables.

The Senate also passed the Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act (S. 777), to increase, effective Dec. 1 the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans.

House

PARENTS AND SCHOOLS: The House has passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 5), sponsored by Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., to make federal funding for local elementary and secondary schools contingent on them notifying a student’s parents of their rights regarding awareness and oversight of the school’s policies, finances, and procedures. Letlow said: “This bill aims to bring more transparency and accountability to education, allowing parents to be informed and, when they have questions and concerns, to lawfully bring them to their local school boards.” An opponent, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., called the bill “an educational gag order across the nation which will prevent students from learning and prevent teachers from teaching.” The vote, on March 24, was 213 yeas to 208 nays.

NAYS:

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-3rd

ORGAN HARVESTING: The House has passed the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act (H.R. 1154), sponsored by Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., to direct the president to impose sanctions on foreigners who traffick in organs taken from people forcibly, and have the State Department revoke the passports of people convicted of forced organ trafficking crimes. Smith said China’s annual taking of organs from tens of thousands of young adults, including for transplantation into senior Communist Party officials, showed “no signs of abating, which is why we and the rest of the world need to step up” and punish such cruelty. The vote, on March 27, was 413 yeas to 2 nays.

YEAS:

Perez

STATUS OF CHINA: The House has passed the PRC Is Not a Developing Country Act (H.R. 1107), sponsored by Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., to direct the State Department to advocate that international organizations stop classifying China as a developing country, which results in beneficial treatment by those organizations. Kim said: “We cannot let the PRC continue exploiting countries in need and take unfair advantage of international treaties and organizations.” The vote, on March 27, was unanimous with 415 yeas.

YEAS:

Perez

LNG EXPORTS: The House has agreed to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), to express the sense of Congress as criticizing the denial of permits for the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas export terminal that would have been built on the Oregon Coast. Boebert said: “A West Coast LNG export terminal would have shaved critical days and significant costs off exports to Asia, eliminated threats associated with hurricanes, and reduced our reliance on the Panama Canal, which causes significant uncertainty and delays.” An opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said it would be wrong for Congress to judge the decision made by Oregon’s government to reject the permit applications for Jordan Cove. The vote, on March 29, was 221 yeas to 208 nays.

NAYS:

Perez

FOSSIL FUEL TAX INCREASES: The House has agreed to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., to the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), to express the sense of Congress as criticizing the tax increases on oil and natural gas proposed in President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2024 budget request. Hern said the increases “will kill jobs, raise fuel prices, and leave America more dependent on foreign oil.” An amendment opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said the oil and natural gas industry could weather the tax increases because in 2022 six of the industry’s largest companies made $200 billion and spent “billions to enrich their shareholders with stock buybacks and dividends, all while gouging American drivers at the pump.” The vote, on March 29, was 228 yeas to 206 nays.

NAYS:

Perez

NATURAL GAS STOVES: The House has agreed to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Gary J. Palmer, R-Ala., to the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), to bar the Energy Department from implementing regulations to block the sale of natural gas-fueled stoves to consumers. Palmer said such restrictions would increase cooking costs and be “a direct attack on all natural gas use in the country and another example of the Biden administration’s desire to control every decision we make.” An opponent, Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., said: “This amendment would bar DOE from finalizing any future efficiency standards for gas stoves, locking consumers into less-efficient appliances that are certainly more costly to use.” The vote, on March 29, was 251 yeas to 181 nays.

YEAS:

Perez

CHINA PURCHASES OF FARMLAND: The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., to the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), that would bar China’s Communist Party from buying American farmland or land used to generate renewable energy. Westerman said: “Our country’s food security and energy independence are at stake, and we must take action to protect our critical resources.” The vote, on March 30, was 407 yeas to 26 nays.

YEAS:

Perez

ENERGY POLICY: The House has passed the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., to make a variety of changes to federal energy policies. Changes include: faster regulatory reviews of energy development projects, barring the president from banning hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of wells, removing some restrictions on oil and natural gas imports and exports, and ending several federal programs subsidizing measures such as building energy efficiency improvements. Scalise said of the need for the bill: “A lot of the infrastructure that we need to make this country grow is being held up right now from a lot of radical regulations on the left and outside groups that don’t want American energy.” A bill opponent, Rep. Katherine M. Clark, D-Mass., called it a move “to triple down on allegiance to Big Oil, give away more federal land, invite more offshore drilling, unleash more pollution into our water and our air and our land, and leave the taxpayers footing the bill.” The vote, on March 30, was 225 yeas to 204 nays.

YEAS:

Perez

Senate

PANDEMIC RESPONSE TREATIES: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to a bill (S. 316) that would have required Senate ratification before the U.S. joined any convention or agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response reached by the World Health Assembly, which is part of the World Health Organization. Johnson said Congress should “no longer allow the administration to go ahead and negotiate agreements that can have a dramatic impact on our sovereignty and bypass the Senate entirely.” An opponent, Sen. Timothy Kaine, D-Va., said the bill should remain focused on the Iraq War and not include extraneous matters such as would be introduced by the amendment. The vote, on March 28, was 47 yeas to 49 nays.

NAYS:

Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Patty Murray, D-Wash.

MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to a bill (S. 316) that would have stated that the president retains authority to use military force against Iran’s military and its actions against U.S. soldiers in the Middle East. Cruz said the amendment was needed because “I don’t want to give an excuse for the Biden administration, the next time Iran attacks, to do nothing” in response. An opponent, Sen. Timothy Kaine, D-Va., said it would be a mistake to authorize escalating action against Iran via a briefly considered amendment to an unrelated bill. The vote, on March 28, was 41 yeas to 55 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

AFGHANISTAN INVESTIGATION: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to a bill (S. 316) that would have established a Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan in Congress to make an investigation into the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in summer 2021. Scott said the select committee was the best way to have accountability for the mistakes that created “America’s most stunning, unforced, and humiliating defeat in decades.” An amendment opponent, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., said the bill “is not the right venue for establishing a committee of this nature.” The vote, on March 28, was 33 yeas to 62 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

OVERSIGHT OF UKRAINE AID: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to a bill (S. 316) that would have established an Office of the Special Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance, to be charged with overseeing the use of aid sent to Ukraine in its war with Russia. Hawley said having a single government watchdog handle oversight would help avoid repeating the billions of dollars of waste that occurred during the war in Afghanistan. An opponent, Sen. James E. Risch, R-Idaho, said “there are already 64 ongoing or planned audits and reports on U.S. assistance to Ukraine,” making the amendment unnecessary. The vote, on March 28, was 26 yeas to 68 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

IRAQ WARS AUTHORIZATIONS: The Senate has passed a bill (S. 316), sponsored by Sen. Timothy Kaine, D-Va., to repeal the 1991 and 2002 resolutions that authorized use of military force against Iraq. Kaine said the 2002 resolution in particular was rushed through the Senate without proper deliberation before embarking on a lengthy war. An opponent, Sen. James E. Risch, R-Idaho, said keeping the resolutions would enhance congressional oversight of military actions against Iran-backed militias in Iraq. The vote, on March 29, was 66 yeas to 30 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

REGULATING WATERWAYS: The Senate has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 27), sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., to disapprove of and void an Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency rule issued in January that defines Waters of the United States. Such waters would be subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act. A supporter, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said overturning the rule was needed to “ensure agricultural producers and other stakeholders have the regulatory certainty to take care of our nation’s land and water resources, the lands and waters that we love.” An opponent, Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., said of the WOTUS rule: “This commonsense, science-based approach recognizes that pollution upstream can have downstream impacts, so we must protect the system to safeguard downstream communities and our environment.” The vote, on March 29, was 53 yeas to 43 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

ENDING NATIONAL COVID EMERGENCY: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 7), sponsored by Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Ariz., to end the national emergency in response to Covid that was declared by President Donald Trump on March 13, 2020. A supporter, Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said: “It is time to end any and all authoritarian control and unilateral spending decisions without congressional consent.” The vote, on March 29, was 68 yeas to 23 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Richard Verma to be deputy secretary of state for management and resources. Verma, U.S. ambassador to India during the Obama administration, is currently Mastercard’s chief legal officer and head of global public policy. A supporter, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said Verma’s “long public sector career, which includes service in the Air Force, the Senate, and the State Department, will help him be an effective leader who can advance the department’s modernization agenda.” The vote, on March 30, was 67 yeas to 26 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

INDUSTRIAL BASE POLICY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Laura Taylor-Kale to be assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy. Taylor-Kale has been a senior official at the World Bank, an official in the second Obama administration, and most recently was a Council on Foreign Relations research fellow for innovation and economic competitiveness. The vote, on March 30, was 63 yeas to 27 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray