WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the week ending Dec. 22.
This week, the Senate also passed these pieces of legislation without a roll call vote: the GAO Database Modernization Act (S. 679), to require federal agencies to submit to the Comptroller General of the United States a report on rules that are revoked, suspended, replaced, amended, or otherwise made ineffective; the Airport and Airway Extension Act (H.R. 6503), to extend into early March authorization for several Federal Aviation Administration programs, including taxes that fund the Airport and Airway Trust Fund; the NWR Modernization Act (S. 1416), to provide guidance for and investment in the upgrade and modernization of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Radio All Hazards Network; the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act (S. 1414), to improve the instant messaging service used by the National Weather Service; and the Reuse Excess Property Act (S. 2685), to make data and internal guidance on excess personal property publicly available.
It also confirmed, by voice vote, the nomination of John David Russell to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
There were no key votes in the House this week.
Senate
SOCIAL SECURITY HEAD: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Martin O’Malley to be Social Security commissioner for a term ending in January 2025. O’Malley was the governor of Maryland from 2007 through 2014, after having been mayor of Baltimore for seven years. A supporter, Sen. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., said O’Malley would be focused on improving public interactions with the Social Security Administration and improving morale among agency workers, and cited O’Malley’s experience handling the diverse, difficult challenges that a mayor and governor face. The vote, on Dec. 18, was 50 yeas to 11 nays.
