Washington, D.C., Roll Call Report

WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the week ending Nov. 15.

Along with roll call votes this week, the House also passed these measures without a vote: the Federal Acquisition Security Council Improvement Act (H.R. 9597), to make changes with respect to the Federal Acquisition Security Council; the Value Over Cost Act (H.R. 9596), to provide best value through the multiple award schedule program; and the Eliminate Useless Reports Act (H.R. 5301), to require agencies to include a list of outdated or duplicative reporting requirements in annual budget justifications.

House

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: The House has passed the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82), sponsored by Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., to repeal measures that reduce Social Security benefits for people who also receive a government pension, or who receive pension or disability funds from an employer that didn’t withhold Social Security taxes for those funds. Graves said the change was a way to end “40 years of treating people differently, discriminating against a certain set of workers” because they worked for the government. An opponent, Rep. John B. Larson, D-Conn., said that by cutting funding available to pay Social Security benefits to the impoverished, the bill would “end up hurting the very people we are sworn to serve, the very people that Social Security was meant to protect.” The vote, on Nov. 12, was 327 yeas to 75 nays, with 1 voting present.

YEAS:

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-3rd

SOCIAL SECURITY AND GOVERNMENT WORKERS: The House has rejected the Equal Treatment of Public Servants Act (H.R. 5342), sponsored by Rep. Jodey C. Arrington, R-Texas. The bill would have changed the funding formula, under Social Security’s windfall elimination provision, for determining the amount of benefits paid to people with certain types of employment histories, mainly in government. Those people would generally receive more benefits. Arrington said the provision “has shortchanged roughly 2 million hardworking public servants,” and the bill would fix that inequity without compromising the financial integrity of the Social Security trust fund. An opponent, Rep. John B. Larson, D-Conn., said that by reducing the pool of money available for other Social Security recipients, it would hurt the 5 million Americans who get less than poverty-level benefits. The vote, on Nov. 12, was 175 yeas to 225 nays, with 1 voting present.

NAYS:

Perez

TAXES AND TERRORISM: The House has rejected the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act (H.R. 9495), sponsored by Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y. The bill would have postponed tax filing deadlines and fines for Americans who are or have been held hostage or otherwise detained in foreign countries, and removed tax-exempt status for organizations deemed to be supporting terrorism. Tenney said: “No American who has suffered the injustice of wrongful detention or hostage taking by our adversaries should return home to face penalties and interest from their own government.” A bill opponent, Rep. Donald S. Beyer, D-Va., said the tax exemption provision would wrongly give the executive branch “sweeping, unilateral authority to designate nonprofits as terror-supporting organizations and strip them of their tax-exempt status with no due process and without sufficient evidence.” The vote, on Nov. 12, was 256 yeas to 145 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.

YEAS:

Perez

DEFINING CRITICAL MINERALS: The House has passed the Critical Mineral Consistency Act (H.R. 8446), sponsored by Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., to include on the U.S. Geological Survey’s list of critical minerals all minerals that are on the Energy Department’s list. Ciscomani said the absence of minerals such as copper, silicon, and fluorine from the Geological Survey’s list, although they are on Energy’s list, was “confusing to mineral producers and makes it unclear which minerals are critical to the United States’ mission” of supply security. A bill opponent, Rep. Melanie A. Stansbury, D-N.M., said harmonizing the two lists would be a “multimillion-dollar giveaway to multinational corporations that are seeking to mine public lands.” The vote, on Nov. 14, was 245 yeas to 155 nays.

YEAS:

Perez

REGULATING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: The House has passed the Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act (H.R. 7409), sponsored by Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif. The bill would remove various federal regulatory requirements for geothermal energy development on private and state lands. Kim said the removal “will lower costs for Americans, reduce emissions, protect our national security, and expand our energy portfolio.” An opponent, Rep. Melanie A. Stansbury, D-N.M., said removing permitting measures would wrongly allow private companies to develop energy without a full process for reviewing potential environmental impacts and community impacts on the surrounding area and potentially hold them accountable for those impacts. The vote, on Nov. 14, was 225 yeas to 181 nays.

YEAS:

Perez

Senate

ILLINOIS JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of April Perry to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. A prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district from 2004 to 2017, Perry has since been a corporate lawyer and a Cook County attorney. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., called her “a highly accomplished litigator whose breadth of experience in the government and the private sector makes her an outstanding nominee.” The vote, on Nov. 12, was 51 yeas to 44 nays.

YEAS:

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

SECOND ILLINOIS JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jonathan Hawley to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois. A magistrate judge in the district for the past decade, Hawley was previously a district public defender. The vote, on Nov. 13, was 50 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

GOVERNMENT ETHICS: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of David Huitema to be Director of the Office of Government Ethics for a 5-year term. Huitema has been an ethics official at the State Department since 2006, handling issues including international pipelines, telecommunications, and Cuba policy. A supporter, Sen. Gary C. Peters, D-Mich., said: “Huitema has demonstrated a strong commitment to serving the American people with nonpartisan integrity and the highest ethical standards.” The vote, on Nov. 14, was 50 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

TAX COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Cathy Fung to be a judge on the U.S. Tax Court for a 15-year term. Fung has been an Internal Revenue Service attorney, in various roles, since 2009. The vote, on Nov. 14, was 59 yeas to 37 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray