Along with roll call votes this week, the House also passed the Offshore Wind for Territories Act (H.R. 6665), to establish offshore wind lease sale requirements, to provide dedicated funding for coral reef conservation off the coasts of U.S. territories; the Amending the Congressional Accountability Act (S. 3749), to change procedures for resolving sexual harassment and other claims against members of Congress that are brought by their employees; the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (S. 2736), to develop a long-term strategic vision and a comprehensive, multifaceted, and principled United States policy for the Indo-Pacific region; and a bill (H.R. 7213), to establish the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office at Homeland Security.

The Senate also passed the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (H.R. 6964), to reauthorize and improve the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974; 21st Century IDEA (H.R. 5759), to improve executive agency digital services; the Federal Election Campaign Act (H.R. 7120), to extend through 2023 the authority of the Federal Election Commission to impose civil money penalties on the basis of a schedule of penalties established and published by the Commission; and passed the Amending the Congressional Accountability Act (S. 3749), to change procedures for resolving sexual harassment and other claims against members of Congress that are brought by their employees.

HOUSE VOTES

DESIGNATING SITE OF CLEMENTE DEATH: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 792), sponsored by Rep. Jose E. Serrano, D-N.Y., urging the Department of the Interior secretary to add the site of baseball player Roberto Clemente’s place of death due to a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972, in Loiza, Puerto Rico, to the National Register of Historic Places. Serrano said the designation “will create a place for our nation to honor Roberto Clemente’s career and legacy. He was a trailblazer in baseball and in his life of service outside of baseball.” The vote, on Dec. 10, was 385 yeas to 1 nay, with two voting present.

YEAS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District; Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District

DESIGNATING BUSH FAMILY HOME: The House has passed the George W. Bush Childhood Home Study Act (H.R. 3008), sponsored by Rep. Michael K. Conaway, R-Texas, to have the Interior Department do a special resource study of George W. Bush’s childhood home in Midland, Texas, to consider whether to make it part of the National Park System. Conaway said making the home part of the park system “will ensure that it is maintained and gives many more Americans access to the site to be inspired by one of America’s and Midland’s premier families” and a house in which two future presidents lived. The vote, on Dec. 10, was 382 yeas to 4 nays, with two voting present.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

HEALTH HOMES FOR CHILDREN: The House has passed the Improving Medicaid Programs and Opportunities for Eligible Beneficiaries Act (H.R. 7217), sponsored by Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, to give states the option of making Medicaid payments for coordinated care provided for children with complex medical conditions in a health home setting. Barton said pilot program tests of the use of such health homes to treat seriously ill children have proven effective in giving the children better care at a lower cost than other practices, making the health home option a win-win proposition. The vote, on Dec. 11, was 400 yeas to 11 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

HEALTH OF PREMATURE INFANTS: The House has passed the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who Deliver Infants Early Reauthorization Act (S. 3029), sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. Along with reauthorizing federal programs for research into improving the health of premature infants and their mothers, the bill would also require reports to Congress on the status of that research. A supporter, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said the bill was especially needed because the rate of premature births has risen for several years, to 10 percent, reversing a previous trend of fewer premature births in the U.S. The vote, on Dec. 11, was 406 yeas to 3 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

FARM AND FOOD STAMPS BILL: The House has agreed to the conference report with the Senate for the Agriculture Improvement Act (H.R. 2), sponsored by Rep. Michael K. Conaway, R-Texas. The bill would reauthorize Agriculture Department programs through fiscal 2023, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, farm regulation and subsidy programs, and trade in crop products. Conaway highlighted the need for the U.S. to counter more than $100 billion of annual excess crop subsidies that China provides its farmers and help American farmers fight against “the rampant cheating going on in the global trade that hurts our farmers and ranchers every single day.” The vote, on Dec. 12, was 369 yeas to 47 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

JOURNALISTS IN BURMA: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 1091), sponsored by Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, calling on Burma to release two Reuters journalists who were sentenced to seven-year prison terms after they reported on attacks against civilians, especially members of the Rohingya ethnic group, by Burma’s military and security forces. Chabot said the resolution would “send a clear, unequivocal message to the Burmese government and to the world that these barbaric and vicious atrocities will not be tolerated.” The vote, on Dec. 13, was 394 yeas to 1 nay.

YEAS: Pingree, Poliquin

SENATE VOTES

TREASURY DEPUTY SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Justin George Muzinich to serve as the Treasury Department’s deputy secretary. Muzinich, currently senior counselor to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, was previously president of his own international investment firm, and a professor at Columbia University Business School. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Muzinich’s years of experience in financial management were needed to help Treasury implement the new tax code, develop sanctions on Iran and other foreign countries, and advance other reforms. The vote, on Dec. 11, was 55 yeas to 44 nays.

YEAS: Susan Collins, R-Maine; Angus King, I-Maine

APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jonathan A. Kobes to serve as a judge on the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Kobes, the current general counsel for Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., was previously a lawyer for several different agricultural companies. An opponent, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., called Kobes unqualified and said he “will put extreme rightwing ideology ahead of women and science.” The vote, on Dec. 11, was 51 yeas to 50 nays, with the 51st yea cast by Vice President Mike Pence.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King

FARM AND FOOD STAMPS BILL: The Senate has agreed to the conference report for the Agriculture Improvement Act (H.R. 2), sponsored by Rep. Michael K. Conaway, R-Texas. The bill would reauthorize Agriculture Department programs through fiscal 2023, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, farm regulation and subsidy programs, and trade in crop products. A supporter, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said the reauthorization provided needed support for a wide variety of farmers and ranchers, both by insuring against crop losses and by investing in programs such as rural water systems, high-speed rural internet service, and opioid addiction treatment efforts. The vote, on Dec. 11, was 87 yeas to 13 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

VOIDING CAMPAIGN DONATIONS RULE: The Senate has passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 64) sponsored by Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., to disapprove of and void a Treasury Department rule issued in July 2018. The rule eliminated a requirement for tax-exempt organizations that are not under the 501(c)(3) part of the tax code to annually report the identities of their major donors to the Internal Revenue Service. Tester said overturning the rule would allow Americans to know more about so-called dark money campaign donations by wealthy special interests, and was “a step toward eliminating the ability of our enemies to choose leaders in Washington, D.C.” A resolution opponent, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said “tax-exempt organizations that span the political spectrum and the supporters of those organizations deserve the same consideration and protection as the NAACP had” in the 1950s when it was campaigning against segregation. The vote to disapprove, on Dec. 12, was 50 yeas to 49 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

ISRAEL AND YEMEN WAR: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to a resolution (S.J. Res. 54), to require the removal from Yemen of U.S. soldiers involved in Yemen’s civil war. The amendment stated that the resolution shall not be construed as impacting U.S. military operations and cooperation with Israel. Cornyn said the amendment was needed “to reassure Israel and our regional partners that the United States intends to honor our commitments as the leader of the free world.” The vote, on Dec. 13, was unanimous with 99 yeas.

YEAS: Collins, King

INTERVENTION IN YEMEN: The Senate has passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 54), sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, ID-Vt., to require the removal from Yemen, within 30 days, of U.S. soldiers stationed there, barring congressional authorization of the use of force in Yemen. Sanders said the U.S. has served as Saudi Arabia’s partner in its war against the Houthi rebel faction in Yemen, which has resulted in the starvation of thousands of Yemenis and outbreaks of cholera and other diseases, and the resolution was also needed to assert that Congress has sole constitutional responsibility for making war. A resolution opponent, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said he believed it would do little to resolve Yemen’s civil war and the humanitarian tragedy the war has created, and warned that halting U.S. support of Saudi Arabia would likely lead to increased malevolent Iranian influence on the Houthis and a worse situation on the Arabian peninsula. The vote, on Dec. 13, was 56 yeas to 41 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

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