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Washington D.C. Roll Call report

By Targeted News Service
Published: December 4, 2022, 5:27am

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

House

LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING: The House has rejected the Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act (S. 4003), sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. The bill would have the Justice Department develop training and grant programs for law enforcement departments to adopt alternative responses to individuals in a mental, behavioral health, or suicidal crisis. A supporter, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said: “Reforms to law enforcement, including de-escalation training, both improve public safety and reduce crime.” An opponent, Rep. Thomas P. Tiffany, R-Wis., said the programs were a soft-on-crime approach to law enforcement, and “in recent years, these kinds of approaches to fighting crime have been a boon to criminals and have led to our current crime epidemic.” The vote, on Nov. 29, was 247 yeas to 160 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.

YEAS

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-3rd

CRACK COCAINE SENTENCES: The House has passed the Terry Technical Correction Act (H.R. 5455), sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, to make all those convicted of crack cocaine offenses eligible for retroactive reductions of their sentences under the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act. Lee said that by supplanting a Supreme Court ruling that disallowed such sentencing reductions, the bill would help “eradicate the devastating consequences of the poorly conceived War on Drugs.” The vote, on Nov. 29, was 307 yeas to 101 nays.

NOT VOTING

Herrera Beutler

RAILROAD LABOR DISPUTE: The House has passed a bill (H.J. Res. 100), sponsored by Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr., D-N.J., to require that U.S. railroads and several rail worker unions accept labor agreements that include wage and benefit increases. Payne said of the need for the bill: “The failure to prevent a rail stoppage would be irresponsible as it would have devastating consequences on our economy and everyday American life.” The vote, on Nov. 30, was 290 yeas to 137 nays.

YEAS

Herrera Beutler

UYGHURS AND HUMAN RIGHTS: The House has passed the Uyghur Policy Act (H.R. 4785), sponsored by Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., to require the State Department to expand its activities on behalf of Uyghurs and other minority groups living in China’s Xinjiang region. Kim called the bill “a significant step in defending the human rights of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities subject to the CCP’s oppression and genocide.” The vote, on Dec. 1, was 407 yeas to 17 nays.

YEAS

Herrera Beutler

DOULAS AND THE MILITARY: The House has passed the Delivering Optimally Urgent Labor Access for Veterans Affairs Act (H.R. 2521), sponsored by Rep. Brenda L. Lawrence, D-Mich., to institute a five-year pilot program at the Veterans Affairs Department for providing doula services to pregnant veterans. Lawrence said: “As the use of doula services continue to grow, we must look at ways to expand maternal health services for our women in the VA.” The vote, on Dec. 1, was 376 yeas to 44 nays.

YEAS

Herrera Beutler

COMMUNITY REENTRY: The House has passed the One Stop Shop Community Reentry Program Act (H.R. 3372), sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., to authorize Justice Department grants to local governments and nonprofit groups for assisting the integration of ex-convicts into communities after their release. A bill supporter, Rep. David N. Cicilline, D-R.I., said it “will help people who are exiting the criminal justice system effectively get back on their feet.” An opponent, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said the bill was redundant and wasteful, and would allow violent criminals to work at the community reentry facilities. The vote, on Dec. 1, was 259 yeas to 167 nays.

YEAS

Herrera Beutler

PREGNANCIES IN PRISON: The House has passed the Pregnant Women in Custody Act (H.R. 6878), sponsored by Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., to require that the federal government’s prisons provide adequate pregnancy and childbirth services to incarcerated women. A supporter, Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., said it “will strengthen and promote the health and safety of pregnant inmates, providing a national standard of care allowing children to have the opportunities they deserve.” The vote, on Dec. 1, was 324 yeas to 90 nays.

YEAS

Herrera Beutler

Senate

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to the Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404). The amendment would have barred the federal government from taking discriminatory action against people who believe marriage is a union of one man and one woman. Lee said the amendment was needed to protect religious groups that “are being targeted and harassed by those who would force them to abandon their convictions and embrace the convictions preferred by the government.” The vote, on Nov. 29, was 48 yeas to 49 nays.

NAYS

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

STATE MARRIAGE LAWS: The Senate has passed the Respect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404), sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and instead federally recognize any marriage authorized under a state’s marriage laws, and require states to similarly recognize marriages in other states. A supporter, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., called the bill a chance to “give millions of people in same-sex and interracial marriages the certainty, dignity, and respect they need and deserve.” A bill opponent, Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said it “will put the issue of religious liberty at great risk for millions of Americans who” do not support same-sex marriage. The vote, on Nov. 29, was 61 yeas to 36 nays.

YEAS

Cantwell, Murray

PUERTO RICO JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Camille L. Velez-Rive to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico. Velez-Rive has been a magistrate judge on the court since 2004, and before that, was a federal prosecutor in Puerto Rico. The vote, on Nov. 30, was 55 yeas to 42 nays.

YEAS

Cantwell, Murray

NEW YORK JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Anne M. Nardacci to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. Nardacci has been a private practice lawyer at firms in New York City, then Albany, since 2002. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called Nardaccci “the kind of bread-and-butter candidate that Upstate New Yorkers like, and she has built a career taking on special interests.” The vote, on Nov 30, was 52 yeas to 44 nays.

YEAS

Cantwell, Murray

MILITARY INSPECTOR GENERAL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Robert Storch to be the Defense Department’s Inspector General. Storch has been the National Security Agency’s Inspector General since early 2018, and previously was an official in the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General, and a federal prosecutor. The vote, on Nov. 30, was 92 yeas to 3 nays.

YEAS

Cantwell, Murray

RAILROAD LABOR DISPUTE: The Senate has passed a bill (H.J. Res. 100), sponsored by Rep. Donald M. Payne Jr., D-N.J., to require that U.S. railroads and several rail worker unions accept labor agreements that include wage and benefit increases. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: “The consequences of inaction would be severe: unsafe drinking water, unusable gasoline, shuttered power plants, and a crippling shutdown of passenger rail across the country.” The vote, on Dec. 1, was 80 yeas to 15 nays.

YEAS

Cantwell, Murray

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