Washington D.C. Roll Call report

WASHINGTON —Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the week ending Dec. 24.

Along with this week’s roll call votes, the House also passed: the Research Security and Accountability in DHS Act (H.R. 9748), to require the Homeland Security Department to develop a policy and process to safeguard research and development from unauthorized access to or disclosure of sensitive information in research and development acquisitions; and the TSA Commuting Fairness Act (H.R. 8662), to reduce commuting burdens on Transportation Security Administration employees.

The Senate also passed: the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 (H.R. 3391), to extend the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program at the National Institutes of Health; the Recognizing the Importance of Critical Minerals in Healthcare Act (H.R. 6395), to require the Interior Department to include the Department of Health and Human Services in consultations regarding designations of critical minerals, elements, substances, and materials; a bill (S. 5639), to extend the authority for protection of certain facilities and assets from unmanned aircraft; the Resiliency for Ranching and Natural Conservation Health Act (S. 1553), to improve the management of grazing permits and leases; and the Taxpayer Resources Used in Emergencies Accountability Act (S. 5098), to require certain agencies to develop plans for internal control in the event of an emergency or crisis.

House

CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS: The House has passed the American Relief Act (H.R. 10545), sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. The bill would extend government funding to March 14, 2025, provide $110 billion for disaster recovery efforts and agriculture aid, and extend the farm bill by one year, through fiscal 2025. Cole said: “Congress has a responsibility to keep the government open and operating for the American people. The alternative, a government shutdown, would be devastating to our national defense and our constituents, and would be a grave mistake.” The vote, on Dec. 20, was 366 yeas to 34 nays, with 1 voting present.

YEAS:

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania

Senate

CALIFORNIA JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Benjamin J. Cheeks to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Cheeks has been a magistrate judge on the district court for a half-year, after a decade as a private practice criminal defense lawyer in San Diego and time as a government attorney in the Southern District and in New York. The vote, on Dec. 20, was 49 yeas to 47 nays.

YEAS:

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

SECOND CALIFORNIA JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Serena Murillo to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. A judge on California’s Los Angeles County Superior Court for the past 9 years, Murillo was previously a deputy district attorney in the county for 17 years. The vote, on Dec. 20, was 49 yeas to 47 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

CHANGING SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: The Senate has rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82). The amendment would have reduced new benefits paid to retirees under the bill, in part by creating a transition period classification for new retirees starting in 2025. Cruz said of the amendment: “Let’s support our cops and firefighters and teachers, but let’s also not throw our seniors down the river” by weaking the finances of the overall Social Security program. An opponent, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said adding the amendment would amount to killing the bill. The vote, on Dec. 20, was 32 yeas to 64 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

IMPLEMENTING SOCIAL SECURITY BILL: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, to the Social Security Fairness Act (H.R. 82). The amendment would have put off implementation of the bill until it had been determined that its changes to Social Security would not harm the actuarial balance of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and Federal Disability Insurance Trust. Crapo said without the amendment, “this bill will raise the insolvency of the Social Security trust fund and cost our hard-working Social Security recipients to lose $200 billion in Social Security benefits.” An opponent, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the amendment showed hypocrisy by Republicans in Congress who are “vowing to use every budget gimmick under the sun next year to avoid paying for their tax bill” that would primarily benefit the wealthy. The vote, on Dec. 20, was 34 yeas to 62 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: The Senate 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. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the bill “very important for our retired teachers and firefighters and postal workers and police officers and so many other public servants who deserve their full Social Security benefits.” An opponent, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said it “is simply not fair to the average private sector worker who spends their entire career paying Social Security taxes, earning similar or lower pay than the government workers but receives less Social Security benefit per dollar paid in.” The vote, on Dec. 20, was 76 yeas to 20 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS: The Senate has passed the American Relief Act (H.R. 10545), sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. The bill would extend government funding to March 14, 2025, provide $110 billion for disaster recovery efforts and agriculture aid, and extend the farm bill by one year, through fiscal 2025. A supporter, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said of the need to avoid a government shutdown: “The government is supposed to be a service for the American people, and you can’t serve the American people when the government isn’t operating.” The vote, on Dec. 20, was 85 yeas to 11 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray