Washington, D.C., Roll Call Report

WASHINGTON —Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the week ending March 29.

Along with the week’s roll call votes, the Senate also passed the Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act (S. 1258), to require the Office of Management and Budget to submit to Congress an annual report on projects that are over budget and behind schedule; and a resolution (S. Res. 333), designating 2024 as the Year of Democracy as a time to reflect on the contributions of the system of government of the United States to a more free and stable world.

House

CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS: The House has passed an amendment to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2882), to provide $1.2 trillion of funding for discretionary federal programs in fiscal 2024. A supporter, Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, said the bill “strengthens our national security and funds critical defense efforts,” and also “continues our strong support of Israel, combats the flow of illegal drugs, and fully funds medical research for cancer and chronic diseases.” An opponent, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said the bill was “filled with all manner of spending priorities that are at odds with the American people,” including lax enforcement of immigration laws and wasteful earmark spending. The vote, on March 22, was 286 yeas to 134 nays.

YEAS:

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-3rd

GHG EMISSIONS FUND: The House has passed the Cutting Green Corruption and Taxes Act (H.R. 1023), sponsored by Rep. Gary J. Palmer, R-Ala., to repeal the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for providing aid to low-income areas to reduce GHG emissions, as well as a tax on methane emissions associated with natural gas production. Palmer said the fund would cost $27 billion, and claimed it had “little to no oversight to fund climate activists, green groups, and Democrat political allies that do little to impact the climate.” A bill opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said: “These two programs work to slash dangerous climate pollution and invest in communities across the country all while lowering the deficit.” The vote, on March 22, was 209 yeas to 204 nays.

NAYS:

Perez

Senate

TEXAS JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Ernest Gonzalez to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Over the past three decades, Gonzalez has been a county assistant attorney, federal prosecutor in the eastern and western Texas districts, and, for the past year, a Justice Department lawyer. The vote, on March 22, was 88 yeas to 7 nays.

YEAS:

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

SECOND TEXAS JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Leon Schydlower to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Schydlower has been a magistrate judge in the district since 2015, after stints as a private practice lawyer and lawyer in the military. The vote, on March 22, was 90 yeas to 8 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

ILLEGAL ALIENS AND AIRPORT SECURITY: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2882), that would have barred funding for use of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection CBP One smartphone application, or any similar successor application, to facilitate the entry of foreign aliens into the U.S. Lee said the app, by allowing illegal immigrants to board airplanes without proof of identification, has enabled criminal activity, and established an unequal standard in favor of the immigrants. An amendment opponent, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said: “Using this app improves security because it provides the CBP with advanced notice of who is arriving and of those individuals who have already passed security checks.” The vote, on March 22, was 45 yeas to 51 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

IRAN SANCTIONS WAIVERS: The Senate has tabled an amendment sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2882), that would have barred funding for measures to waive various sanctions that have been imposed on Iran. Cruz said funding waivers would mean “funding the genocidal, theocratic lunatic who leads Iran, who is funding Hamas, who is waging war against Israel.” An opponent, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., said waivers were useful “for accommodating humanitarian or basic human needs, including food and medicine and to pay for vetted third-party, non-Iranian vendors.” The vote to table, on March 22, was 51 yeas to 47 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

ONLINE CENSORSHIP: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2882), that would have barred funding for federal government efforts to label speech by U.S. citizens as disinformation or misinformation, including requests for social media companies to alter, remove, restrict, or suppress such speech. Schmitt said: “The First Amendment is the beating heart of our Constitution. It protects fundamental human expression, and the government shouldn’t be deciding what we can read or what we can hear or what we can say.” An opponent, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said: “If you want to make sure we are doing everything in our power to stop Vladimir Putin and others from infiltrating America, vote no on this amendment.” The vote, on March 23, was 47 yeas to 51 nays.

NAYS:

Cantwell, Murray

IMMIGRATION SANCTUARY CITIES: The Senate has tabled an amendment sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2882), that would have barred Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services Department funds from being sent to city governments that do not fulfill Homeland Security Department requests for them to provide advance notice of the date and time that they will release illegal aliens from local custody. Johnson cited a recent “string of horrific crimes in which the suspects are illegal immigrants.” An opponent, Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Conn., said a bar “likely violates the 10th Amendment [of the Constitution]. It likely violates the Fourth Amendment.” The vote to table, on March 23, was 51 yeas to 47 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray

CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS: The Senate has concurred in the House amendment to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2882), to provide $1.2 trillion of funding for discretionary federal programs in fiscal 2024. An amendment supporter, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said it “delivers on the investments that matter most in people’s daily lives — on everything from Pell Grants to community health centers.” An opponent, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said it continued a trend of excessive government spending that has created large deficits and spurred inflation that results in “the erosion of your paycheck, the explosion of your gas prices, and the explosion of your grocery bills.” The vote, on March 23, was 74 yeas to 24 nays.

YEAS:

Cantwell, Murray