Washington, D.C., Roll Call

WASHINGTON —Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the week ending March 14.

In addition to roll call votes this week, the House also passed these measures: the Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependency Act (H.R. 1166), to prohibit the Homeland Security Department from procuring certain foreign-made batteries; the TSA Commuting Fairness Act (H.R. 862), to have the Transportation Security Administration submit a study on the feasibility of treating as on-duty hours the time TSA employees working at airports spend traveling between regular duty locations, airport parking lots, and bus and transit stops; the Securing the Cities Improvement Act (H.R. 1374); and the DHS Biodetection Improvement Act (H.R. 706), to improve the biodetection functions of the Department of Homeland Security.

The Senate also passed a resolution (S. Res. 72), affirming that Hamas cannot retain any political or military control in the Gaza Strip; and the Justice for Murder Victims Act (S. 960), to ensure that homicides can be prosecuted under federal law without regard to the time elapsed between the act or omission that caused the death of the victim and the death itself.

House

BORDER SMUGGLING TUNNELS: The House has passed the Subterranean Border Defense Act (H.R. 495), sponsored by Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., to require the Homeland Security Department to file annual reports with Congress on its plan to curtail cross-border tunnels used to smuggle people and goods into the U.S. Crane said tunneling has increased by 80 percent since 2008, and “Congress must address this deadly threat and ensure U.S. Customs and Border Protection has the resources needed to acquire counter-tunnel technology.” The vote, on March 10, was 402 yeas to 1 nay.

YEAS: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-3rd

TECHNOLOGY AND BORDER SECURITY: The House has passed the Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act (H.R. 993), sponsored by Rep. Louis J. Correa, D-Calif., to require the Homeland Security Department to develop plans for using various advanced technologies, including sensors and artificial intelligence, to improve border security efforts. Correa said the technologies could improve targeting and “detection capabilities, which would help officers find and stop more illegal drugs like fentanyl before they reach our communities and harm our communities and children.” The vote, on March 10, was 406 yeas to 9 nays.

YEAS: Perez

PROSECUTING UNEMPLOYMENT AID FRAUD: The House has passed the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act (H.R. 1156), sponsored by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., to extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting cases of alleged fraud under federal covid lockdown unemployment assistance programs to 10 years. Smith said the bill “doubles the statute of limitations from 5 to 10 years so we can prosecute and recover hundreds of billions of stolen tax dollars.” An opponent, Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., said: “Extending the statute of limitations without a Senate-confirmed nonpartisan inspector general and without any guardrails limiting the extension to serious criminals could put every American who lost their job during the pandemic at risk of harassment and accusations of fraud.” The vote, on March 11, was 295 yeas to 127 nays.

YEAS: Perez

2025 CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS: The House has passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act (H.R. 1968), sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., to provide for spending on federal programs for the rest of fiscal 2025 in the absence of new appropriations legislation. Cole said keeping funding at 2024 levels, without adding controversial policy riders, would sustain “critical functions of government, including border defense, roads, parks, childcare, water infrastructure projects, biomedical research, job training, and countless others.” An opponent, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, called the bill “an attack on veterans. It is an attack on families. It is an attack on seniors. It cuts funding for veterans.” The vote, on March 11, was 217 yeas to 213 nays.

NAYS: Perez

REGULATING DECENTRALIZED FINANCE: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 25), sponsored by Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, to disapprove of and void an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule regulating the computer infrastructure that enables decentralized finance systems, including cryptocurrencies. Carey said the rule “invades the privacy of tens of millions of Americans, hinders the development of an important new industry in the United States, and would overwhelm the IRS with over 8 billion new information returns.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill., said it “would add $4 billion to the deficit solely due to taxpayer noncompliance” with rules for reporting cryptocurrency transactions. The vote, on March 11, was 292 yeas to 132 nays.

NAYS: Perez

Senate

LABOR SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be Labor Secretary. Previously a medical business owner, Chavez-DeRemer was a town mayor in Oregon for most of the 2010s, then was a House member in 2023 and 2024. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Chavez-DeRemer “has known the value of a hard day’s work, and in her public service, she has put in the work to seek differing perspectives and to find common ground.” The vote, on March 10, was 67 yeas to 32 nays.

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

TRANSPORTATION OFFICIAL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Steven Bradbury to be the Transportation Department’s Deputy Secretary. Bradbury was Transportation’s general counsel for most of the first Trump administration, after time at the Justice Department in the George W. Bush administration. Otherwise, he has been a lawyer at Washington, D.C., law firms. An opponent, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Bradbury “has shown more interest in a light-touch approach that benefits industry, than being a champion for safety.” The vote, on March 11, was 51 yeas to 46 nays.

NAYS: Cantwell, Murray

ANTITRUST LAWYER: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Abigail Slater to be Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. Recently a vice president at Roku and adviser to JD Vance, Slater has also been a lawyer at the federal Trade Commission, general counsel for the Internet Association, and a policy aide in the first Trump administration. A supporter, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said she has “learned the nuts and bolts of antitrust enforcement. Ms. Slater also understands antitrust and economics from a policy perspective.” The vote, on March 11, was 78 yeas to 19 nays.

YEAS: Cantwell

NAYS: Murray

ECONOMIC ADVISER: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Stephen Miran to chair the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. Miran was a policy advisor at the Treasury Department during the first Trump administration, and is currently a strategist at a private investment firm and fellow at the Manhattan Institute. The vote, on March 12, was 53 yeas to 46 nays.

NAYS: Cantwell, Murray

DEPUTY LABOR SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Keith Sonderling to be the Labor Department’s Deputy Secretary. An official at Labor and commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2017 to 2021, Sonderling was previously a labor lawyer in Florida. The vote, on March 12, was 53 yeas to 46 nays.

NAYS: Cantwell, Murray

FINANCING MORTGAGES: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of William Pulte to direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage agencies, for a five-year term. Pulte is the CEO of Pulte Capital Partners, a private equity business focused on housing products, and founder of the Detroit Blight Authority. The vote, on March 13, was 56 yeas to 43 nays.

NAYS: Cantwell, Murray

COMMERCE OFFICIAL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jeffery Kessler to be the Commerce Department’s Under Secretary for Industry and Security. A lawyer at the WilmerHale law firm in Washington, D.C., for most of the 2010s and again for the past four years, Kessler was Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance from April 2019 to January 2021. The vote, on March 13, was 54 yeas to 45 nays.

NAYS: Cantwell, Murray