WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how Maine’s members of Congress voted over the previous week.
There were three key votes and three roll call votes in the Senate this week. There were five key votes in the House, which held 12 roll call votes. The most important Senate vote was to confirm Ashton B. Carter as defense secretary. The most important House vote was to pass a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline.
The Senate also passed a resolution, sponsored by Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-New York, to express the sense of the Senate that children trafficked for sex in the United States should not be treated or regarded as child prostitutes because there are no child prostitute, only children who are victims or survivors of rape and sex trafficking. A second resolution passed by the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Maryland, calling for Russia to release Ukrainian female fighter pilot Nadiya Savchenko.
The House also passed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act, sponsored by Rep. Steven M. Palazzo, R-Mississippi, to authorize spending on NASA programs in fiscal 2015, and passed the Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act, sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, to require the Homeland Security secretary to prepare a comprehensive security assessment of the transportation security card program.
House votes
House vote 1
TSA CRIMINAL INVESTIGATORS: The House has passed the TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act, sponsored by Rep. John Katko, R-New York. The bill would require a study of law enforcement and criminal investigation activities at the Transportation Security Administration.
Katko said investigators at the TSA appear to be receiving premium law enforcement pay and benefits even though they are not primarily performing criminal investigations, so do not deserve the premium.
Katko added correcting the oversight could save taxpayers $17 million in five years, and said “we must ensure that TSA’s internal cadre of investigators are spending the majority of time on criminal investigations or we risk wasting significant taxpayer resources.”
The vote was unanimous with 414 yeas. Both Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District, gave yea votes.
House vote 2
TSA AND AIRPORT SECURITY PLANS: The House has passed the Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act, sponsored by Rep. John Katko, R-New York. The bill would direct the Transportation Security Administration to contact all U.S. airports at which the TSA operates to confirm that the airports have security hazard response plans for dealing with terrorism and other threats.
Katko said the November 2013 shootings at the Los Angeles airport showed the need to address “vulnerabilities in airport preparedness, including in the areas of incident command, communication with travelers, communication between TSA and law enforcement, and evacuation measures.”
The vote was 411 yeas to 1 nay. Both Pingree and Poliquin gave yea votes.
House vote 3
APPROVING KEYSTONE XL: The House has passed the Keystone XL Pipeline Act, sponsored by Sen. John Hoeven, R-North Dakota. The bill would authorize TransCanada to construct its proposed Keystone XL pipeline to carry oil from Alberta into the U.S. and declare that environmental reviews for the pipeline are complete.
A supporter, Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pennsylvania, said the pipeline would create good-paying jobs, bolster U.S. energy independence by increasing the country’s fuel transportation capacity, and have minimal environmental impact.
Poliquin also stepped up to praise the passing of the bill. “I’m proud and grateful that Congress has, finally, voted to approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.
“Once completed, with all the environmental safeguards in place, the Keystone XL Pipeline will help increase the supply and drive down the cost of heating oil, gasoline and diesel. This will create more jobs, help our hard-working small businesses grow and build a better business climate.” Poliquin expressed hope that President Barack Obama will reconsider his threat to veto the Keystone XL bill.
An opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, said the bill would worsen climate change by encouraging the development of Alberta’s tar sands deposits, and warned that in the event of a rupture of Keystone XL, “the heavy tar sands that flow onto the ground and into our waters, our groundwater and our surface water, will be even harder to clean up than regular oil.”
Pingree also criticized the bill. “This is a dirty fuel with a huge carbon footprint,” Pingree said. “We would be much better off investing in energy efficiency and clean energy right here in the U.S. That’s going to create far more jobs right here at home and protect the environment in the process.”
The vote was 270 yeas to 152 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Bruce Poliquin gave a yea vote.
House vote 4
1965 ALABAMA VOTING RIGHTS MARCH: The House has passed a bill, sponsored by Rep. Terri A. Sewell, D-Alaska, to give a Congressional Gold Medal to individuals, known as foot soldiers, who took part in the black voting rights march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, in March 1965, or took part in the two attempted marches that preceded the successful march.
Sewell said the medals would be a fitting recognition of the foot soldiers “for their valor and determination in relentlessly pursuing the promise of our great Constitution, that all men and women were indeed created equal.”
The vote was unanimous with 420 yeas. Both Pingree and Poliquin gave yea votes.
House vote 5
FOOD DONATIONS AND TAXES: The House has passed the Fighting Hunger Incentive Act, sponsored by Rep. Tom Reed, R-New York. The bill would make permanent in the tax code the charitable deduction for business and individual contributions of their food inventory, and increase the size of the allowed deduction from 10 to 15 percent of annual net income.
Reed said the change in tax policy would decrease food waste by encouraging donations to help the hungry and poor.
A bill opponent, Rep. Sander M. Levin, D-Michigan, said it would increase the deficit by $14 billion and disrupt efforts to pass broad tax reform legislation.
The vote was 279 yeas to 137 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
Senate votes
Senate vote 1
DRUG CONTROL EFFORTS: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michael P. Botticelli to serve as U.S. Director of National Drug Control Policy. A supporter, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, cited Botticelli’s more than two decades of experience at substance abuse treatment agencies.
Feinstein added that Botticelli, currently Acting Director of National Drug Control Policy, has focused on an approach that treats drug addiction that “will enable him to successfully implement a national drug control strategy that recognizes the need for both supply and demand reduction and appropriately incorporates an effective public health approach that is coupled with law enforcement efforts.”
The vote was unanimous with 92 yeas. Both Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine.
Senate vote 2
RESTITUTION FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY VICTIMS: The Senate has passed the Amy and Vicky Child Pornography Victim Restitution and Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah. The bill would establish guidelines for determining restitution to victims of child pornography, with restitution to include the victim’s expenses for medical services, physical and occupational therapy or rehabilitation, and lost income.
Hatch said the bill would remedy a flaw in current law that limits restitution claims to losses directly related to the defendant’s distribution or possession of specific images, which Hatch said “pretends that defendants and images are isolated and self-contained.”
Hatch said by recognizing that victims can be victimized countless times via the Internet distribution of child pornography, the bill “makes it possible for the victims of pornography and childhood exploitation to be able to recover and to get restitution for the very poor treatment they have undergone.”
The vote was unanimous with 98 yeas. Both Collins and King gave yea votes.
Senate vote 3
CONFIRMING DEFENSE SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Ashton B. Carter to serve as defense secretary, replacing Chuck Hagel who announced his resignation at the end of last year. A supporter, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, praised Carter’s experience as longtime official at the Pentagon and an Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Clinton administration, and specifically cited his work on nuclear nonproliferation issues.
Feinstein said Carter “brings leadership, experience, intellect and a strategic lens” to the Department of Defense, where his expertise in managing the military and in foreign policy will help the U.S. respond to its pressing security challenges.
Collins weighed said “I’m proud to support Dr. Ash Carter’s nomination for Secretary of Defense.
“I believe Dr. Carter is prepared for the tremendous challenges ahead both at home and abroad as we address violent Islamist extremism, home-grown terror, the unstable and chaotic Middle East, as well as cyber-attacks,” she said. “As Secretary of Defense, Dr. Carter will need to address the worldwide threats confronting our nation, specifically as Congress considers authorization for military operations against ISIL.”
King praised Carter as “the right person to lead the Defense Department during this challenging time. It is more than evident to me that he is an intelligent and well-respected leader who is not only willing to make the hard decisions, but, importantly, who is also going to be a partner with Congress as the Department adapts to address the many difficulties it confronts across the globe. From dealing with sequestration to refining our strategy to destroy ISIL.”
The vote was 93 yeas to 5 nays. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.