WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how Maine’s members of Congress voted over the previous week.
This wasn’t a busy week on Capitol Hill. There were two key votes and two roll call votes in the Senate this week. The most important Senate vote was to confirm Christopher Hart as chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.
Along with roll call votes, the Senate also passed a resolution, sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, to express the sense of the Senate regarding the courageous work and life of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and call for a swift and transparent investigation of his recent murder in Moscow.
The House of Representatives was not in session, so there were no key votes.
Senate votes
Senate vote 1
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Daniel Henry Marti to serve as Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator for the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
A supporter, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, said Marti, currently managing partner at a Washington, D.C., law firm, has specialized in intellectual property law in his career as a lawyer, gaining experience in trademark law and domestic and international intellectual property law.
Leahy said Marti’s confirmation would fill a vacancy that has lasted for more than 18 months, allowing the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator office to fulfill its mission of working with law enforcement and industry to address intellectual property theft, particularly on the Internet.
The vote was unanimous with 92 yeas. Both Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, were among those yeas.
Senate vote 2
NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD CHAIRMAN: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Christopher A. Hart to serve as chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board for a two-year term.
A supporter, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, said Hart, currently acting chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, had a distinguished career in aviation safety, and has shown in his time as acting chairman his ability to help “make our transportation network safer, more secure, and more reliable.”
The vote was unanimous with 97 yeas. Both Collins and King were among those yeas.
Neither Collins nor King issued any statements regarding these votes this week.