WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week.
Editor’s Note: Besides roll call votes, the Senate and House also took action on legislation by voice vote. The Senate passed the Don’t Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act to exempt from federal taxation benefits paid to surviving dependents of state or federal government public safety officers who were killed in the line of duty. The House passed the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act to promote Blue Alert plans for distributing information about threats to law enforcement officers as well as alerts about missing, wounded or killed law enforcement officers. The House also passed the Fallen Heroes Flag Act to provide flags flown at the U.S. Capitol to the immediate family of firefighters, law enforcement officers, members of rescue squads or ambulance crews, and public safety officers who have been killed in the line of duty.
House votes
House vote 1
TAXING SURVIVOR BENEFITS: The House has passed the Don’t Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act, sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minnesota. The bill would exempt from federal taxation benefits paid to surviving dependents of state or federal government public safety officers who were killed in the line of duty.
Paulsen said the IRS has declined to exempt from the federal income tax benefits paid to survivors of state police, firefighters and others killed in the line of duty, making the bill necessary to ensure that families “receive the benefits they were promised without a tax grab from the IRS.”
The vote was unanimous with 413 yeas. Both Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District, were among the yeas.
House vote 2
REGULATING WATERWAYS: The House has passed the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pennsylvania. The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw their proposed rule defining waterways of the United States eligible for federal regulation and replace it with a new proposed rule that uses a more limited definition of those waterways and reflects the input of various stakeholders, including state and local governments.
Shuster said the current proposed rule would replace the successful federal-state regulatory partnership for ensuring water quality with a rule authorizing excessive federal power over local waterways.
A bill opponent, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Oregon, called the bill a hasty attempt to block a rule that has not yet been formally proposed and could improve and streamline water regulation.
The vote was 261 yeas to 155 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
House vote 3
PUBLIC SAFETY WORKERS AND RETIREMENT PLANS: The House has passed the Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act, sponsored by Rep. David G. Reichert, R-Washington. The bill would allow police, firefighters and air traffic controllers employed by the federal government to make withdrawals from their retirement plans after turning 50, without incurring penalties.
Reichert said the unique hazards and stresses faced by those who work to preserve public safety often leads them to retire at an early age, and they should not face penalties because of the resulting need to draw from their retirement plans while in their 50s.
The vote was 407 yeas to 5 nays. Both Pingree and poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 4
ABORTION AND LATER-TERM PREGNANCIES: The House has passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. The bill would ban abortions in cases where the fetus is at least 20 weeks old, except for pregnancies that endanger the life of the mother and pregnancies resulting from rape or incest against a minor.
Franks called the proposed ban an effort “to protect both mothers and their pain-capable unborn babies from the atrocity of late-term abortion on demand.”
A bill opponent, Rep. Lois Capps, D-California, said it “ignores the health issues and real life situations that women can face during pregnancy” and the resulting variety of justified reasons to seek late-term abortions.
The vote was 242 yeas to 184 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
House vote 5
ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE: The House has passed the USA FREEDOM Act, sponsored by Rep. James F. Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wisconsin. The bill would establish new evidence requirements for the FBI to present to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court when seeking approval of electronic surveillance for national security purposes or of suspected terrorists or criminals, and it would make a variety of changes to FBI electronic surveillance programs and the oversight of those programs.
Sensenbrenner said the bill’s reforms of surveillance practices would end the bulk collection of data on communications activity by Americans, increase transparency, and give the intelligence community “new tools to combat terrorism in more targeted and effective ways.”
A bill opponent, Rep. Sam Farr, D-California, said it “would continue to allow for large swaths of information gathering” that violate the privacy rights of Americans enshrined in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.
The vote was 338 yeas to 88 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
House vote 6
REVIEWING NUCLEAR DEAL WITH IRAN: The House has concurred in the Senate amendment to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, sponsored by Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pennsylvania. The bill would provide for congressional review of the proposed nuclear development agreement with Iran, including the question of whether to lift sanctions against Iran after that country’s agreement to stop its nuclear weapons program, and Iran’s sponsorship of acts of terrorism against the U.S.
A supporter, Rep. Robert J. Dold, R-Illinois, said it gave Congress final say over whether or not to let the agreement go forward.
A bill opponent, Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas, said the agreement would do little to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, while the bill gave Congress insufficient authority to review the president’s negotiation of that agreement.
The vote was 400 yeas to 25 nays. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 7
HEZBOLLAH FINANCING: The House has passed the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act, sponsored by Rep. Edward R. Royce, R-California. The bill would require the use of sanctions and other measures to block financing of the Hezbollah group and designate Hezbollah as an international criminal organization.
Royce said Hezbollah, backed by Iran and Syria, has repeatedly threatened Israel’s security, and measures to prevent it from strengthening were vital to curtailing Iran’s terrorism goals and improving prospects for peace in the Middle East.
The vote was unanimous with 423 yeas. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 8
APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF U.S. AIRCRAFT CARRIERS: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colorado, to the National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment would have changed the statutory requirement for the number of aircraft carriers operated by the Navy from 11 to 10.
Polis said the requirement for 11 aircraft carriers was an arbitrary restriction, and removing it would help the Navy determine “how we can best put our sailors in the best position to combat present and future threats.”
An amendment opponent, Rep. Robert J. Wittman, R-Virginia, said maintaining a fleet of 11 carriers was central to U.S. military policy, and reducing the fleet “puts our ability to defend our nation and our critical interest around the globe at risk.”
The vote was 60 yeas to 363 nays. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the nays.
House vote 9
IMMIGRATION AND MILITARY SERVICE: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Alabama, to the National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment would strike from the bill a provision requiring the military to study whether illegal immigrants who have received amnesty should be authorized to enlist in the military.
Brooks said the provision, by encouraging the military to enlist illegal immigrants in place of U.S. citizens and lawful immigrants, would take military service opportunities away from those who have followed citizenship laws.
An amendment opponent, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, said illegal immigrants “deserve an opportunity to be part of the country that they have unquestionably claimed as their own” by contributing to the communities in which they live.
The vote was 221 yeas to 202 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
House vote 10
GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Indiana, to the National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment would bar the transfer to Yemen or U.S. soil of suspected terrorist detainees held at the military’s Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba.
Walorski said maintaining the restrictions on detainee transfers was needed to protect national security.
An amendment opponent, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Washington, said it sought to impede the closing of Guantanamo Bay, a facility that violates basic principles of justice by indefinitely detaining inmates without proper judicial proceedings, and thereby harms overseas public opinion of the U.S.
The vote was 243 yeas to 180 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
Senate votes
Senate vote 1
RELEASE OF IRANIAN-HELD U.S. CITIZENS: The Senate has passed a bill, sponsored by Sen. James E. Risch, R-Idaho, calling on Iran’s government to release four U.S. citizens believed to be held by Iran and calling on the U.S. government to make all possible efforts to secure the immediate release of the four citizens.
Risch said putting Congress on record as disapproving of Iran’s imprisonment of the citizens would help put pressure on its government to reform and comply with international norms of justice.
The vote was unanimous with 90 yeas. Both Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, were among the yeas.
Senate vote 2
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Sally Quillian Yates to serve as U.S. deputy attorney general. A supporter, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vermont, cited Yates’ more than two decades of experience as a federal prosecutor and U.S. attorney for the northern district of Georgia.
Leahy called Yates “an experienced and dedicated prosecutor with a well-deserved reputation for fairness, integrity and toughness.”
The vote was 84 yeas to 12 nays. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.
Senate vote 3
TRADE AND DEVELOPING NATIONS: The Senate has passed the Trade Preferences Extension Act, sponsored by Rep. George Holding, R-North Carolina. The bill would extend preferential duties for goods imported from Haiti and also extend the generalized system of preferences exempting certain goods from tariffs, as well as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides preferential treatment for textiles and other goods imported from Africa.
A supporter, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the extensions would “encourage continued economic development and support democracy in Haiti” and Africa, while also benefiting U.S. companies by reducing the cost of many goods they import from developing countries overseas.
The vote was 97 yeas to 1 nay. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.
Senate vote 4
TRADE BILL: The Senate has passed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act, sponsored by Rep. Tom Reed, R-New York. The bill would establish a center for coordinating federal government efforts to protect intellectual property from infringement, automate the processing of certain trade documents by the Customs and Border Protection agency, and establish processes for investigating whether foreign countries are directly or indirectly manipulating their currency to subsidize their exports.
A supporter, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the bill’s measures to modernize processing of trade documents would increase efficiency and facilitate the flow of goods, and its intellectual property provisions would protect American innovations from piracy.
The vote was 78 yeas to 20 nays. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.
Senate vote 5
TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY: The Senate has approved a motion to end debate on a motion to consider the Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act, sponsored by Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pennsylvania. The bill would authorize fast-track trade promotion authority for President Barack Obama to negotiate terms of trade treaties, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 other nations bordering the Pacific Ocean.
A supporter, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said the authorization would allow the U.S. to play a major role in setting the terms of global trade, which will open larger markets for an array of U.S. exporters while also ensuring adequate congressional oversight of trade treaties.
A bill opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, said the trade treaties it would promote benefit corporations at the expense of workers and the environment, in part by encouraging companies to move U.S. jobs overseas, to nations with much lower wages and lax health and environmental protections.
The vote to end debate was 65 yeas to 33 nays. Collins gave a yea vote, and King gave a nay vote.