WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how Maine’s 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 House passed the Superstorm Sandy Relief Act to require the U.S. Small Business Administration to establish a program to make loans to businesses and individuals affected by Superstorm Sandy.
The Senate passed the Adoptive Family Relief Act, to waive immigrant visa fees for families adopting children from foreign countries. It passed the Syrian War Crimes Accountability Act, to require a report on war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria. It also passed the Ensuring Access to Clinical Trials Act, to make permanent an exclusion under the Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid programs for individuals compensated for their participation in clinical trials for rare diseases or conditions.
House votes
House vote 1
REAUTHORIZING THE NIH: House has passed the 21st Century Cures Act, sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan. The bill would reauthorize the National Institutes of Health through fiscal year 2018, establish the NIH Innovation Fund for funding emerging health research and adopt measures intended to speed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s process for reviewing new drugs.
Upton said that by reforming processes for developing and testing new treatments and cures for diseases, the bill would help the NIH more quickly deliver the next generation of health care technology to patients in need.
“Today is an important milestone for the many people in Maine and across the country who are battling incurable diseases. For years, I have met constituents with cancer, muscular dystrophy, ALS and other devastating illnesses who are anxiously awaiting medical breakthroughs,” U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree said in a statement Tuesday. “The 21st Century Cures Act offers them and others new hope by providing the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration with increased resources to discover and evaluate treatments more quickly.
“While I am thrilled to see this truly bipartisan effort pass on the House floor with new funding, there is still more to be done. I continue to hope that Republican leadership makes it a priority to undo harmful sequestration cuts that have kept NIH and FDA from working at full capacity.”
The vote was 344 yeas to 77 nays. Both Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, and Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District, were among the yeas.
House vote 2
VETERANS AND SMALL BUSINESS LOANS: The House has passed the Veterans Entrepreneurship Act, sponsored by Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio. The bill would waive up-front fees for express loans that the Small Business Administration makes to veteran-owned businesses.
Chabot said ending the loan fees would help veterans, many of whom struggle to transition back to civilian life after leaving the military, as they work to make their businesses succeed.
Poliquin lauded the bill’s passage in a statement Thursday, saying it would “give our veterans and their spouses the confidence and resources they need to start a new business, create more jobs and grow our local economy.”
The vote was 410 yeas to 1 nay. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 3
VETERANS AND HUD: The House has passed the Homes for Heroes Act, sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas. The bill would establish a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, with the assistant tasked with ensuring equal access to Department of Housing and Urban Development housing for military veterans and coordinating programs for veterans.
Green said many of the homeless are veterans, in many cases disabled or with substance abuse problems, and having a Housing and Urban Development official dedicated to improving their circumstances was essential to helping homeless veterans.
Poliquin said in statement that the bill would “help our veterans find a home and require HUD to submit an annual report to Congress on Veterans homeless and housing assistance. Veterans’ homelessness is a chronic problem and the VA must address this issue.
“In Congress, I will continue to support bills that will help our Veterans transition into civilian life and enjoy the freedoms they fought to protect.”
The vote was 412 yeas to 1 nay. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 4
ENERGY EFFICIENT HUD HOUSING: The House has passed the Private Investment in Housing Act, sponsored by Rep. Dennis A. Ross, R-Florida. The bill would authorize the Housing and Urban Development agency to create a demonstration program for reaching contracts with outside groups to improve energy efficiency and water conservation in Housing and Urban Development multi-family housing.
Ross said such groups now are unable to make those improvements, which carry the promise of cutting energy and water expenses in Housing and Urban Development housing by up to 20 percent at no cost to the government.
The vote was 395 yeas to 28 nays. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 5
SEC FILING REQUIREMENTS: The House has passed the Small Company Simple Registration Act, sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Missouri. The bill would require the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to change its Form S-1 to make it easier for smaller companies to apply for Securities and Exchange Commission approval of their plans to sell securities to the public.
Wagner said the change, by streamlining the regulatory process for small businesses to go public, promised to help those firms raise capital to fund growth and create jobs.
The vote was unanimous with 426 yeas. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 6
BREAST CANCER COINS: The House has passed the Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coin Act, sponsored by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York. The bill would direct the Treasury Department to mint and sell gold, silver, and half-dollar coins with designs emblematic of the fight against breast cancer.
Maloney said it “will create the opportunity to raise millions of dollars for badly needed breast cancer research without spending one taxpayer dime.”
The vote was 421 yeas to 9 nays. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 7
TRANSPORTATION FUNDING EXTENSION: The House has passed the Highway and Transportation Funding Act, sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin. The bill would extend funding for federal highway and other surface transportation programs through Dec. 18.
Ryan said the extension was needed to continue work on highway construction projects and give Congress enough time to write a bill that reforms transportation spending.
A bill opponent, Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-California, said passing yet another short-term funding patch for transportation spending would put off a long-term fix, resulting in higher construction costs due to the inability to make firm plans for highway and other projects.
The vote was 312 yeas to 119 nays. Both Pingree and Poliquin were among the yeas.
House vote 8
WATER POLICY IN OREGON, CALIFORNIA: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-California, to the Western Water and American Food Security Act, that would authorize contractors working on water projects in the Klamath River basin of southern Oregon and northern California to take part in policy deliberations for managing endangered species.
LaMalfa said contractors in the basin deserved to have the same legal status as environmental groups, the fisheries industry and other local stakeholders.
An amendment opponent, Rep. Jared Huffman, D-California, said the amendment’s effect would be to elevate agricultural interests above all other stakeholders in water management decisions, denigrating local Indian tribes and fishermen, and putting endangered fish species in the Klamath basin at risk of extinction.
The vote was 246 yeas to 172 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
House vote 9
WESTERN WATER MANAGEMENT: The House has passed the Western Water and American Food Security Act, sponsored by Rep. David G. Valadao, R-California. The bill would authorize several federal agencies to embark on water storage projects and accelerated permit reviews for new water projects in Western states, and modify various water management policies, with the intent of increasing water availability for farmers.
Valadao said the drought in California and other Western states made it essential for Congress to act to change environmental rules and increase water supplies to farmers in areas such as California’s Central Valley so they can keep their farms healthy.
A bill opponent, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-California, said it would override states’ rights and measures to protect threatened and endangered wildlife, and Congress should instead seek to “invest in long-term drought resilience measures such as conservation, recycling, and desalination.”
The vote was 245 yeas to 176 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
Senate votes
Senate vote 1
STUDENT PRIVACY IN SCHOOLS: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would institute a committee of officials in state government, the education system, and outside experts charged with recommending to Congress measures to update the federal government’s laws on student privacy.
Hatch said given tenuous security protections for data on students that has been obtained by new education technologies, the commission was needed “to outline some commonsense and effective options for reform that we ought to consider.”
The vote was unanimous with 89 yeas. Both U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, were among the yeas.
Senate vote 2
FUNDING FOR LOW-INCOME STUDENTS: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would have allowed Title I federal funds for local schools with large numbers of children from low-income families to be attached to children and used for charter schools and other alternatives to traditional public schools.
Scott said that by freeing those children to leave underperforming public schools, the amendment would give them a greater opportunity for a solid education that expands their potential.
The vote was 45 yeas to 51 nays. Both Collins and King were among the nays.
Senate vote 3
EDUCATION AND HOMELESS CHILDREN: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would require school districts and states to report information on graduation rates for homeless and foster care children to the federal government.
Booker said the 1.6 million homeless American youth had unique education difficulties, and the reporting requirement would provide “essential information to educators, policymakers, and the public toward improving the educational outcomes for these students.”
An amendment opponent, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said child welfare agencies were better equipped to monitor foster children, and local schools would also find it hard to keep track of transient homeless students.
The vote was 56 yeas to 40 nays. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.
Senate vote 4
OPTING OUT OF MANDATORY TESTING: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jimmy Isakson, R-Georgia, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would require local school boards and other education agencies to inform their students’ parents at the start of the school year of policies regarding student participation in tests mandated by the federal government.
Isakson said that by allowing parents to know whether their children can opt-out of tests, the amendment would expand local control of education, helping parents and local education officials “make the decisions that are right for their children.”
The vote was unanimous with 97 yeas. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.
Senate vote 5
STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would have re-established an Education Department program for distributing mental health grants to school districts.
Heitkamp said that by promoting best practices for treating student behavioral problems, it would improve mental health systems at schools across the country.
An amendment opponent, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said there were already many federal mental health programs, making a new one unnecessary, and in any case the Health and Human Services Department was better suited than the Education Department to run a mental health grant program.
The vote was 58 yeas to 39 nays, with a three-fifths majority required for approval. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.
Senate vote 6
ACCESS TO EDUCATION RESOURCES: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would have required states to submit information to the federal government on student access to critical education resources and plans for ways to equalize school district access to those resources.
Reed said the requirement “will help provide equitable access to critical resources” and give American students more equal opportunities for education.
An amendment opponent, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said it would give the federal government power to micromanage local schools, an authority that should be reserved for states and local school boards.
The vote was 46 yeas to 50 nays. Both Collins and King were among the nays.
Senate vote 7
COLLEGE SAVINGS PROGRAM: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Christopher A. Coons, D-Delaware, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would authorize a pilot project for the creation of American Dream Accounts to provide information about college and financial literacy tied to college savings accounts for low-income students.
Coons said the accounts promised to help make a college education possible for every American child.
An amendment opponent, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said American Dream Accounts would duplicate two existing federal programs, and Congress needed more time to study whether or not a new program was a good idea.
The vote was 68 yeas to 30 nays. Collins gave a nay vote, and King gave a yea vote.
Senate vote 8
GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would establish a grant program to support full-service community schools developed in partnership with private groups.
Manchin said community schools expanded educational and other services to both students and the broader population living near a school, expanding opportunity in underprivileged areas.
An amendment opponent, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said “we need to stop this business of doing well-intentioned programs,” such as the community schools grant program that merely duplicate existing government programs.
The vote was 53 yeas to 44 nays. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.
Senate vote 9
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, to the Every Child Achieves Act. The amendment would have established a partnership between the states and the federal government for offering pre-kindergarten programs for children in low-income and moderate-income students.
Casey said expanding pre-kindergarten education was a wise investment because it increased learning and future economic opportunity.
An amendment opponent, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, said there were already 45 federal early childhood education programs, and the amendment would increase federal interference in local education efforts.
The vote was 45 yeas to 52 nays. Collins was among the nays, and King was among the yeas.
Senate vote 10
EDUCATION REFORM: The Senate has passed the Every Child Achieves Act, sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee. The bill would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and expand flexibility for states to develop their own education policies, including measurements of student, teacher, and school performance.
Alexander said it sought to fix the bureaucratic obstacles created by excessive federal control of local education by preserving federally required tests of academic achievement while leaving state governments and school districts free to make their own decisions on how to operate their schools.
“Ensuring that each and every child in the U.S. receives an excellent education has long been one of my highest priorities,” Collins said in a news release issued Thursday. “The Every Child Achieves Act strengthens the traditional roles played by our local educators, communities, and states and eliminates the pieces of No Child Left Behind that have proven unworkable. This bipartisan legislation will help provide students and teachers in Maine, and across the country, with the tools, resources, and increased flexibility they need for success.”
King also lauded the passage of the bill. “Decisions about what happens in the classroom should be made at the local level – not by someone behind a desk in Washington,” King said in statement Thursday. “Maine’s parents, teachers, and local school administrators understand what their students need to succeed, and this bill rightly returns control to them. By easing testing requirements, we’re giving our teachers the power to focus classroom time on the things that truly improve student learning, and by bringing the Internet to students, we can close the homework gap and ensure that the next generation of learners – particularly those in rural America – aren’t left behind. At the end of the day, Washington should be a partner in education, not a roadblock, and this bill is a concrete step in that direction.”
The vote was 81 yeas to 17 nays. Both Collins and King were among the yeas.