WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how Maine’s members of Congress voted over the previous week.
Along with roll call votes, the Senate also took action on the following legislation. It passed the STEM Education Act, to include computer science as a science, technology, engineering and mathematics discipline, and support existing STEM education programs at the National Science Foundation; passed the Mandatory Price Reporting Act, to extend mandatory livestock price reporting rules; and passed a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, to require the development of a regional strategy to address the threat posed by Boko Haram in West Africa.
“This bipartisan legislation signals a renewed congressional commitment to pursuing Boko Haram and bolstering U.S. efforts throughout the region. The already dire situation there will continue to worsen if the current trajectory is not significantly altered,” Collins said in a Sept. 22 news release. “By definition, Boko Haram means Western education is forbidden. We must never forget that the girls of Nigeria were targeted simply because they chose to pursue an education.”
Collin’s bill now awaits action in the U.S. House.
House votes
House vote 1
FUNDING FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD: The House has passed the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R-Tennessee. The bill would enact a one-year moratorium on federal funding for Planned Parenthood unless the group stops performing abortions or funding abortions by other entities.
Black said the bill, by adding $235 million of funding for community health centers, would reallocate resources from Planned Parenthood to facilities “that provide true preventative care to those who need it the most.”
U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-2nd District, who has been concerned about allegation that the women’s health care group has been using federal funds for abortions “in order to harvest and sell, for profit, the body parts of unborn babies,” said, “I am pleased that this legislation does not decrease women’s health care funding in the 2nd District, but instead provides funding for women’s health care to qualified health facilities.”
A bill opponent, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-New Jersey, said the community health centers “don’t have the ability to provide the women’s health needs” Planned Parenthood can provide.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, also spoke out against defunding Planned Parenthood, saying in a Sept. 18 news release it “would have a real, profound, negative impact on the 10,000 people in Maine who get health care from Planned Parenthood every year, many of whom have no other access to care.
“Planned Parenthood provides basic health care like cancer screenings, vaccinations,wellness exams and STD testing. Basic care that will mean the difference between health and sickness, prosperity and poverty, or even life and death, for women in my state.”
The vote was 241 yeas to 187 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
House vote 2
INFANTS AND ABORTION: The House has passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Arizona. The bill would provide full legal protections for infants born alive after an attempted abortion, and stipulate punishment for those who kill such infants.
Franks said the bill, by recognizing “the personhood of these little born-alive babies,” would protect them from the abortion industry.
A bill opponent, U.S. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-New York, said it “attempts to criminalize legal medical care and punish millions of women by rolling back reproductive choices.”
The vote was 248 yeas to 177 nays. Pingree gave a nay vote, and Poliquin gave a yea vote.
Senate votes
Senate vote 1
LATE-TERM ABORTIONS: The Senate has rejected a cloture motion to end debate on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, sponsored by Arizona Rep. Franks. The bill would bar abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, except in cases of rape or incest against a minor, or when the abortion is deemed necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman.
A supporter, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, said studies have shown “that at approximately 5 months babies can feel pain,” and the bill “can save more than 18,000 lives each and every year.”
A bill opponent, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, said the restrictions imposed by it would leave women without “the choice to terminate a pregnancy for her own health protection and for the opportunity to have another baby.”
The vote was 54 yeas to 42 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to end debate. Both U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, and Angus King, I-Maine, were among the nays.
Senate vote 2
DEBATING MILITARY SPENDING BILL: The Senate has rejected a cloture motion to end debate on the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Pennsylvania. The bill would provide $578 billion for the military in fiscal 2016, including $88.4 billion for war efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, and a 2.3 percent pay increase for military members.
A supporter of ending debate, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said resolving uncertainty about the military’s 2016 budget was an urgent matter “at a time with unprecedented international threats” to the U.S.
An opponent, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said Democrats needed “a budget agreement that fairly prevents mindless sequester cuts to defense and the middle class alike” before agreeing to end debate on the bill.
The vote was 54 yeas to 42 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to end debate. Collins gave a yea vote, and King gave a nay vote.
Senate vote 3
TEMPORARY GOVERNMENT FUNDING: The Senate has rejected a cloture motion to end debate on the Hire More Heroes Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Illinois. The bill would provide continuing appropriations to fund the federal government through Dec. 11.
A supporter, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the funding would avert a government shutdown that could begin Oct. 1.
A bill opponent, U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Maryland, said an alternative government budget was needed, one that cancels sequester spending cuts and increases spending on programs that boost the economy and diminish income inequality.
King called on Congress in a Sept. 24 news release to “immediately pass a spending bill that adequately funds the government and averts a shutdown so that we can get down to work and negotiate the type of long-term budget agreement that our country needs to lift sequestration and grow the economy.”
The vote was 47 yeas to 52 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to end debate. Both Collins and King were among the nays.