Here's how area members of Congress voted
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Here's a look at how area members of Congress voted March 24 through March 30:
Along with the week's roll call votes, the House also passed the following measure by voice vote: the Undersea Cable Control Act (H.R. 1189), to require the development of a strategy for eliminating the availability to foreign adversaries of products and technologies for deploying undersea telecommunications cables.
The Senate also passed the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act (S. 777), to increase, effective Dec. 1, 2023, the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans.
House
House Vote 1:PARENTS AND SCHOOLS: The House has passed the Parents Bill of Rights Act (H.R. 5), sponsored by Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., to make federal funding for local elementary and secondary schools contingent on them notifying a student's parents of their rights regarding awareness and oversight of the school's policies, finances and procedures. The vote, on March 24, was 213 yeas to 208 nays.YEAS: Jim Jordan R-OH (4th), Bob Latta R-OH (5th)
House Vote 2:ORGAN HARVESTING: The House has passed the Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act (H.R. 1154), sponsored by Rep. Christopher H. Smith, R-N.J., to direct the president to impose sanctions on foreigners who traffic in organs taken from people forcibly and have the State Department revoke the passports of people convicted of forced organ trafficking crimes. The vote, on March 27, was 413 yeas to 2 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th); Latta R-OH (5th)
House Vote 3:STATUS OF CHINA: The House has passed the PRC Is Not a Developing Country Act (H.R. 1107), sponsored by Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., to direct the State Department to advocate that international organizations stop classifying China (PRC) as a developing country, which results in beneficial treatment by those organizations. The vote, on March 27, was unanimous with 415 yeas.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)
House Vote 4:LNG EXPORTS: The House has agreed to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), to express the sense of Congress as criticizing the denial of permits for the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal that would have been built on the Oregon coast. The vote, on March 29, was 221 yeas to 208 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)
House Vote 5:FOSSIL FUEL TAX INCREASES: The House has agreed to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., to the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), to express the sense of Congress as criticizing the tax increases on oil and natural gas proposed in President Biden's fiscal 2024 budget request. The vote, on March 29, was 228 yeas to 206 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)
House Vote 6:NATURAL GAS STOVES: The House has agreed to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Gary J. Palmer, R-Ala., to the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), to bar the Energy Department (DOE) from implementing regulations to block the sale of natural gas-fueled stoves to consumers. The vote, on March 29, was 251 yeas to 181 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)
House Vote 7:CHINA PURCHASES OF FARMLAND: The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., to the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), that would bar China's Communist Party from buying American farmland or land used to generate renewable energy. The vote, on March 30, was 407 yeas to 26 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)
House Vote 8:ENERGY POLICY: The House has passed the Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1), sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., to make a variety of changes to federal energy policies. Changes include: faster regulatory reviews of energy development projects, barring the president from banning hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of wells, removing some restrictions on oil and natural gas imports and exports, and ending several federal programs subsidizing measures such as building energy efficiency improvements. The vote, on March 30, was 225 yeas to 204 nays.YEAS: Jordan R-OH (4th), Latta R-OH (5th)
Senate
Senate Vote 1:PANDEMIC RESPONSE TREATIES: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to a bill (S. 316) that would have required Senate ratification before the U.S. joined any convention or agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response reached by the World Health Assembly, which is part of the World Health Organization. The vote, on March 28, was 47 yeas to 49 nays.NAYS: Sherrod Brown D-OHYEAS: J.D. Vance R-OH
Senate Vote 2:MILITARY ACTION AGAINST IRAN: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to a bill (S. 316) that would have stated that the president retains authority to use military force against Iran's military and its actions against U.S. soldiers in the Middle East. The vote, on March 28, was 41 yeas to 55 nays.NAYS: Brown D-OH, Vance R-OH
Senate Vote 3:AFGHANISTAN INVESTIGATION: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to a bill (S. 316) that would have established a Joint Select Committee on Afghanistan in Congress to make an investigation into the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan in summer 2021. The vote, on March 28, was 33 yeas to 62 nays.NAYS: Brown D-OH, Vance R-OH
Senate Vote 4:OVERSIGHT OF UKRAINE AID: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to a bill (S. 316) that would have established an Office of the Special Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance to be charged with overseeing the use of aid sent to Ukraine in its war with Russia. The vote, on March 28, was 26 yeas to 68 nays.NAYS: Brown D-OHYEAS: Vance R-OH
Senate Vote 5:IRAQ WARS AUTHORIZATIONS: The Senate has passed a bill (S. 316), sponsored by Sen. Timothy Kaine, D-Va., to repeal the 1991 and 2002 resolutions that authorized use of military force against Iraq. The vote, on March 29, was 66 yeas to 30 nays.YEAS: Brown D-OH, Vance R-OH
Senate Vote 6:REGULATING WATERWAYS: The Senate has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 27), sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., to disapprove of and void an Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency rule issued this January that defines Waters of the United States (WOTUS). Such waters would be subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act. The vote, on March 29, was 53 yeas to 43 nays.NAYS: Brown D-OHYEAS: Vance R-OH
Senate Vote 7:ENDING NATIONAL COVID EMERGENCY: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 7), sponsored by Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Ariz., to end the national emergency in response to COVID that was declared by President Trump on March 13, 2020. The vote, on March 29, was 68 yeas to 23 nays.YEAS: Brown D-OH, Vance R-OH
Senate Vote 8:STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Richard Verma to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. Verma, U.S. ambassador to India during the Obama administration, is currently Mastercard's chief legal officer and head of global public policy. The vote, on March 30, was 67 yeas to 26 nays.YEAS: Brown D-OHNAYS: Vance R-OH
Senate Vote 9:INDUSTRIAL BASE POLICY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Laura Taylor-Kale to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. Taylor-Kale has been a senior official at the World Bank, an official in the second Obama administration, and most recently was a Council on Foreign Relations research fellow for innovation and economic competitiveness. The vote, on March 30, was 63 yeas to 27 nays.YEAS: Brown D-OHNAYS: Vance R-OH
This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Votes cast by area members of Congress March 24-30
