How West Virginia lawmakers voted on Capitol Hill

Jun. 27—WASHINGTON — Here's a look at how area members of Congress — Rep. David McKinley, R-1, and senators Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. voted over the previous week.

Along with the week's roll call votes, the Senate also passed this measure by voice vote: the Fixing Our Regulatory Mayhem Upsetting Little Americans Act (S. 4261), to suspend duties and other restrictions on the importation of infant formula to address the shortage of infant formula in the United States.

House Votes

Industrial Cybersecurity: The House passed the Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Training Act (H.R. 7777), sponsored by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif. The bill would establish an effort at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency for training cybersecurity workers on how to protect industrial control systems from cyber attacks. Swalwell said the effort "will help strengthen small businesses, particularly those in critical infrastructure, who do not yet today have cybersecurity defense forces receiving that training." The vote, on June 21, was 368 yeas to 47 nays.

Yea: McKinley

Mental Health: The House passed the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act (H.R. 7666), sponsored by Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J. The bill would reauthorize, through fiscal 2027, various mental and behavioral health programs, and expand eligibility for enrolling in opioid treatment programs. Pallone said the reauthorization "is going to help to support the mental health and well-being of millions of Americans, their families, and communities for years to come." The vote, on June 22, was 402 yeas to 20 nays.

Yea: McKinley

Health Innovations Agency: The House passed the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health Act (H.R. 5585), sponsored by Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, D-Calif., to create the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Health agency, which would, like similar existing agencies for the military and energy, fund research into novel health and medicine technologies. Eshoo said of her hopes for the agency: "Even if one deadly disease is addressed and cured, we will have succeeded. I think we are going to do better than that." The vote, on June 22, was 336 yeas to 85 nays.

Yea: McKinley

Active Shooters: The House rejected the Active Shooter Alert Act (H.R. 6538), sponsored by Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I. The bill would have established an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network at the Justice Department, and have the network make plans for sending alerts about active shooters by working with local and state governments. Cicilline said that by using federal resources to set up an alert system, the network "will provide access to an important tool for law enforcement departments across the country, regardless of their size or location." An opponent, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said state and local governments already had adequate alert systems, and a federal program would be used not for public safety, but to further "Democrat fear-mongering that guns are ever-present threats." The vote, on June 22, was 259 yeas to 162 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.

Yea: McKinley

School Meals: The House passed the Keep Kids Fed Act (S. 2089), sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. The bill would extend waivers for federal child nutrition programs that were first issued in response to closing school classrooms in early 2020 and have been used to provide free school meals, summer meals, and subsidies for child care. A supporter, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., said the extensions "would take a critical step to support child nutrition programs and prevent children from going hungry during the ongoing public health emergency." The vote, on June 23, was 376 yeas to 42 nays.

Yea: McKinley

Mental Health at Colleges: The House passed the Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through Campus Planning Act (H.R. 5407), sponsored by Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., to require the Education Department to promote mental health and suicide prevention plans at colleges and universities. Wild said of the need for such plans: "In the last several years, young Americans have faced unprecedented challenges resulting in a rise in mental health needs." The vote, on June 23, was 405 yeas to 16 nays.

Yea: McKinley

Collegiate Drug Use: The House passed the Campus Prevention and Recovery Services for Students Act (H.R. 6493), sponsored by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M. The bill would reauthorize, through fiscal 2028, the federal illicit drug and alcohol abuse prevention program for colleges and universities, and provide $15 million of annual funding for grants and other efforts to prevent alcohol and substance misuse at those campuses. Leger Fernandez said it "will help to cut the chains of addiction and unlock access to treatment and prevention for countless students across the United States." The vote, on June 23, was 371 yeas to 49 nays.

Yea: McKinley

Sex and Demographic Surveys: The House passed the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act (H.R. 4176), sponsored by Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz. The bill would require federal agencies to include information about non-heterosexuals in surveys that cover demographic data. Grijalva said: "The LGBTQI+ community deserves to be visible and heard so public policy can better reflect their needs." An opponent, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., said: "Federal surveys are no place to confront the American people or their children with intrusive questions and concerns about sexual orientation or gender identity." The vote, on June 23, was 220 yeas to 201 nays.

Nay: McKinley

Senate Votes

California Judge: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Ana Isabel de Alba to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. de Alba has been a superior court judge in Fresno County since 2018; for a decade previous, she was a private practice lawyer. A supporter, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called de Alba "a dedicated, fair, and universally respected public servant, respected by her colleagues." The vote, on June 21, was 53 yeas to 45 nays.

Yea: Manchin

Nay: Capito

Consumer Products Commissioner: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Mary Boyle to be on the Consumer Product Safety Commission for a 7-year term ending in fall 2025. Boyle, currently the commission's executive director, has been at the CPSC for more than a decade. A supporter, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said Boyle "is deeply knowledgeable about consumer product safety and the functioning of the CPSC. I have every confidence that she will be ready to lead on day one." An opponent, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., cited "significant concerns about major administrative failures at the agency during Ms. Boyle's tenure as executive director there, including the improper disclosure of unredacted manufacturer and consumer data." The vote, on June 22, was 50 yeas to 48 nays.

Yea: Manchin

Nay: Capito

Gun Violence: The Senate passed an amendment to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (S. 2938) that would establish a variety of measures intended to reduce mass shootings, including spending on behavioral health clinics, funding for school safety efforts, and restrictions on gun ownership by ex-convicts and those found by a court to be mentally ill. A supporter, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the amendment sought to "create real changes in communities across this country — safer, healthier communities; stronger, more secure schools; saving lives." An opponent, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cited concerns that the restrictions would infringe "the constitutional right to bear arms for the innocent." The vote, on June 23, was 65 yeas to 33 nays.

Yea: Manchin, Capito