How Arkansas’ congressional delegation voted
Here is how Arkansas’ U.S. senators and U.S. representatives voted on major roll call votes during the week that ended Friday.
HOUSE
The House was in recess.
SENATE
Programs to combat opioids scourge. Passed 99-1, a package of 70 bills (HR6) that would authorize $500 million over three years for state and local programs to fight the nation’s growing addiction to illicit drugs including opioids. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, cast the dissenting vote.
In part, the measure would increase the number of recovery facilities for drug addicts; expand government and private research into nonaddictive pain therapies; expand telemedicine care in rural areas; allow Medicaid reimbursement for treating infants born with addictions; and set uniform hospital standards for spotting opiate addiction. In addition, the bill would require the postal service to develop technology for detecting substances including fentanyl in packages from abroad just as private carriers such as UPS and FedEx must do.
John Boozman, R-Ark., said the legislation “covers a wide range of avenues to attack this problem and get individuals the help and support they need to recover. This includes prevention, treatment, additional law enforcement tools and expanding research into nonaddictive pain treatments.” Minority Leader Charles Schumer,
Ban on pharmacy gag
clauses. Passed 98-2, a bill (S2554) that would allow pharmacists to tell customers when it is cheaper to buy drugs without insurance because the cash price is less than the co-pay charge. The bill prohibits “gag clauses” in contracts between pharmacies and health insurers that bar such disclosures to consumers. Sponsor Susan Collins, R-Maine, said her bill would prohibit “an egregious practice that prevents pharmacists from telling their customers they could purchase their prescriptions with less money by paying out of pocket rather than using their insurance.”
Mike Lee, R-Utah, called pharmacy gag clauses “absurd” and “harmful” but said the bill goes too far because “it is not always the role of the federal government to regulate everything.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the House.
Boozman (R)
Cotton (R)
States’ rights on gag clauses. Refused 11-89, to scale back S2554 (above) so that it would exempt individual and group health plans administered by states under state law. Backers of the amendment said that under federalism, federal regulation of purely state entities is unconstitutional. But opponents said there is a broad overlap of federal and state interests in the area of drug prices. At least 26 states have passed laws banning pharmacy gag clauses.
Mike Lee, R-Utah, said: “The way to help ordinary American citizens with high drug costs is not to further concentrate power within Washington, D.C. The federal government’s intervention in health care has already caused huge distortions in the market.” Susan Collins, R-Maine, said: “It seems very arbitrary to me to exclude potentially 85 million Americans from the protections this bill would provide when there is such a clear federal nexus to act in this area.”
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
Boozman (R)
Cotton (R)
$854 billion spending bill
for 2019. Agreed 93-7, to the conference report on an $854 billion appropriations bill (HR6157) that would provide $675 billion for the Department of Defense, $90.1 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, $71.4 billion for the Department of Education, $12.1 billion for the Department of Labor and nearly $6 billion for other agencies and programs in fiscal 2019. The military budget would fund a 2.6 percent pay raise for those in uniform while providing $68.1 billion for combat operations abroad and more than $57 billion for active-duty, family and retiree health care. The bill also would appropriate $3.7 billion for addressing opioid addiction; $2.3 billion for Alzheimer’s research; $445 million for charter schools; another $445 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; and $95 million in grants to help K-12 schools prevent and recover from classroom shootings. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the measure “increases appropriations in the Department of Defense by $19.8 billion over fiscal year 2018” while giving the Pentagon “certainty in their funding — on time on October 1 — for the first time in 10 years.” Mike Lee, R-Utah, objected to the fact that the legislation “will contain no new reforms protecting unborn children or getting federal taxpayers out of the abortion business.” A yes vote was to agree to the conference report. Boozman (R)
Cotton (R)