Congressional roll call

Here’s how area members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending May 25.

HOUSE

MILITARY BUDGET: Voting 351-66, the House on May 24 authorized a $717 billion military budget (HR 5515) for fiscal 2019, including $69 billion for war-fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and other theaters and $57 billion for active-duty and retiree health care. The bill sets a 2.6 percent pay raise for uniformed personnel; adds a 12th aircraft carrier to the Navy fleet; bars detainee transfers from the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, military prison; funds a military parade in Washington requested by President Trump; bans the purchase or use of technology made by the Chinese telecom giant ZTE, which violated U.S. sanctions on North Korea and Iran; prohibits base closures but allows smaller installations to be shuttered if the state’s governor approves; funds programs for military victims of sexual assault and approves tens of billions for conventional and nuclear weapons while lifting a ban on the development of low-yield nuclear weapons. A yes vote was to pass the bill.

John Faso, R-Kinderhook:

Yes

Sean Maloney, D-Cold Spring: Yes LOW-YIELD NUCLEAR WEAPONS FUNDING: Voting 188 for and 226 against, the House on May 23 refused to restrict funding in HR 5515 (above) for a low-yield nuclear weapon — the W762 warhead — to be mounted on submarine-launched Trident ballistic missiles. Military planners say lowyield, or tactical, warheads are for use in limited conflicts, in contrast to strategic nuclear weapons, which are designed to obliterate targets far from the immediate battlefield.

Supporters of developing tactical nuclear weapons say the United States needs to counter Russia’s extensive low-yield arsenal. Critics say the weapons heighten the risk of Armageddon because it is folly to think nuclear war can be waged on a limited basis. The amendment would have withheld half the money authorized for the program pending further studies of its strategic implications. A yes vote was to restrict funding in the 2019 military budget for developing lowyield nuclear weapons.

Faso: No Maloney: Yes BACKGROUND CHECKS

ON GUN SALES: Voting 224-191, the House on May 24 blocked a Democratic attempt to amend HR 5515 (above) to expand background checks on commercial gun transactions, requiring checks on sales over the Internet and between private parties at gun shows. The measure would plug loopholes that allow an estimated 40 percent of gun sales to avoid mandatory checks via the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System. This was the first congressional vote on gun issues since the May 18 shootings at a Santa Fe, Texas, high school that killed 10 people and wounded 10 others. A yes vote was in opposition to adding language on background checks to the 2019 military budget. Faso: Yes

Maloney: No BANKING SAFEGUARDS:

Voting 258 159, the House on May 22 passed a bipartisan bill (S 2155) that would largely exempt community banks and credit unions from the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-oversight law. The measure would also scale back restrictions the law placed on about 15 of the largest banks and 25 medium-sized regional banks, while leaving intact the authority of the Consumer

Financial Protection Bureau to operate as an independent agency largely free of congressional oversight. The bill weakens antidiscrimination rules under which banks report data on lending to minorities, raising from 50 to 500 the number of home loans a bank can issue before becoming subject to the Dodd-Frank reporting requirement. Other provisions would require credit reporting companies to allow consumers to freeze their credit reports free of charge and protect student loan borrowers when a cosigner dies or enters bankruptcy. A yes vote was to send the bill to President Trump. Faso: Yes

Maloney: Yes DRUGS FOR TERMINALLY

ILL: The House on May 22 passed, 250 for and 169 against, a bill (S 204) that would give the terminally ill broad access to experimental drugs that have not received Food and Drug Administration approval. The bill would grant legal protection to doctors, hospitals and drug firms promoting these unproven treatments, which, to qualify under the bill, must have passed one clinical trial and have a pending application at the FDA. Supporters said dying persons deserve access to highrisk interventions as a matter of personal freedom, while opponents said the bill would give false hope to desperate individuals and weaken long-established FDA safety procedures. A yes vote was to pass the bill. Faso: Yes

Maloney: Yes

SENATE

VETERANS’ HEALTH CARE: Voting 92-5, the Senate on May 23 passed a bill (S 2372) that would upgrade a fouryear-old “community care” program in which veterans who live far from Veterans Health Administration facilities or face lengthy waits for treatment can promptly

receive publicly funded care from close-to-home providers in the private sector. The bill also would start a process to realign, consolidate or close some of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ 1,200-plus medical centers and outpatient clinics. In addition, the bill would raise Medicare reimbursement rates for veterans at rural hospitals and expand financial support to immediate and extended family members who care for veterans. A yes vote was to send the bill to President Trump.

Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.:

Yes Charles Schumer, D-N.Y: Yes

DANA BAIOCCO, CONSUMER PRODUCTS REGULA

TOR: Voting 50-45, the Senate on May 22 confirmed Dana Baiocco, an attorney in private practice, for a seat on the five-member U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. An independent agency armed with recall authority, the commission regulates the manufacture and safety of thousands of everyday products, with a focus on mechanical, fire, electrical or chemical hazards. Backers said Baiocco’s experience as a product-safety litigator at the Jones Day law firm in Washington qualifies her for the commission. But critics said she has made a career out of defending corporations including Mattel and Yamaha that have been the subject of enforcement actions by the commission. She declined to provide the Senate with a full list of firms she has represented, citing attorney-client privilege. A yes vote was to confirm the nominee. Gillibrand: No Schumer: No

COMING UP

Congress is in Memorial Day recess the week of May 28. © 2018 Thomas Voting Reports Inc.