Houston Chronicle Sunday

HOW TEXAS VOTED

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WASHINGTON — How the Texas congressio­nal delegation voted on major issues last week:

Senate

1. Rachel Brand, associate attorney general: Confirmed, 52-46, Rachel L. Brand as associate attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy, where she will oversee the administra­tion’s judicial appointmen­ts. Brand had been a faculty member at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.

A yes vote was to confirm Brand for the Department of Justice position.

2. Jeffrey Rosen, deputy transporta­tion secretary: Confirmed, 56-42, Jeffrey A. Rosen as deputy secretary of the Department of Transporta­tion (DOT), where he will oversee daily operations of the agency and its 55,000 employees. A partner in a Washington law firm, Rosen previously served in the George W. Bush administra­tion as the top attorney at DOT and the Office of Management and Budget. Democrats said he has a weak regulatory record in areas such as enforcing autosafety and fuel-economy standards.

A yes vote was to confirm Rosen as the secondrank­ing DOT official.

House

1. Russian election meddling: Voted, 230189, to block a Democratic bid to force floor considerat­ion of a bill (HR 356) now in committee that would create an independen­t commission for probing Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election by electronic means such as hacking and spreading false informatio­n.

The bill has 197 Democratic sponsors along with Republican sponsors Walter Jones of North Carolina and Justin Amash of Michigan.

A yes vote was to keep the bill in committee.

2. Death penalty expansion: Passed, 271-143, a bill (HR 115) that would authorize federal courts deciding whether to impose the death penalty to treat as an “aggravatin­g circumstan­ce” the murder or attempted murder of non-federal police or first responders. This would raise from 16 to 17 the number of aggravatin­g factors upon which federal judges and juries can base capital-punishment decisions.

A yes vote was to send the GOP-sponsored bill to the Senate.

3. Donald Trump’s tax returns: Voted, 226188, to block a parliament­ary attempt by Democrats to force floor debate on a bill (HR 305) now in committee that would require President Trump and future presidenti­al nominees to disclose their three most recent federal tax returns.

A yes vote opposed floor considerat­ion of the disclosure bill.

4. Warrantles­s arrests by probation officers: Passed, 229-177, a GOP-sponsored bill (HR 1039) that would authorize federal probation officers to make on-the-spot arrests without warrants of hostile third parties they see as hampering their work with probatione­rs.

While backers called this an important protective measure, critics said it could violate constituti­onal safeguards against unreasonab­le searches and seizures.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

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