HOW TEXAS VOTED
WASHINGTON — How the Texas congressional delegation voted on major issues last week:
Senate
1. Acquitting Trump on Article I — Abuse of Power: Failed, 48-52, to convict President Donald Trump on the first of two articles of impeachment approved by the House. Article I charged Trump with having abused the power of the presidency by withholding military aid and an Oval Office visit from Ukraine as leverage to obtain personal political favors aimed at boosting his 2020 re-election prospects.
A yes vote was in favor of removing the president from office.
2. Acquitting Trump on Article II — Obstruction of Congress: Failed, 47-53, to convict Trump on the second article of impeachment. Article II charged Trump with directing executive branch officials and agencies to not comply with subpoenas for witnesses and documents submitted by the House in its impeachment inquiry.
A yes vote was in favor of removing the president from office.
House
1. Opposing block grants for Medicaid: Voted, 223-190, to condemn a Trump administration plan to scale back Medicaid’s traditional status as an entitlement program in which all individuals who meet certain income or disability criteria receive guaranteed access to defined standards of health care. The measure (H Res 826) was non-binding. Under proposed Department of Health and Human Services regulations, states could choose to shift some of their Medicaid offerings to a blockgrant program with caps put on funding levels and access to care determined by discretionary state policies rather than federally set requirements.
A yes vote was in opposition to funding part of Medicaid with block grants.
2. Expanding labor laws and worker r ights: Passed, 224-194, a Democratic-sponsored bill (HR 2474) that would amend U.S. labor laws and regulations in order to expand union membership and strengthen employee rights to bargain for better pay, benefits and working conditions.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
3. Retaining right-towork laws: Defeated, 187-232, a GOP-sponsored amendment that sought to strip HR 2474 (above) of language that would effectively void the right-towork laws now operative in 27 states. Under those laws, employees are entitled to receive all the benefits of a union contract without having to pay fees or dues to the bargaining unit that negotiated on their behalf.
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
4. Blocking rebuke of Speaker Pelosi: Voted, 224-193, to block an attempt by Republicans to rebuke Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for having torn apart, on national television, a copy of Trump’s State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.
A yes vote was in opposition to rebuking the speaker.
5. Providing disaster aid to Puerto Rico: Passed, 237-161, a bill (HR 5687) that would provide Puerto Rico with $3.35 billion in disaster aid to help it recover from earthquakes this year and hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The bill would allocate $1.25 billion for rebuilding roads and more than $2 billion for other recovery projects.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the House.