congressional roll call
HOUSE
FOREST FIRES, ENVIRONMENTAL RULES:
Voting 300 for and 118 against, the House on June 21 passed a bill (HR 1873) that would waive environmental rules to speed the removal of dead trees and combustible vegetation adjacent to power lines in utility rights-of-way on federal land. Backers called the bill an important fire-prevention measure on U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management property. But foes said its loose definition of land ”adjacent” to power lines would lead to clear-cutting in the name of fire prevention.
Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., said: ”When we remove overgrown vegetation near our electric grid on federal lands, we remove the fuel (for) wildfires. By reducing the risk of wildfire, we reduce the risk of an interruption of our electrical grid. This is so much just plain common sense that it baffles me that we are having to debate it….”
Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said: ”Wildfires are a huge problem in our country….But instead of taking steps to reduce wildfire threats, this bill tries to scare us into weakening environmental safeguards and giving away public-land management to states and localities.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate. ARKANSAS
Voting yes: Bruce Westerman, R-4 TEXAS
Voting yes: Louie Gohmert, R-1, John Ratcliffe, R-4
WATER PROJECTS, ENVIRONMENTAL RULES:
Voting 233 for and 180 against, the House on June 22 passed a bill (HR 1654) that would ease environmental rules in order to give state and local authorities more freedom to build dams and reservoirs on federal land in western states. The Bureau of Reclamation would be put in charge of a ”one-stop shop” permitting process created by the bill to expedite projects on Department of the Interior and Department of Agriculture land. Also under the bill, scientific data used by federal agencies to underpin environmental rulings would have to be publicly disclosed.
Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said: ”If you want to misuse our environmental laws to block any new water storage then you should vote against this bill. We will continue to see increasingly severe water shortages and spiraling water and electricity bills.”
Jared Huffman, D-Calif., called it ”bunk” to assert that ”environmental laws are blocking new dam construction…. New dams don’t get built because they don’t yield enough water to justify their multibillion-dollar price tags.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate. ARKANSAS
Voting yes: Westerman TEXAS Voting yes: Gohmert, Ratcliffe
PROTECTION OF COMMERCIAL FISHERIES:
Voting 179 for and 232 against, the House on June 22 defeated an amendment that sought to prevent HR 1654 (above) from expediting any water project on federal land that is likely to diminish fish populations essential to the economic survival of commercial fisheries.
Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif., said: ”The construction of poorly permitted dams has been a major cause of mortality for California’s fisheries. In (the) Central Valley, they currently block Chinook salmon and steelhead from more than 90 percent of the historical spawning habitat.”
Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said: ”Why the amendment? Well, for one reason and one reason only, I think, because for the last eight years, we have had an administration that was actively hostile to constructing new reservoirs.” A yes vote was to adopt the amendment. ARKANSAS
Voting no: Westerman TEXAS Voting no: Gohmert, Ratcliffe
GOP TAX OVERHAUL, TRUMP RETURNS:
Voting 227 for and 188 against, the House on June 21 blocked a Democratic bid for floor debate on a measure delaying the GOP’s planned overhaul of the tax code until after President Trump has released his personal returns for 2006-2015 and business returns or return information for the 500-plus companies worldwide that he either controls or serves in an official capacity.
As a privileged resolution, the measure was not debatable. It stated, in part, that the American public deserves to know ”how any changes to the tax code might financially benefit the president.” This was the first attempt by House Democrats to require public disclosure of Trump’s business returns and their ninth unsuccessful bid to force floor debate on whether to require disclosure of his personal returns.
A yes vote opposed floor debate on whether to compel business and personal tax disclosures by Trump. ARKANSAS
Voting yes: Westerman TEXAS Voting yes: Gohmert, Ratcliffe
WAGE SUBSIDIES FOR WELFARE RECIPIENTS:
Voting 377 for and 34 against, the House on June 23 passed a bill (HR 2842) that would allocate $100 million over one year for subsidizing up to half the wages of welfare recipients hired by companies and other employers for work-training and apprenticeship programs. States would administer the venture within the federally funded welfare program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Tom Cole, R-Okla., said the bill is ”a win-win for everyone involved — the workers, the employers, the community and the country.”
Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said the program could be shortlived given that President Trump’s proposed budget would abolish the fund that is the source of the $100 million.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate. ARKANSAS
Voting yes: Westerman TEXAS Voting yes: Ratcliffe SENATE
MARSHALL BILLINGSLEA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR TERRORIST FINANCING:
Voting 65 for and 35 against, the Senate on June 22 confirmed Marshall Billingslea, a managing director at a New York Citybased accounting firm, as the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for terrorist financing. The nominee held high positions at the Department of Defense and NATO under President George W. Bush.
Michael Crapo, R-Idaho, called Billingslea ”exceptionally qualified” to work with ”national-security and law-enforcement communities, the private sector, foreign governments and other entities to carry out this mission.”
No senator spoke against the nominee.
A yes vote was to confirm Billingslea. ARKANSAS
Voting yes: Tom Cotton, R, John Boozman, R TEXAS
Voting yes: John Cornyn, R, Ted Cruz, R KEY VOTES AHEAD
In the week of June 26, the Senate will debate a bill that partially replaces the Affordable Care Act, while the House schedule was to be announced.