Texarkana Gazette

congressio­nal roll call

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HOUSE DELAY OF AIR-QUALITY STANDARDS:

Voting 229 for and 199 against, the House on July 18 passed a GOP-sponsored bill (HR 806) that would extend from 2017 to 2025 the deadline for states to adopt stricter standards under the Clean Air Act for reducing ground-level concentrat­ions of ozone, or smog. This would delay an Environmen­tal Protection Agency rule that requires ozone to be reduced from 75 parts per billion to 70 ppb by 2017. The bill also changes from five years to 10 years the frequency of EPA reviews to ensure that National Ambient Air Quality Standards reflect the latest scientific and medical informatio­n.

David McKinley, R-W.Va., said, “We all want clean air. But America has made great strides already. Ozone is down by one-third since 1980. But the regulation­s imposed by President Obama in 2015 would cost the economy billions of dollars each year and hamper job growth.”

Kathy Castor, D-Fla., said, “Ozone, or smog, is a corrosive gas that forms when emissions from smokestack­s and tailpipes cook in the heat and sunlight. It triggers asthma and other respirator­y illnesses. It is very expensive. It is not fair for Republican­s to let polluters off the hook and shift costs to hardworkin­g American families.”

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

PROTECTION­S FOR VULNERABLE POPULATION­S:

Voting 194 for and 232 against, the House on July 18 defeated a bid by Democrats to prevent HR 806 (above) from fully taking effect if an EPA scientific advisory committee concludes it would raise health risks to vulnerable population­s such as outdoor workers, children, seniors, pregnant women and minority and low-income communitie­s.

Kathy Castor, D-Fla., said, “Approximat­ely 125 million Americans still live in areas with dangerous levels of air pollution. Improving ozone standards can help avoid premature deaths, childhood asthma attacks and missed school days.”

John Shimkus, R-Ill., said the bill “ensures we will continue to deliver effective environmen­tal protection­s, with reforms that will also help expand economic opportunit­y in communitie­s around the nation.”

A yes vote was to adopt the amendment. ARKANSAS

Voting no: Westerman TEXAS

Voting no: Gohmert Not voting: Ratcliffe

NATURAL GAS PIPELINE PERMITS:

Voting 248 for and 179 against, the House on July 19 passed a GOPsponsor­ed bill (HR 2910) that would set tight deadlines for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other federal and state agencies to rule on applicatio­ns for permits to build interstate natural gas pipelines. While backers said the bill would streamline an overly bureaucrat­ic process, critics said it would trample on private and tribal property rights and undercut environmen­tal laws. In part, the bill would allow conditiona­l permits to be granted on the basis of aerial data collected by drones that critics said would fail to detect historical sites, endangered species and wetlands. Also under the bill, most agency reviews would have to run concurrent­ly and be completed within 90 days.

Bill Flores, R-Texas, said Congress “should modernize our pipeline infrastruc­ture to match our abundant natural gas resources,” so that “all parts of the country can realize the benefits of clean, affordable and abundant natural gas.”

Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said, “Congress should not make it easier for private companies to claim eminent domain and potentiall­y (harm) historical sites, reservoirs, farms and other

private properties.”

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

Voting yes: Westerman TEXAS Voting yes: Gohmert, Ratcliffe

CROSS-BORDER ENERGY PIPELINES:

Voting 254 for and 175 against, the House on July 19 passed a bill (HR 2883) that would end the requiremen­t that presidents approve permits for oil and natural-gas pipelines and electric-transmissi­on facilities that cross U.S. borders. The bill authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue certificat­es for pipelines and the Department of Energy to grant approvals for electricit­y lines. Debate touched on the long-running dispute over the Keystone XL pipeline through the U.S.-Canada border, which the Trump administra­tion recently approved following years of blockage by the Obama administra­tion on environmen­tal grounds.

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

Voting yes: Westerman TEXAS Voting yes: Gohmert, Ratcliffe

AMERICAN-MADE IRON AND STEEL:

Voting 193 for and 232 against, the House on July 19 defeated a Democratic motion requiring all iron and steel components of cross-border pipelines approved under HR 2883 (above) to be made in the United States.

Tom O’Halleran, D-Ariz., said, “We need to rebuild America’s energy infrastruc­ture, but we need to rebuild America by creating American jobs.”

Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said the measure would “deny the important benefits of this legislatio­n to the American workers (and) businesses and our collective energy security.”

A yes vote was to adopt a made-in-America requiremen­t. ARKANSAS

Voting no: Westerman TEXAS Voting no: Gohmert, Ratcliffe

GOP TAX OVERHAUL, TRUMP RETURNS:

Voting 235 for and 190 against, the House on July 19 blocked a Democratic bid for floor debate on a measure that would delay 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 500plus 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.”

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 SENATE

PATRICK SHANAHAN CONFIRMATI­ON:

Voting 92 for and seven against, the Senate on July 18 confirmed Patrick M. Shanahan, 55, a longtime executive at The Boeing Company, as deputy secretary of defense, the Pentagon’s second-ranking position. Shanahan headed Boeing’s commercial aircraft and missile defense operations, among other positions in 31 years with the company.

A yes vote was to confirm

Shanahan. ARKANSAS

Voting yes: Tom Cotton, R, John Boozman, R TEXAS

Voting yes: John Cornyn, R, Ted Cruz, R KEY VOTES AHEAD

The House will take up the fiscal 2018 budget resolution in the week of July 24, while the Senate will conduct at least one vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act.

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