Votes in the US House
HR7023: Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act Voting 213 for and 205 against,
the House on Thursday passed a bill that modifies requirements under the Clean Water Act, including requirements concerning water quality criteria, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program, the permit program for discharging dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, and the meaning of waters of the United States.
First, the bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to develop any new or revised water quality criteria for states through a rule.
Next, the bill modifies the NPDES program, including by providing statutory authority for provisions that shield NPDES permit holders from liability under certain circumstances. It also provides statutory authority for the EPA to issue general permits under the program. The EPA must also provide written notification two years before the expiration of a general permit. If notice is not provided by that deadline, then discharges under the expired permit may continue until a new permit is issued.
Additionally, the bill modifies the permitting program of the EPA and the U.S. Corps of Engineers that regulates the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States. For example, the bill limits the EPA’s veto authority to restrict, prohibit, deny or withdraw the specification by the Corps of a site for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States. The bill also modifies requirements for general permits to discharge dredge or fill material that are issued on a nationwide, regional or state basis for particular categories of activities, including by extending the maximum term for a general permit from a period of five years to 10 years. It also exempts the Corps from certain consultation and environmental review requirements when reissuing nationwide general permits.
Finally, the bill directs the EPA and the Corps to begin a process to issue guidance on the implementation of the 2023 final rule titled Revised Definition of “Waters of the United States”; Conforming and stipulates the guidance must comply with the decision of the Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA.
Yes: Brian Fitzpatrick, R-1st (Bucks, parts of Montgomery); Dan Meuser, R-9th (Schuylkill, parts of Berks);
No: Matt Cartwright, D-8th (most of Monroe); Madeleine Dean, D-4th (Montgomery, parts of Berks); Susan Wild, D-7th (Lehigh, Northampton, parts of Monroe and Carbon)
HR 1836: Ocean Shipping Reform Implementation Act of 2023
Voting 393 for and 24 against, the House on Thursday passed a bill that addresses the influence of the Chinese government on the U.S. shipping industry.
Specifically, the bill prohibits port authorities from using LOGINK or any similar Chinese state-affiliated transportation logistics public information platform.
The bill also enhances the Federal Maritime Commission’s authority to address market manipulation, including by designating a private vessel based in a nonmarket economy or otherwise anticompetitive country as a controlled carrier. (The commission regulates controlled carriers to ensure that they charge fair market rates for shipping cargo.)
Under the bill, the commission must accept and investigate complaints about potentially unlawful actions by shipping exchanges. (A shipping exchange is a data platform that enables businesses shipping goods to connect with carriers to transport those goods.)
The bill also requires the commission to establish a data standard to help facilitate the voluntary sharing of supply chain data among carriers, port authorities and other shipping industry stakeholders. This standard must allow users to exchange data (using standardized terms and methods) in real time consistent with industry practices. The committee must also establish standards for price indexes published by shipping exchanges.
The bill also establishes a committee with members representing marine terminal operators and port authorities to advise the commission on competitiveness, reliability and efficiency in the international ocean freight delivery system.
Yes: Meuser, Fitzpatrick, Dean, Wild, Cartwright
HCon.Res.86: Expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy.
Voting 222 for and 196 against, for the House on Thursday passed this concurrent resolution that expresses the sense of Congress that a carbon tax is not in the best interest of the country and would be detrimental to families and businesses.
Yes: Meuser
No: Cartwright, Fitzpatrick, Dean, Wild
HRes.987: Denouncing the harmful, anti-American energy policies of the Biden administration, and for other purposes.
Voting 217 for and 200 against, the House on Thursday passed a resolution that denounces the energy and federal land policies of the Biden Administration. It also encourages the domestic production of reliable and affordable energy generation sources. Yes: Meuser, Fitzpatrick,
No: Cartwright, Dean, Wild
HR6009: Restoring American Energy Dominance Act
Voting 216 for and 200 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill that requires the Bureau of Land Management to withdraw a proposed rule titled Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process. The rule would make various changes to oil and gas leasing on public lands, including to implement provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Yes: Meuser, Fitzpatrick, No: Cartwright, Dean, Wild
HR 1121: Protecting American Energy Production Act Voting 229 for and 188 against,
the House on Wednesday passed a bill that prohibits the president from declaring a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing unless Congress authorizes the moratorium. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress that states should maintain primacy for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas production on state and private lands.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the formation.
Yes: Meuser, Fitzpatrick, Cartwright No: Dean, Wild
HR 7520: Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024
Voting 414 for and 0 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill that makes it unlawful for a data broker to sell, license, rent, trade, transfer, release, disclose, or otherwise make available specified sensitive data of individuals who reside in the United States to North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran or an entity controlled by such a country (e.g., headquartered in or owned by a person in the country).
Sensitive data includes government-issued identifiers (e.g., Social Security numbers), financial account numbers, biometric information, genetic information, precise geolocation information, and private communications (e.g., texts or emails).
A data broker generally includes an entity that sells or otherwise provides data of individuals that the entity did not collect directly from the individuals. A data broker does not include an entity that transmits an individual’s data or communications at the request or direction of the individual or an entity that makes news or information available to the general public.
The bill provides for enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission.
Yes: Meuser, Fitzpatrick, Cartwright, Dean, Wild
HRes 149: Condemning the illegal abduction and forcible transfer of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Voting 390 for and 9 against,
the House on Tuesday passed a resolution that states that the House of Representatives holds the Russian government responsible for the illegal kidnapping of children from Ukraine and condemns these actions. The resolution also declares that illegal adoptions are contrary to the Genocide Convention (the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide); claims that Russia is attempting to wipe out a generation of Ukrainian children; and asserts that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the risks of children being exposed to human trafficking, exploitation, child labor, gender-based violence, hunger, injury, trauma, deprivation of education and shelter and death.
Yes: Meuser, Fitzpatrick, Cartwright, Dean, Wild
HR 4723: Upholding the Dayton Peace Agreement Through Sanctions Act
Voting 365 for and 30 against, the House on Tuesday passed a bill that imposes visa- and property-blocking sanctions on foreign persons (i.e., individuals or entities) that are involved in certain actions that threaten the peace, stability, or democracy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The president must impose such sanctions on certain foreign persons, including those that are responsible for or engaged in corruption or certain acts or policies that seek to threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina; undermine democratic processes or institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina; or undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement or certain authorities related to the agreement. (The agreement brought an end to the Bosnian War, and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitution stems in part from the agreement.)
The Department of the Treasury may impose certain prohibitions and restrictions on a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates a significant transaction for a foreign person subject to sanctions under this bill.
The bill also provides statutory authority for sanctions imposed under Executive Order 13219 and Executive Order 14033 (both orders impose sanctions on persons threatening stability in the Western Balkans).
Yes: Meuser, Fitzpatrick, Cartwright, Dean, Wild