HOW YOUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATES VOTED
For the week ending April 28
Contact your legislators at the U.S. Capitol Zip codes: House 20515, Senate 20510 Capitol operator: (202) 224-3121
HOUSE
Ben Ray Luján (D) Steve Pearce (R) Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)
ONE WEEK’S STOPGAP SPENDING: Voting 382 for and 30 against, the House on April 28 approved legislation (HJ Res 99) that would fund government operations from April 29 through May 5 at an annualized level of nearly $1.1 trillion. This was the third continuing resolution, or stopgap spending measure, that the Republican majority has passed to fund the government in the budget year that began in October 2016.
A yes vote was to send the Senate a measure to keep federal agencies from shutting down at midnight.
YES: LUJÁN NO: LUJAN GRISHAM, PEARCE
PRESIDENTIAL CONTROL OF U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE: Voting 378 for and 48 against, the House on April 26 passed a bipartisan bill (HR 1695) that would shift control of the U.S. Copyright Office from the Library of Congress to the White House. The bill would make the register of copyrights a presidential appointee subject to Senate confirmation, changing a procedure dating to 1897 in which the librarian of Congress appoints the register to serve indefinitely without the consent of the Senate. The register would have a 10-year term but could be removed by the president at any time. Otherwise, the office would continue to function as part of the legislative branch. Backers said the bill would to enable a moribund office to better adapt to technological changes in the music, cinema and publishing industries. Critics called the bill a solution in search of a problem that would politicize the securing of intellectual property rights. The bill was in the works long before Donald Trump’s election as president.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: LUJAN GRISHAM, PEARCE, LUJÁN
DISCLOSURE OF TRUMP TAX RETURNS: Voting 234 for and 191 against, the House on April 26 blocked a parliamentary attempt by Democrats to force floor debate on a bill now in committee that would require sitting presidents and majorparty presidential candidates to publicly release their personal tax returns for the three preceding years. Candidate Donald Trump vowed to release his returns following what he said was an ongoing IRS audit. But President Trump has become the first White House occupant in nearly 50 years to withhold his returns from the public.
A yes vote was to quash a Democratic bid for floor debate on a bill concerning the president’s tax returns.
YES: PEARCE NO: LUJAN GRISHAM, LUJÁN
FANNIE MAE, FREDDIE MAC, PUBLIC INFORMATION: By a unanimous vote of 425 for and none against, the House on April 27 passed a bill (HR 1694) that would subject the units known as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests so long as they remain in a federal conservatorship. These governmentowned companies, which exist to provide liquidity to the housing market, have been surviving on taxpayer bailouts since September 2008. This bill would enable realestate and banking interests and others to gain access to reams of sensitive data on housing markets that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now treat as proprietary.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: LUJAN GRISHAM, PEARCE, LUJÁN
CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: Voting 230 for and 193 against, the House on April 27 blocked a Democratic attempt to force floor debate on a measure now in committee that would begin congressional oversight of ethics and conflict-ofinterest issues involving President Trump. In part, the measure would require public disclosure of official visitor logs at the White House and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort; a public accounting of the General Services Administration finding that Trump’s company has not violated its lease to operate the Trump International Hotel in Washington; disclosures on ethics waivers for administration officials and probes of any conflicts between his presidential acts and business activities in Russia and elsewhere. The vote occurred during debate on H Res 280.
A yes vote was to block a bid by Democrats for floor debate on a measure targeting President Trump.
YES: PEARCE NO: LUJAN GRISHAM, LUJÁN
SENATE Martin Heinrich (D) Tom Udall (D)
ROD ROSENSTEIN, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Voting 94 for and six against, the Senate on April 25 confirmed Rod J. Rosenstein, 52, as deputy attorney general, second in charge of the Department of Justice. He had served as U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland since 2005. With Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions having recused himself from investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, Rosenstein will take charge of that portfolio.
A yes vote was to confirm Rosenstein.
YES: UDALL, HEINRICH
ALEXANDER ACOSTA, SECRETARY OF LABOR: Voting 60 for and 38 against, the Senate on April 27 confirmed R. Alexander Acosta, 48, dean of the Florida International University College of Law, as the 27th U.S. secretary of labor and the first Hispanic member of the Trump cabinet. Acosta served under President George W. Bush as assistant attorney general for civil rights, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida and on the National Labor Relations Board. He drew Democratic criticism over an inspector general’s finding that as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, he violated federal law by using political and ideological tests in hiring career civil servants.
A yes vote was to confirm Acosta. NO: UDALL, HEINRICH
SONNY PERDUE, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: The Senate on April 24 confirmed, 87 for and 11 against, Sonny Perdue as the 31st U.S. secretary of agriculture. Perdue, 70, was governor of Georgia from 2003- 2011.
A yes vote was to confirm Perdue. YES: UDALL, HEINRICH