How Arkansas’ congressional delegation voted

Here is how Arkansas’ U.S. senators and U.S. representatives voted on major roll call votes during the week that ended Friday.

HOUSE

The House was in recess.

SENATE

Confirmation of transportation-safety chief. Confirmed 97-0, Christopher A. Hart as chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. A lawyer and longtime federal employee in the transportation field, Hart had been the board’s acting chairman. The NTSB, an independent agency with a $104 million annual budget, is in charge of determining the cause of every civil aviation accident and high-profile rail, marine, pipeline and highway accident. It makes recommendations to help the transportation industry and government agencies take corrective steps to prevent such accidents in the future. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said the NTSB “helps keep all of us safe. They play a difficult role. They must put aside all differences between jurisdictions, politics and partisanship to get the job done.” No senator spoke against the nominee. A yes vote was to confirm Hart as NTSB chairman. John Boozman (R) Tom Cotton (R)

Confirmation of intellectual-property chief. Confirmed 92-0, Daniel Henry Marti as the top administration official for coordinating policies and enforcement actions to protect intellectual-property rights in the federal government and private sector. Marti had been the managing partner in a Washington, D.C., law firm specializing in both domestic and foreign intellectual-property law. His new title is intellectual property enforcement coordinator in the Executive Office of the President. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said: “Because intellectual-property rights are critical to the nation’s economic well-being, we need strong and capable leaders at the helm of the offices that deal with patents, trademarks and copyrights.” Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said: “Nowhere is [Marti’s] work more important than in addressing counterfeiting and infringement in the online world — a complex, global problem that requires creative, thoughtful solutions.” No senator spoke against the nominee. A yes vote was to confirm Marti for the intellectual-property post. Boozman (R) Cotton (R)