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. KEY: ☑ FOR ☒ AGAINST ❒ NOT VOTING ⇧ PASSED ⇩ DEFEATED
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HOUSE
⇧ Trust fund for aid to Indians. Passed 350-58, the Udall Foundation Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2882) to reauthorize for 5 years, through fiscal 2028, the trust fund for the Udall Foundation, which awards college scholarships and provides other aid to American Indian and environmental causes. Ciscomani said that since being founded by Congress in 1992, the Udall Foundation has been “committed to the values of civility, integrity, and consensus.”
☑ Rick Crawford (R)
☑ French Hill (R)
☑ Bruce Westerman (R)
☑ Steve Womack (R)
⇧ Labor trafficking. Passed 407-0, the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act (H.R. 443) to require the Labor Department to train agency employees on ways to detect and help law enforcement agencies detect human trafficking. Walberg said Labor employees “often have a front line opportunity to identify patterns of forced labor,” and training them would aid the effort to eradicate trafficking in human labor.
☑ Crawford (R)
☑ Hill (R)
☑ Westerman (R)
☑ Womack (R)
⇩ Impeaching homeland
security secretary. Rejected 216-214, a resolution (H. Res. 863) that would have impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for willfully violating federal laws regarding immigration and border security, with resulting harm from an increase in illegal immigration and fentanyl imports into the U.S. Bill sponsor Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. said: “His willful refusal to secure the border has bankrupted communities, closed down U.S. schools that our children attend, drowned hospitals, and incapacitated law enforcement, while empowering criminal cartels and illegal aliens.” Opponent Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., called the resolution “an affront to the United States Constitution, it will do nothing to solve challenges at our border, and it is a baseless attack on a dedicated public servant.”
☑ Crawford (R)
☑ Hill (R)
☑ Westerman (R)
☑ Womack (R)
⇩ Funding for Israel-Hamas war. Rejected 180-250, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R. 7217). A two-thirds majority vote was required for approval. The bill would have provided $17.6 billion to support Israel in its ongoing war following the Hamas attacks last October, including both aid to Israel and funding for U.S. military forces in the Middle East.
Bill sponsor Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif. said: The bill “resupplies Israel’s defensive capabilities, restores America’s defense industry to replenish our stocks, funds necessary operations for our forces in the region, and sends a strong signal that the United States will not back down.” Opponent Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said the funding would aid the continuation of what he called a brutal war that has harmed thousands of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
☑ Crawford (R)
☑ Hill (R)
☑ Westerman (R)
☑ Womack (R)
⇧ Health care services. Passed 211-208, the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act (H.R. 485). The bill would bar Medicaid, Medicare and other federal government and federally funded health care programs from pricing products and services based on a quality-adjusted life years standard (QALYs) that accounts for factors such as a patient’s age, disability and life expectancy. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash said: “Measurements like QALYs remove the consideration of unique circumstances and health conditions of a patient and their doctor’s judgment from deciding what is best for the patient.” Opponent Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., criticized the use of a cut in funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund to offset higher costs due to the bill, and also claimed that the bill’s language “will be used to bar the use of any value measures by the federal government” to negotiate prices for prescription drugs.
☑ Crawford (R)
☑ Hill (R)
☑ Westerman (R)
☑ Womack (R)
SENATE
⇧ Judging trade disputes. Confirmed 76-0, the nomination of Joseph Laroski to be a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade. Laroski was an assistant secretary in the International Trade Commission at the Commerce Department from 2017 to 2021; since then, and before 2016, his career has been as a private practice lawyer. Supporter Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., cited “his extensive experience in international trade litigation, both in private practice and the federal government.”
☑ John Boozman (R)
☑ Tom Cotton (R)
⇧ Deputy state secretary. Confirmed 92-5, the nomination of Kurt Campbell to be Deputy Secretary of State. Campbell has been an official on the National Security Council, specializing in Indo-Pacific affairs, since January 2021. He was previously a diplomat, military official and consultant on Asia.
Supporter Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., said: Campbell was “among the most experienced and most capable officials to be nominated to this position.”
☑ Boozman (R)
☑ Cotton (R)
⇧ Oregon judge. Confirmed 54-44, the nomination of Amy M. Baggio to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for Oregon. A federal public defender in the district from 2002 to 2013, Baggio then went into private practice with her own law firm, then, in 2019, became a judge on the Multnomah County court.
Supporter Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said: “In addition to being fair, she has consistently demonstrated an ability to make thoughtful decisions that protect communities and their values.”
☒ Boozman (R)
☒ Cotton (R)
⇩ Immigration policies and foreign aid. Rejected 5049, a cloture motion to proceed to consideration of a bill (H.R. 815) that would have made numerous changes to U.S. immigration policy – including increased funding for personnel, facilities and equipment – and changes to screening procedures for immigrants who make asylum claims. The bill would have provided military aid to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel. A three-fifths majority was required for approval. A revised version of the bill, without immigration provisions, was later taken up by the Senate. Supporter Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said: The bill “strengthens our asylum laws, so we can get to actual asylees faster, and those who are gaming the system are turned around” rather than admitted into the U.S. Opponent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said: The bill failed to end the catch-and-release practice for illegal immigrants, meaning “additional or continued incentives for people to come to the country illegally, knowing they will be released into the interior.”
☒ Boozman (R)
☒ Cotton (R)
⇧ Supplemental military spending. Approved 67-32, a cloture to end the debate on the motion to proceed to consideration of a bill (H.R. 815) that would provide about $95 billion for military spending and humanitarian assistance, including aid to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel.
Bill supporter Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the bill “essential for our national security; for the security of our friends in Ukraine, in Israel; for humanitarian aid for innocent civilians in Gaza; and for Taiwan.”
☒ Boozman (R)
☒ Cotton (R)