HOW TEXAS VOTED

WASHINGTON — How the Texas congressional delegation voted on major issues last week:

Senate

1. Confirming Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza: Voting 86 for and 5 against, the Senate on Monday confirmed Jovita Carranza, the U.S. treasurer since June 2017, as administrator of the Small Business Administration, replacing Linda McMahon, who resigned last April.

A yes vote was to confirm Carranza.

House

1. Asserting congressional control over war with Iran: The House on Thursday voted 224 for and 194 against to require the administration to obtain advance congressional approval for military actions against Iran or its proxy forces except when there is an imminent threat to the U.S., its armed forces or its territories. The measure (H Con Res 83) invoked the 1973 War Powers Resolution, which asserts the power of Congress to declare war under Article I of the Constitution. Under the Vietnam-era law, presidents must notify Congress within 48 hours when they send the U.S. military into combat, then withdraw the forces within a specified period unless Congress has declared war against the enemy or otherwise authorized the action.

Democrats said the measure will have privileged status in the Senate and be eligible for passage by a majority vote there. But Republicans called it nonbinding.

A yes vote was to send the measure to the Senate.

2. Regulating cancerlinked PFAs chemicals: Voting 247 for and 159 against, the House on Friday passed a bill (HR 535) that would give the Environmental Protection Agency one year to designate a class of chemicals known as PFAs for coverage under the federal Superfund law, which requires abandoned toxic sites to be cleaned up and imposes retroactive legal liability on those responsible for the pollution.

The designation would require cleanup near scores of military bases and manufacturing sites throughout the U.S. where PFA compounds have leached into groundwater and drinking water. But they would join a long list of Superfund sites awaiting remediation.

The bill also would require the EPA to set standards for PFA air emissions and levels in drinking water and test all PFA compounds within five years, and it would bar new compounds from the marketplace.

PFAs stands for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are components of firefighting foam used at airports and military installations as well as nonstick cookware; personal care products including floss and makeup; household items including paints and stains; water-repellent clothing and carpeting; and other products. There are around 7,800 PFA compounds, some of which are linked to cancers.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

3. Protecting “unborn child” from PFAs: Voting 187 for and 219 against, the House on Friday defeated a Republican-sponsored motion specifying that “the unborn child” be included in the “vulnerable populations” protected from PFAs in sections of HR 535 (above) concerning the Safe Drinking Water Act.

A yes vote was to adopt the motion.