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

HOUSE

The House was not in session.

SENATE ▲

Two- year budget deal. Passed 64- 36, a two- year, bipartisan spending and revenue plan that will enable Congress to operate in a stable budget environment through September 2015. The measure ( HJRes59) softens the impact of the blind cuts known as sequestration on defense readiness and critical domestic programs; raises a variety of taxes and fees by $ 7 billion over 10 years; reduces deficit spending by $ 23 billion over 10 years and slightly raises discretionary spending to $ 1.012 trillion in fiscal 2014 and $ 1.014 trillion in fiscal 2015. Additionally, the bill would save $ 6 billion over 10 years by trimming cost- ofliving increases in the pensions of military retirees who are younger than 62. Among its revenue provisions, the bill would increase airline ticket fees; raise pension contributions by newly hired federal employees; trim certain payments to Medicare providers; increase fees paid by corporations to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. and require states to pay a larger share of the cost of managing mineral leases on federal land. Angus King, I- Maine, said the deal “will finally get us out of the business of governing by crisis, of lurching from crisis to crisis and threats of shutdown and continuing resolutions” and will “demonstrate to the country that we can do our job.” Mike Enzi, R- Wyo., said: “This budget deal breaks the promise we made to our constituents in 2011 as part of the Budget Control Act that we would reduce spending. [ It] spends more than the current law.” A yes vote was to send the bill to President Barack Obama for his expected signature. h ✔ Pryor (D) h ✖ Boozman (R) ▲

2014 military budget. Passed 84- 15, a bill ( HR3304) to authorize a $ 625.1 billion military budget for fiscal 2014, including $ 80.7 billion for actions in war zones; up to $ 60 billion for active- duty and retirement health care; $ 17.8 billion for nuclear- weapons programs run by the Department of Energy; $ 10 billion for the U. S. Special Operations Command and $ 9.3 billion for space- and land- based missile defenses. The bill funds a 1 percent military pay raise, bars higher copayments or enrollment fees in the military health- care system and sets active- duty end- strengths of 520,000 for the Army, 327,600 for the Air Force, 323,600 for the Navy and 190,200 for the Marine Corps. The bill keeps the handling of sexual- assault cases within the chain of command where they occur, but ends commanders’ authority to dismiss the findings of a court- martial. The bill establishes a special counsel to help survivors of sexual assaults navigate the military legal system and makes it a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice to retaliate against those who report sexual assaults. Carl Levin, D- Mich., said that if the Senate were to not pass the bill this year, “We would fail in our duty to provide our men and women in uniform the support they need and deserve.” Mike Enzi, R- Wyo., objected to the bill, in part, because he had been denied an opportunity to introduce an amendment that would prohibit the administration from reducing the U. S. nuclear arsenal without the consent of Congress. A yes vote was to send the bill to President Obama for his expected signature. h ✔ Pryor (D) h ✔ Boozman ( R)

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Jeh Johnson confirmation. Confirmed 78- 16, Jeh Johnson as the fourth director of the Department of Homeland Security in its 11- year history. Johnson, 56, who goes to the post from private law practice, was general counsel to the Department of Defense in the first Obama administration. The 200,000- employee Department of Homeland Security was founded soon after 9/ 11 with the consolidation of 23 separate agencies into a single department. The previous Department of Homeland Security directors are Janet Napolitano, who served in the first Obama administration, and Michael Chertoff and Tom Ridge, who headed the department under President George W. Bush. Thomas Carper, D- Del., said: “There is no doubt that even on a good day, serving as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security is a very hard job. Jeh Johnson, however, is no doubt up to this enormous task. No senator spoke against the nominee. A yes vote was to confirm Johnson. h ✔ Pryor (D) h ✖ Boozman (R)