HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
R-Bakersfield ■■ 4100 Empire Drive, Suite 150, Bakersfield, CA 93309
■■ 661-327-3611 or 202-225-2915 ■■ kevinmccarthy.house.gov
D-Fresno
■■ 2700 M St., Suite 250B, Bakersfield, CA 93301
■■ 661-864-7736 or 202-225-4695 ■■ cox.house.gov
OVERHAULING VISAS FOR FARMWORKERS: Voting 266-165, the House on Dec. 11 passed a bill (HR 5038) that would overhaul the H-2A visa program, which admits undocumented migrants for temporary U.S. agricultural jobs the domestic workforce is unable or unwilling to fill. Over time, the bill could enable hundreds of thousands of these workers to apply for legal residency for themselves, spouses and minor children. In addition to meeting labor shortages, the bill would grant up to 40,000 green cards annually to those who complete a lengthy path to permanent status and would establish a mandatory federal “E-Verify” system by which agricultural employers could determine workers’ immigration status. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
McCarthy: NO
Cox: YES
APPROVING $738 BILLION FOR MILITARY IN 2020: Voting 377-48, the House on Dec. 11 adopted the conference report on a $738 billion military policy budget (S 1790) for fiscal 2020, including $69 billion for combat operations and more than $57 billion for active-duty and retiree health care. The bill sets a 3.1 percent pay raise for uniformed personnel; confronts global warming as a national security threat; requires Pentagon strategies for countering Russian interference in U.S. elections; creates the U.S. Space Force as the sixth branch of the military; ends the “widow’s tax” on Pentagon death benefits received by an estimated 65,000 survivors who also receive veterans’ survivor benefits; and establishes 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for the federal civilian workforce to accommodate childbirth, adoptions, foster care and serious illnesses. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
McCarthy: YES
Cox: YES
APPROVING MEASURES TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE: Voting 262-151, the House on Dec. 10 approved a 10-bill legislative package (HR 729) that would authorize $1.4 billion over five years for programs to help Atlantic, Pacific and Great Lakes coastal communities and certain inland areas deal with the harmful effects of climate change. The package would tailor the 1972 Coastal Zone Management Act to better address rising sea levels; fund a Digital Coast Program for supplying data to help communities prepare for storms and their consequences; fund scientific initiatives to benefit Great Lakes water quality and fish populations; and promote the use of resilient natural materials instead of hard barriers to protect facilities and ecosystems against flooding. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
McCarthy: NO
Cox: YES
REDUCING MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTIONS: Voting 160-259, the House on Dec. 10 defeated an amendment to HR 729 (above) to scale back the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act in order to speed federal approval of applications for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and coastal restoration projects on shorelines including Louisiana’s. The law is designed, in part, to protect whales, dolphins, porpoises and other marine life against military and industrial sonar testing in gulf and oceanic U.S. waters. But critics call it one of several overlapping environmental laws that unduly hinder economic development. A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
McCarthy: YES
Cox: NO
REQUIRING NEGOTIATION OF MEDICARE DRUG PRICES: Voting 230-192, the House on Dec. 12 passed a bill (HR 3) that would require pharmaceutical companies to negotiate with the federal government the prices of approximately 250 top-selling prescription drugs offered in Medicare Part D and employer health plans. The negotiated U.S. retail price of a covered drug could not exceed 120 percent of the average price that Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom have negotiated for their residents. The bill would cap Medicare Part D out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 per year and add dental, vision and hearing benefits to Medicare Part D. A yes vote was to pass the bill.
McCarthy: NO
Voting 201-223, the House on Dec. 12 defeated a Republican version of HR 3 (above) that omitted the requirement for manufacturers to negotiate drug prices with the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to that free-market provision, the GOP substitute would cap Medicare Part D out-of-pocket costs at $3,100 per year; expand financial incentives for drug companies to discover cures; cap the cost of insulin for seniors at $50 per month; require drug advertising to list retail prices; and expand the use of Health Savings Accounts for drug purchases. A yes vote backed the GOP measure.
McCarthy: YES
Voting 196-226, the House on Dec. 12 defeated a Republican motion that sought to prevent core provisions of HR 3 (above) from taking effect until after the secretary of health and human services has certified that the law would not reduce the number of applications from innovators seeking to put new drugs on the market. A yes vote was to adopt the motion.
McCarthy: YES
Cox: YES
Cox: NO
Cox: NO