HOW AREA LAWMAKERS VOTED IN U.S. HOUSE

H.R. 695: BUDGET DISPUTE OVER WALL FUNDING Voting 217 for and 185 against, the House on Thursday sent the Senate a short-term government-funding bill that includes $5.7 billion requested by President Trump for construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats voted unanimously against the bill because of the wall expenditure. The bill wraps together seven fiscal 2019 appropriations bills totaling about $250 billion to fund agencies including the Department of Homeland Security between Dec. 22-Feb. 8. Congress already has passed the other five basic appropriations bills for 2019, which total $845 billion and fund the departments of Defense, Education, Labor and Health and Human Services. A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

S. 756: CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PRISON REFORMS Voting 358 for and 36 against, the House on Thursday joined the Senate in passing a bipartisan bill that would revamp the federal prison system in an effort to improve the rehabilitation of inmates, lower rates of recidivism, impose more humane incarceration rules and scale back mandatory-minimum sentencing laws including ones that impose lengthy terms on non-violent drug offenders. The bill would require qualified prisoners to be assigned to prisons within 500 miles of home; virtually eliminate the solitary confinement of juveniles; write into law rules against shackling pregnant and post-partum inmates; expand the use of medications to treat opioid and heroin addiction; require dyslexia screening and treatment; expand prison industries to provide more jobs for inmates and set more compassionate release terms for elderly prisoners. A yes vote was to send the bill to President Trump for his expected signature.

H.R. 88: YEAR-END GOP TAX PACKAGE Voting 220 for and 183 against, the House on Thursday passed a Republican-drafted bill that would temporarily repeal certain Affordable Care Act taxes including a 2.3 percent levy on medical devices; provide one-time tax relief to victims of natural disasters this year in 14 states and territories; extend an array of credits and deductions for businesses, individuals and other beneficiaries; make organizational changes at the Internal Revenue Service and correct drafting errors in the Republicans' 2017 tax-cut law. The bill would add between $50 billion and $100 billion to national debt because it is not paid for. In addition, the bill would scale back the so-called "Johnson rule," which prevents religious and charitable organizations with tax-exempt status under Section 501 (c) of the tax code from supporting or opposing candidates for public office. A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where it was dead on arrival.