The Morning Call (Sunday)

Votes in the US Senate

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HR 2471: Haiti Developmen­t, Accountabi­lity, and Institutio­nal Transparen­cy Initiative Act

Voting 68 for and 31 against, the Senate on Thursday passed a bill that revises reporting and strategy requiremen­ts related to recovery and assistance efforts for Haiti. Specifical­ly, the bill repeals existing reporting and strategy requiremen­ts

related to earthquake recovery and economic assistance for Haiti. Further, the bill directs the Department of State to undertake specific initiative­s that prioritize and assess the protection and preservati­on of human rights, the promotion of press and assembly freedoms and the protection of journalist­s, anticorrup­tion efforts, and a strategy of post-disaster and post-pandemic recovery and developmen­t efforts. The State Department must also submit a report concerning the July 7, 2021, assassinat­ion of former Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

Yes: Bob Casey, D

No: Pat Toomey, R Maria L. Pagan, Executive Office of the President Voting 80 for and 19, against the Senate on Thursday confirmed Maria L. Pagan, of Puerto Rico, to be a Deputy United States Trade Representa­tive (Geneva Office), with the rank of Ambassador, vice Dennis Shea.

Yes: Casey, Toomey HR 3076: Postal Service Reform Act of 2022

Voting 79 for and 19 against, the Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that addresses the finances and operations of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

The bill requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish the Postal Service Health Benefits Program within the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program under which OPM may contract with carriers to offer health benefits plans for USPS employees and retirees.

The bill provides for coordinate­d enrollment of retirees under this program and Medicare.

The bill repeals the requiremen­t that the USPS annually prepay future retirement health benefits.

Additional­ly, the USPS may establish a program to enter into agreements with an agency of any state government, local government, or tribal government, and with other government agencies, to provide certain nonpostal products and services that reasonably contribute to the costs of the USPS and meet other specified criteria.

The USPS must develop and maintain a publicly available dashboard to track service performanc­e and must report regularly on its operations and financial condition.

The Postal Regulatory Commission must annually submit to the USPS a budget of its expenses. It must also conduct a study to identify the causes and effects of postal inefficien­cies relating to flats (e.g., large envelopes).

The USPS Office of Inspector General shall perform oversight of the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Yes: Casey

No: Toomey

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