The Morning Call (Sunday)

HOW LEHIGH VALLEY-AREA LAWMAKERS VOTED LAST WEEK

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Votes in the U.S. House

H.Con.Res.7: Condemning the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses against the brave women and men of Iran peacefully demonstrat­ing in more than 133 cities.

Voting 420 for and 1 against, the House on Wednesday passed this concurrent resolution that commends the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of Iran who are participat­ing in the current protests to defend their fundamenta­l human rights, and risking their safety to speak out against the human rights abuses committed by the Iranian regime.

The resolution condemns the brutal beating and death of Mahsa Amini; and the violent suppressio­n by the Iranian regime of women and men participat­ing in the current demonstrat­ions, including children, and calls for transparen­t accountabi­lity for all killings of protesters by Iranian security forces.

Finally, the resolution encourages continued efforts by the Biden Administra­tion to respond to the protests, including the recent sanctionin­g of the Iranian morality police.

Yes: Brian Fitzpatric­k, R-1st (Bucks, parts of Montgomery and Philadelph­ia); Dan Meuser, R-9th (Schuylkill, parts of Carbon and Berks); Madeleine Dean, D-4th (Montgomery, parts of Berks); Susan Wild, D-7th (Lehigh, Northampto­n, parts of Monroe); Matt Cartwright, D-8th (most of Monroe).

HR 400: Investing in Main Street Act of 2023

Voting 411 for and 13 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill that authorizes certain banking entities to invest up to 15% of their capital and surplus in one or more small business investment companies or in any entity establishe­d to invest solely in SBICs. The current limit is 5%.

Yes: Fitzpatric­k, Meuser, Dean, Wild, Cartwright,

HR 346: NOTAM Improvemen­t Act of 2023

Voting 424 for and 4 against, the House on Wednesday passed a bill to establish a task force on improvemen­ts for notices to air missions, and for other purposes.

Yes: Fitzpatric­k, Meuser, Dean, Wild, Cartwright,

HR 300: Settlement Agreement Informatio­n Database Act of 2023

Voting 425 for and 0 against, the House on Tuesday passed a bill that requires executive agencies to submit informatio­n regarding settlement agreements to a public database.

Specifical­ly, an agency must submit informatio­n regarding any settlement agreement (including a consent decree) entered into by the agency related to an alleged violation of federal law. If an agency determines that informatio­n regarding an agreement must remain confidenti­al to protect the public interest, the agency must publish an explanatio­n of why the informatio­n is confidenti­al.

Yes: Fitzpatric­k, Meuser, Dean, Wild, Cartwright,

HR 159: Chance to Compete Act of 2023

Voting 422 for and 2 against, the House on Tuesday passed a bill that modifies examinatio­n requiremen­ts and other components of the federal hiring process for positions in the competitiv­e service.

Specifical­ly, the bill provides that a qualifying examinatio­n includes a résumé review that is conducted by a subject matter expert. Additional­ly, beginning two years after enactment, the bill prohibits examinatio­ns from consisting solely of a self-assessment from an automated examinatio­n, a résumé review that is not conducted by a subject matter expert, or any other method of assessing an applicant’s experience or education; an agency may waive these requiremen­ts when necessary but must report any such waivers and may not use waivers to fill more than 10% of agency positions.

Agencies may use subject matter experts to develop position-specific technical assessment­s that allow applicants to demonstrat­e job-related skills, abilities, and knowledge; assessment­s may include structured interviews, work-related exercises, procedures to measure career-related qualificat­ions and interests, or other similar assessment­s. The bill also allows agencies to establish talent teams to support and improve hiring practices.

Yes: Fitzpatric­k, Meuser, Dean, Wild, Cartwright,

Votes in the U.S. Senate

S.Res.13: A resolution raising awareness and encouragin­g the prevention of stalking by designatin­g January 2023 as “National Stalking Awareness Month”.

The Senate passed this resolution Thursday voting 94 for and 0 against.

Yes: Bob Casey (D), John Fetterman (D)

Brendan Owens, Department of Defense

Voting 60 for and 35 against, the Senate on Monday confirmed Brendan Owens, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense, vice Lucian Niemeyer.

Yes: Casey, Fetterman

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