Congressional votes 3-9-15

Congressional votes for March 6

There were five key votes in the Senate last week, which held 10 roll call votes. There were eight key votes in the House, which held 13 roll call votes. The most important votes in both chambers were to approve funding of the Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2015.

Along with roll call votes, the Senate also passed a bill (H.R. 431), sponsored by Rep. Terri A. Sewell, D-Ala., to give a Congressional Gold Medal to individuals, known as foot soldiers, who took part in the black voting rights march from Selma, Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama, in March 1965, or took part in the two attempted marches that preceded the successful march.

The House also passed a bill (H.R. 280), sponsored by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recoup bonuses and awards paid to employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

HOUSE VOTES

FOSTER HOME CARE FOR VETERANS: The House passed the Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act (H.R. 294), sponsored by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla. The bill would authorize the Veterans Affairs Department to transfer veterans in need of assisted care to medical foster homes that are not operated by the VA, with the number of such transfers capped at 900. The vote, on March 2, was unanimous with 405 yeas.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th)

SENATE, HOUSE VERSIONS OF HOMELAND SECURITY BILL: The House disagreed to the Senate amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 240), and requested a conference with the Senate to negotiate changes to the bill. The vote, on Feb. 27, was 228 yeas to 191 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th)

NOT VOTING: Long R-MO (7th)

STOPGAP HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING: The House rejected a bill (H. Res. 35), sponsored by Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., that would have provided continuing appropriations at the fiscal 2015 rate for the Homeland Security Department until March 19. The vote, on Feb. 27, was 203 yeas to 224 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th)

NOT VOTING: Long R-MO (7th)

MOTION ON NEGOTIATING HOMELAND SECURITY BILL: The House rejected a motion, sponsored by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., to instruct House conferees with the Senate to negotiate the two chambers' conflicting versions of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 240). The motion would have instructed House conferees to agree to the Senate's amendment to the bill, and provide funding for Homeland Security for the rest of fiscal 2015. The vote, on Feb. 27, was 201 yeas to 218 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th)

NAYS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Long R-MO (7th)

TEMPORARY FUNDING FOR HOMELAND SECURITY: The House concurred in the Senate amendment to the Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act (H.R. 33), sponsored by Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa. The bill provided funding for the Homeland Security Department through March 5. The vote, on Feb. 27, was 357 yeas to 60 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th)

TABLING HOMELAND SECURITY AMENDMENT: The House rejected a motion sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to lay the Senate amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 240) on the table, rejecting the amendment. The vote, on March 3, was 140 yeas to 278 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Long R-MO (7th), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th)

AGREEMENT ON HOMELAND SECURITY BILL: The House agreed to a motion sponsored by Rep. Michael K. Simpson, R-Idaho, to concur with the Senate amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 240). The amendment removed House-passed provisions that would have blocked funding for implementation of President Barack Obama's executive orders deferring enforcement against several groups of people living in the country illegally. The vote, on March 3, was 257 yeas to 167 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th)

NAYS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Long R-MO (7th), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th)

AMTRAK FUNDING BILL: House passed the Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act (H.R. 749), sponsored by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa. The bill would authorize appropriations through fiscal 2019 for Amtrak, including requirements for investment in rail service in Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. The vote, on March 4, was 316 yeas to 101 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Hartzler R-MO (4th), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th)

NOT VOTING: Long R-MO (7th)

SENATE VOTES

2015 FUNDING FOR HOMELAND SECURITY: The Senate passed the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 240), sponsored by Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky. The bill would provide $39.7 billion of funding for Homeland Security in fiscal 2015, including $2.5 billion for grants to first responders at the state and local government levels, $7 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $10.7 billion for Customs and Border Protection, $5.96 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $10 billion for the Coast Guard, and $4.8 billion for the Transportation Security Administration. It did not include House-passed provisions to block funding for President Obama's executive order granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. The vote, on Feb. 27, was 68 yeas to 31 nays.

YEAS: McCaskill D-MO

NAYS: Blunt R-MO

IMMIGRATION POLICY: The Senate rejected a cloture motion to end debate on the Immigration Rule of Law Act (S. 534), sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. The bill would block funding for the Homeland Security Department to carry out President Obama's recent executive orders to defer enforcement of immigration laws, as well as related policy memos from the Homeland Security secretary. The vote, on Feb. 27, was 57 yeas to 42 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to end debate.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

NEGOTIATING HOMELAND SECURITY BILL: The Senate rejected a motion sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to agree to a House request for conference negotiations with the Senate on the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act (H.R. 240). The vote, on March 2, was 47 yeas to 43 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to agree to the conference with the House.

NOT VOTING: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

RULES FOR UNION ELECTIONS: The Senate passed a bill (S.J. Res. 8), sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., that would state Congress's disapproval of a National Labor Relations Board rule to shorten the period between when employees seeking to organize a union at a workplace ask for a secret ballot election to vote on unionization and when the election takes place. The vote, on March 4, was 53 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO

NAYS: McCaskill D-MO

KEYSTONE XL VETO: The Senate failed to override a presidential veto of the Keystone XL Pipeline Act (S. 1), sponsored by Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. The bill would have authorized TransCanada to construct its proposed Keystone XL pipeline to carry oil from Alberta into the U.S. and declare that environmental reviews for the pipeline are complete. The vote, on March 4, was 62 yeas to 37 nays, with a two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO