Congressional votes for June 12

Besides roll call votes, the Senate and House also took action on legislation by voice vote. The Senate passed a bill (S. 1568) to extend the authorization for replacing a Veterans Affairs medical center in Denver. It also passed the Department of Homeland Security Interoperable Communications Act (H.R. 615), to require Homeland Security to develop interoperable communications capabilities among its component agencies.

The House also passed the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (H.R. 235), to permanently extend the Internet Tax Freedom Act.

HOUSE VOTES

REGULATING COMMODITY FUTURES: The House passed the Commodity End-User Relief Act (H.R. 2289), sponsored by Rep. Michael K. Conaway, R-Texas. The bill would exempt end users of commodities such as corn, soybeans and other crops, and forms of energy including oil and natural gas, from certain Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations. The vote, on June 9, was 246 yeas to 171 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

FUNDING FLORIDA PASSENGER TRAIN: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2577). The amendment would have barred the Transportation Department from using funds to consider financing passenger rail projects on Florida's east coast. The vote, on June 9, was 163 yeas to 260 nays.

YEAS: Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

AMTRAK SUBSIDIES: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2577). The amendment would have barred funding for the Amtrak route that produces the highest losses, which is the Sunset Limited, running from New Orleans to Los Angeles. The vote, on June 9, was 205 yeas to 218 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AND HOUSING AID: The House passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ted S. Yoho, R-Fla., to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2577). The amendment would block the Housing and Urban Development agency from providing housing assistance to people living in the country illegally. The vote, on June 9, was 244 yeas to 181 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

IMMIGRATION AND SUBSIDIZED HOUSING: The House passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2577). The amendment would block Housing and Urban Development from providing subsidized housing to people living in the country illegally. The vote, on June 9, was 246 yeas to 180 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

FUNDING TRANSPORTATION, HUD: The House passed the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2577), sponsored by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla. The bill would provide $55.3 billion of fiscal 2016 funding for the Transportation Department, Housing and Urban Development, Amtrak and other agencies related to transportation and housing. The vote, on June 9, was 216 yeas to 210 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

POLICE AND BODY-WORN CAMERAS: The House passed a resolution (H. Res. 295), sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, to support the use of body-worn cameras by local law enforcement agencies to increase the transparency of actions taken by police officers. The vote, on June 10, was 421 yeas to 6 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

LABELING MEAT PRODUCTS: The House passed the Country of Origin Labeling Amendments Act (H.R. 2393), sponsored by Rep. Michael K. Conaway, R-Texas. The bill would repeal the Agriculture Department's requirement for retailers of beef, pork and chicken to provide consumers with label information about the country from which the meat came. The vote, on June 10, was 300 yeas to 131 nays.

YEAS: Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st)

GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Peter J. Visclosky, D-Ind., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2685). The amendment would have struck from the bill a section barring the transfer of Guantanamo Bay terrorist detainees to the U.S. The vote, on June 10, was 174 yeas to 257 nays.

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

NAYS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

FUNDING SYRIAN REBELS: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Fla., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2685). The amendment would have eliminated $600 million of funding to train and arm Syrian rebels fighting against the Bashar al-Assad regime. The vote, on June 10, was 107 yeas to 323 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NAYS: Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

TRADE AND DEVELOPING NATIONS: The House agreed to a motion sponsored by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to concur in the Senate amendment to the Trade Preferences Extension Act (H.R. 1295). The bill would extend preferential duties for goods imported from Haiti and also extend the generalized system of preferences exempting certain goods from tariffs, as well as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides preferential treatment for textiles and other goods imported from Africa. The vote, on June 11, was 397 yeas to 32 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

COMBAT AGAINST ISLAMIC STATE: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2685). The amendment would have barred funding after March 2016 for military action against the Islamic State group in the absence of specific authorization from Congress. The vote, on June 11, was 196 yeas to 231 nays.

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

NAYS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE: The House passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2685). The amendment would bar funding for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act surveillance programs that search databases, without warrants, to discover information about telecommunications by U.S. citizens. The vote, on June 11, was 255 yeas to 174 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th)

2016 MILITARY SPENDING: The House passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2685), sponsored by Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Pa. The bill would provide $578 billion for the military in fiscal 2016, including $88.4 billion for war efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, and a 2.3 percent pay increase for military members. The vote, on June 11, was 278 yeas to 149 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

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

SENATE VOTES

FUNDING FOR OVERSEAS COMBAT: The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735). The amendment would have capped fiscal 2016 funding for contingency military operations overseas in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere at $50.9 billion until budget caps on general government spending have been lifted. The vote, on June 9, was 46 yeas to 51 nays.

YEAS: McCaskill D-MO

NAYS: Blunt R-MO

REAUTHORIZING EXPORT-IMPORT BANK: The Senate rejected a motion to table an amendment sponsored by Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735). The amendment would reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank for financing exports by domestic companies. The vote to table the amendment, on June 10, was 31 yeas to 65 nays.

NAYS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

SHARING CYBERSECURITY DATA: The Senate rejected a motion to end debate on an amendment sponsored by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735). The amendment would have required the federal government to increase the sharing of information about cybersecurity threats with state and local governments, as well as the private sector, and instituted measures for the private sector to send cybersecurity information to the federal government. The vote, on June 11, was 56 yeas to 40 nays, with a three-fifths majority required to end debate.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO

NAYS: McCaskill D-MO