Congressional votes for March 27

There were eight key votes and 15 roll call votes in the House last week. There were 12 key votes and 53 roll call votes in the Senate. The most important House vote was to pass a budget for fiscal 2016; the most important Senate vote was to pass a fiscal 2016 budget amendment to preserve Social Security benefits.

Along with roll call votes, the House also passed a resolution (H. Res. 53), sponsored by Rep. Robin L. Kelly, D-Ill., to condemn a recent attack by Boko Haram on innocent men, women and children in the northeastern Nigerian town of Baga; and passed the Tenant Income Verification Relief Act (H.R. 233), sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., to allow reviews of certain families' incomes every three years in order to determine their eligibility for certain federal government assisted housing programs.

The Senate also passed the Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act (S. 301), sponsored by Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., to require the Treasury Department to mint coins commemorating the centennial of Boys Town; passed a bill (S. Res. 72), sponsored by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., expressing the sense of the Senate regarding Jan. 24 attacks carried out by Russian-backed rebels on civilians in Mariupol, Ukraine, and providing lethal and non-lethal military aid to Ukraine; and passed a bill (S. Res. 110), sponsored by Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., expressing the sense of the Senate about a strategy for the Internet of Things to promote economic growth and consumer empowerment.

HOUSE VOTES

INTERVENING IN UKRAINE: The House passed a bill (H. Res. 162), sponsored by Rep. Eliot L. Engel, D-N.Y., calling on President Barack Obama to provide lethal military aid to Ukraine's government in its operations against separatists in eastern Ukraine. The vote, on March 23, was 348 yeas to 48 nays.

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

NOT VOTING: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th)

CHANGING VA BUDGETING PROCESS: House passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Budget Planning Reform Act (H.R. 216), sponsored by Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla. The bill would require the Veterans Affairs secretary to annually submit to Congress a planned yearly budget for the VA, and require the secretary to review the budgeting process every four years. The vote, on March 24, was unanimous with 420 yeas.

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

NOT VOTING: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th)

PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS BUDGET PLAN: The House rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., to a bill (H. Con. Res. 27) to establish a fiscal 2016 budget. The budget plan, put forth by the Congressional Progressive Caucus, would have spent $820 billion on infrastructure projects, increased funding for student loans, established a public health insurance option for consumers and increased corporate taxes and taxes on the wealthy. The vote, on March 25, was 96 yeas to 330 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)

BLACK CAUCUS BUDGET PLAN: The House rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., to a bill (H. Con. Res. 27) to establish a fiscal 2016 budget. The budget plan, put forth by the Congressional Black Caucus, would have increased taxes by $2.7 trillion over the next 10 years, spent $500 billion on job-creation programs, increased the minimum wage, and reduced the deficit by $1.9 trillion over 10 years. The vote, on March 25, was 120 yeas to 306 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)

DEMOCRATIC BUDGET PLAN: The House rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., to a bill (H. Con. Res. 27) to establish a fiscal 2016 budget. The amendment would have increased spending on infrastructure and education programs, expanded the child tax credit and earned income tax credit programs, expanded Medicare and Medicaid and increased taxes on the wealthy. The vote, on March 25, was 160 yeas to 264 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)

SPENDING ON WAR ON TERROR: The House passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., to a bill (H. Con. Res. 27) to establish a government budget for fiscal 2016. The amendment would increase fiscal 2016 funding for U.S. military operations in Afghanistan and other areas involved in the war on terrorism from $94 billion to $96 billion, and eliminate a requirement for offsetting spending on the war on terrorism with spending cuts elsewhere. The vote, on March 25, was 219 yeas to 208 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)

ESTABLISHING BUDGET LEVELS: The House passed a bill (H. Con. Res. 27), sponsored by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. The bill would set out a $2.9 trillion government budget for fiscal 2016 and planned budgets for fiscal 2017 through 2025. It would repeal the Affordable Care Act, repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, increase state control over spending on Medicare and other federal programs and cut domestic spending by $5.5 trillion over 10 years. The vote, on March 25, was 228 yeas to 199 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)

MEDICARE REFORM: The House passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2), sponsored by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, R-Texas. The bill would repeal the sustainable growth rate formula for determining Medicare payments to medical providers and replace it with a system that links payments to the quality and value of care. It also would reauthorize through fiscal 2017 the Children's Health Insurance Program, and permanently authorize the Qualifying Individual program to subsidize Medicare part B premiums for low-income seniors. The vote, on March 26, was 392 yeas to 37 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)

SENATE VOTES

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS: The Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 budget. The amendment would establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund intended to protect benefits received by current beneficiaries of Social Security. The vote, on March 24, was 75 yeas to 24 nays.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

INTEREST RATES ON STUDENT LOANS: The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would have allowed borrowers with federal or private student loans to refinance their loans at the interest rates that prevailed during the 2013-2014 school year, and offset the resulting lost government revenue with a 30 percent minimum tax rate. The vote, on March 25, was 46 yeas to 53 nays.

YEAS: McCaskill D-MO

NAYS: Blunt R-MO

WATER REGULATION: The Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would restrict regulations under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to those that protect water quality, and exempt various manmade waterways from regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency. The vote, on March 25, was 59 yeas to 40 nays.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

CLIMATE CHANGE: The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, ID-Vt., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would have authorized the adoption of policies to minimize climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, provided that such policies do not increase the deficit. The vote, on March 25, was 49 yeas to 50 nays.

YEAS: McCaskill D-MO

NAYS: Blunt R-MO

REPLACING SEQUESTER BUDGET CUTS: The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would have replaced the budget sequester agreement with a $148 billion increase in spending in 2016 and 2017, offsetting the increase with the elimination of various tax incentives and tax credits. The vote, on March 25, was 46 yeas to 53 nays.

YEAS: McCaskill D-MO

NAYS: Blunt R-MO

THE U.N. AND ISRAEL: The Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would allow for a decrease in U.S. funding for the United Nations and other international institutions if those institutions adopt policies discriminating against Israel. The vote, on March 25, was unanimous with 99 yeas.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

MEDICAL CARE FOR VETERANS: The Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would allow a veteran who lives more than 40 miles driving distance from the nearest Veterans Affairs medical facility to seek medical care from other, more local facilities if the VA facility cannot provide the care the veteran needs. The vote, on March 26, was unanimous with 100 yeas.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

PELL GRANTS: The Senate rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would have provided $89 billion of Pell Grant funding for higher education. The vote, on March 26, was 46 yeas to 54 nays.

YEAS: McCaskill D-MO

NAYS: Blunt R-MO

CO2 EMISSIONS TAX: The Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would bar the adoption of a tax or fee on carbon dioxide emissions believed to be linked to climate change. Blunt said the ban would avert the significantly higher energy costs Americans face if an emissions tax were adopted. An amendment opponent, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said California's experience with an emissions tax was evidence that a tax "leads to prosperity, jobs and a clean and healthy environment." The vote, on March 26, was 58 yeas to 42 nays.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

FEDERAL EDUCATION STANDARDS: The Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. David Vitter, R-La., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would bar the Education Department from making the distribution of funds to a state contingent on the state adopting Common Core and other federal education standards. The vote, on March 26, was 54 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO

NAYS: McCaskill D-MO

ARMS TRADE AND THE U.N.: The Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 budget. The amendment would bar funding of the United Nations and other international organizations that support the U.N Arms Trade Treaty until the Senate has ratified the treaty. The vote, on March 26, was 59 yeas to 41 nays.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO

NAYS: McCaskill D-MO

EXEMPTION FROM WATER REGULATIONS: The Senate passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., to a bill (S. Con. Res. 11) to establish a fiscal 2016 government budget. The amendment would maintain the Clean Water Act's regulatory exemption for agriculture, ranching and forestry activities, and require scientific evidence for future regulations concerning water quality. The vote, on March 25, was unanimous with 99 yeas.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO