Georgia delegation congressional voting

WASHINGTON — Here’s a look at how Georgia’s members of Congress voted over the previous week.

Along with roll call votes this week, the Senate also passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (S. 2040) to deter terrorism and provide justice for victims of terrorism; passed the POLICE Act (S. 2840) to authorize COPS grantees to use grant funds for active shooter training; and passed the North Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (S. 1335) to implement the Convention on the Conservation and Management of the High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean.

The House also passed the Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Prevention Act (H.R. 3832) to amend the tax code to prevent tax-related identity theft and tax fraud; passed a bill (H. Con. Res. 88) reaffirming the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances as the cornerstone of United States-Taiwan relations; passed the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (H.R. 1150) to improve the ability of the U.S. to advance religious freedom globally; and passed the Department of Homeland Security Strategy for International Programs Act (H.R. 4780) to require the development of a comprehensive strategy for Homeland Security operations abroad.

HOUSE

GRANTS FOR COUNTERING OPIOID ABUSE: The House has passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 524), sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. The bill would authorize Justice Department grants to state governments and other parties to respond to prescription opioid and heroin overdoses and prevent and treat opioid abuse. The vote, on May 13, was 400 yeas to 5 nays.

YEAS: Full delegation

CYBERSECURITY PARTNERSHIPS: The House has passed the National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium Act (H.R. 4743), sponsored by Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas. The bill would authorize the creation of a National Cybersecurity Preparedness Consortium at the Homeland Security Department, with responsibility for helping Homeland Security establish programs and strategies for addressing cybersecurity risks and attacks in partnership with state and local governments. The vote, on May 16, was 394 yeas to 3 nays.

YEAS: Full delegation

REGULATING PESTICIDE USE: The House has rejected the Zika Vector Control Act (H.R. 897), sponsored by Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Ohio. The bill would have blocked the Environmental Protection Agency and state governments from requiring a Clean Water Act permit for most discharges into navigable waterways of authorized pesticides. Gibbs said a recently imposed permitting requirement for pesticide use by hundreds of thousands of Americans has created a substantial and unnecessary financial and administrative burden with no environmental benefit and could encourage the spread of Zika and other mosquito-borne diseases. The vote, on May 17, was 262 yeas to 159 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for passage.

YEAS: Rick Allen, R-12; Sanford Bishop, D-2; Buddy Carter, R-1; Doug Collins, R-9; Tom Graves, R-14; Jody Hice, R-10; Barry Loudermilk, R-11; Tom Price, R-6; Austin Scott, R-8; David Scott, D-13: Lynn Westmoreland, R-3; Rob Woodall, R-7

NAYS: Hank Johnson, D-4

NOT VOTING: John Lewis, D-5

CLOSING GUANTANAMO BAY PRISON: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909). The amendment would have removed a provision barring funding to close the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba for jailing suspected enemy combatants against the U.S. Nadler said closing Guantanamo would uphold America’s professed support of liberty by no longer imprisoning people “indefinitely who have not been charged, let alone convicted, of any crime and who, in some cases, have been judged not to pose any threat to the United States.” An amendment opponent, Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, called the detainees “the most hardened terrorists the world has ever seen, and, more importantly, they have the blood of Americans on their hands,” making it necessary to imprison them outside the U.S. The vote, on May 18, was 163 yeas to 259 nays.

YEAS: Bishop, Johnson

NAYS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, D. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

NOT VOTING: Lewis

FUNDING ZIKA PROGRAMS: The House has passed the Zika Response Appropriations Act (H.R. 5243), sponsored by Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky. The bill would provide $622 million for the Health and Human Services Department to spend on efforts to contain the Zika virus and treat Zika victims. Rogers said the funding to develop Zika vaccines, prepare for potential Zika outbreaks and monitor the disease, and care for pregnant women and babies particularly vulnerable to Zika responded to “a great threat to public health not only in the United States, but around the globe.” A bill opponent, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., called it an insufficient and tardy response to a major public health emergency and instead proposed spending $1.9 billion on Zika response efforts. The vote, on May 18, was 241 yeas to 184 nays.

YEAS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE MILITARY: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. John Fleming, R-La., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909). The amendment would block funding for two executive orders requiring the Defense Department to account for climate change in its acquisitions and planning processes and spend money to meet green energy goals such as installing renewable energy projects on military bases. The vote, on May 18, was 227 yeas to 198 nays.

YEAS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

SCOPE OF MILITARY OPERATIONS IN AFGHANISTAN: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909). The amendment would have eliminated language in the bill that authorized the president to expand combat operations in Afghanistan. The vote, on May 18, was 131 yeas to 292 nays.

YEAS: Johnson, Lewis

NAYS: Allen, Bishop, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, D. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

MILITARY BUDGET FOR 2017: The House has passed the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4909), sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas. The bill would authorize $610 billion of fiscal 2017 funding for the Defense Department and military construction programs, including military actions overseas, change the military’s health care system and reform the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The vote, on May 18, was 277 yeas to 147 nays.

YEAS: Allen, Bishop, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, D. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

NAYS: Johnson, Lewis

MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE BY VETERANS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4974). The amendment would bar funding for the VA to implement any rules that bar the VA’s medical providers from fulfilling recommendations regarding a veteran’s participation in a state medical marijuana program. Blumenauer said the VA rules force veterans to independently obtain prescriptions for medical marijuana rather than get prescriptions from the VA doctor who has been treating the veteran, creating cost and treatment burdens for veterans as they deal with conditions stemming from their military service. An amendment opponent, Rep. Charles W. Dent, R-Pa., said Congress should not dictate policy on medical marijuana without guidance from medical professionals. The vote, on May 19, was 233 yeas to 189 nays.

YEAS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

NAYS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

MILITARY BASES AND ALIEN CHILDREN: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. John Fleming, R-La., to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4974). The amendment would bar funding for building or renovating facilities at domestic military bases in order to house unaccompanied alien children. The vote, on May 19, was 219 yeas to 202 nays.

YEAS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

LABOR CONTRACTS FOR GOVERNMENT CONSTRUCTION: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4974). The amendment would have barred funding for implementation of a presidential executive order promoting the use of project labor agreements for federal construction projects of more than $25 million. The vote, on May 19, was 209 yeas to 216 nays.

YEAS: Allen, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

FUNDING MILITARY CONSTRUCTION AND THE VA: The House has passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4974), sponsored by Rep. Charles W. Dent, R-Pa. The bill would provide $176 billion of combined discretionary and mandatory funding for the Veterans Affairs Department and $7.7 billion for military construction projects in fiscal 2017, including increased funding for VA efforts to treat hepatitis C and mental health, prevent suicide and prevent homelessness. The vote, on May 19, was 295 yeas to 129 nays.

YEAS: Allen, Bishop, Carter, Collins, Graves, Hice, Loudermilk, Price, A. Scott, Westmoreland, Woodall

NAYS: Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

SENATE

MARYLAND DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Paula Xinis to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the Maryland district. A supporter, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., praised Xinis’s professional competency, citing her experience as a law clerk on the U.S. Fourth Circuit Appeals Court, private practice criminal defense lawyer and 13 years as a public defender in the Maryland district. The vote, on May 16, was 53 yeas to 34 nays.

NAYS: David Perdue, R; Johnny Isakson, R

ZIKA EMERGENCY FUNDING: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2577). The amendment would provide $1.1 billion of emergency supplemental funding for Health and Human Services Department measures to contain the Zika virus and treat Zika victims. The vote, on May 19, was 68 yeas to 30 nays.

YEAS: Isakson

NAYS: Perdue

FAIR HOUSING RULE: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Susan M. Collins, R-Maine, to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2577). The amendment would block funding for HUD to implement a rule known as the affirmatively furthering fair housing rule concerning racial demographics and HUD grants as they relate to local zoning laws. Collins said the funding block ensured that HUD cannot use the rule to dictate zoning by local governments and would allow those governments to continue to make their own decisions to meet federal fair housing requirements. The vote, on May 19, was 87 yeas to 9 nays.

YEAS: Perdue, Isakson

FUNDING TRANSPORTATION, HUD, MILITARY AGENCIES: The Senate has 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 more than $300 billion to fund both the Transportation and HUD departments and the Veterans Affairs Department and military construction programs in fiscal 2017. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the transportation and housing provisions “will invest in our transportation systems and help ensure safety and efficiency,” while the VA and military construction provisions “will help improve care for veterans and increase oversight and accountability efforts at the VA.” The vote, on May 19, was 89 yeas to 8 nays.

YEAS: Perdue, Isakson