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 House also passed the Airport Perimeter and Access Control Security Act (H.R. 5056); passed the Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act (H.R. 3178) to streamline information about institutions of higher education provided by the Education Department; passed the Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act (H.R. 5528) to simplify the FAFSA; and passed the Solar Fuels Innovation Act (H.R. 5638) to establish the Solar Fuels Basic Research Initiative at the Energy Department.

The Senate also passed the Waterfront Community Revitalization and Resiliency Act (S. 1935) to require Commerce Department activities to support waterfront community revitalization and resiliency; passed the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act (S. 2854); passed the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (H.R. 3700) to provide housing opportunities by modernizing various housing programs; passed a bill (S. Con. Res. 46) expressing support for the goal of ensuring that all Holocaust victims live with dignity, comfort, and security in their remaining years; and passed the Indian Employment, Training and Related Services Consolidation Act (S. 1443) to facilitate the ability of Indian tribes to integrate employment, training and related services from diverse federal government sources.

HOUSE

COMBATING HEROIN, PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE: The House has agreed to the conference report for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 524), sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. The bill would direct the Justice Department to issue grants to state and local governments for treatment, training, education and other programs that respond to the growing public health threat caused by use of heroin and opioid prescription drugs. The vote, on July 8, was 407 yeas to 5 nays.

YEAS: Full delegation

CLOSING MEETINGS ON MILITARY SPENDING TALKS: The House has agreed to a motion sponsored by Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, to close to the public meetings of the House-Senate conference to negotiate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2943) at times when the meetings consider matters involving classified national security information. The motion was not debated on the House floor. The vote, on July 8, was 397 yeas to 14 nays.

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; John Lewis, D-5; 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

TREASURY DEPARTMENT AND TERRORISM: The House has passed the Enhancing Treasury’s Anti-Terror Tools Act (H.R. 5607), sponsored by Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C. The bill would increase requirements for the Treasury Department to report to Congress on suspected terrorism financing and money laundering activities and increase the Treasury’s diplomatic role at U.S. embassies in other countries. The vote, on July 11, was 362 yeas to 45 nays.

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

NAYS: Hice

REPORTING TERRORIST FINANCING: The House has rejected the Anti-Terrorism Information Sharing Is Strength Act (H.R. 5606), sponsored by Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C. The bill would have expanded legal protections for banks that file suspicious activity reports with the federal government for suspected financial crimes included certain unlawful activities and broadened the range of suspected illegal activities abroad that banks should report to the government. Pittenger said that by encouraging more reporting by banks, the bill would help stop terrorist groups from getting the funding necessary to carry out violent acts and undermine society. The vote, on July 11, was 229 yeas to 177 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for passage.

YEAS: Bishop, D. Scott

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

PRIVATE EXPERTS AND GOVERNMENT SERVICE: The House has passed the Tested Ability to Leverage Exceptional National Talent Act (H.R. 5658), sponsored by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The bill would permanently authorize the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, which recruits technical experts in the private sector to serve in the government for no more than two years. The vote, on July 12, was 409 yeas to 8 nays.

YEAS: Full delegation

REGULATING DRINKING WATER: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., to the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (H.R. 4768). The amendment would have exempted from the bill Environmental Protection Agency regulations of lead and copper levels in drinking water supplies. The vote, on July 12, was 194 yeas to 223 nays.

YEAS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

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

REGULATORY AUTHORITY AND THE COURTS: The House has passed the Separation of Powers Restoration Act (H.R. 4768), sponsored by Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas. The bill would authorize federal courts reviewing a government agency’s actions to rule on all relevant questions of law brought up by the case, including the agency’s interpretation of legal and constitutional provisions and the rules the agency has issued. The vote, on July 12, was 240 yeas to 171 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

REGULATING OFFSHORE OIL WELLS: The House has rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5538). The amendment would have struck a bill provision eliminating funding for implementation of an Interior Department rule for controlling offshore oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico. The vote, on July 12, was 186 yeas to 237 nays.

YEAS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

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

EPA AND COLORADO WASTEWATER SPILL: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5538). The amendment would provide $6 million for Environmental Protection Agency grants to states and Indian tribes to monitor water quality in rivers affected by the EPA’s August 2015 Gold King Mine wastewater spill in southwest Colorado. The vote, on July 12, was 219 yeas to 207 nays.

YEAS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

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

BUYING HEAVY WATER FROM IRAN: The House has passed the No 2H2O from Iran Act (H.R. 5119), sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kan. The bill would block funding for any federal government purchases of heavy water produced by Iran. The vote, on July 13, was 249 yeas to 176 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

NOT VOTING: Loudermilk

ABORTION AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS: The House has passed the Conscience Protection Act (S. 304), sponsored by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D. The bill would block the federal government from withholding payments or otherwise discriminating against health care providers who refuse to perform or facilitate abortions. The vote, on July 13, was 245 yeas to 182 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

NATIONAL OCEAN POLICY: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5538). The amendment would block funding for implementation of the National Ocean Policy adopted in a 2010 Obama administration executive order. The vote, on July 13, was 237 yeas to 189 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

REVIEWING ENDANGERED SPECIES LISTINGS: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5538). The amendment would block funding for any threatened species or endangered species listing that has not undergone a five-year review as required under the Endangered Species Act. The vote, on July 13, was 238 yeas to 190 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

LAWSUITS AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT: The House has passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5538). The amendment would bar funding for federal agencies to pay legal fees under any settlement of a lawsuit that arises under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, or the Endangered Species Act. The vote, on July 13, was 226 yeas to 202 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

GMO LABELING STANDARD: The House has approved a motion to concur in the Senate amendment to a bill (S. 764), sponsored by Sen. Roger F. Wicker, R-Miss. It would require the Agriculture Department to establish a national disclosure standard for bioengineered foods, including foods with genetically modified organisms, that would pre-empt state disclosure standards. The vote, on July 14, was 306 yeas to 117 nays.

YEAS: Full delegation

SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN: The House has passed the Iran Accountability Act (H.R. 5631), sponsored by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. The bill would set out mandatory sanctions against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and other Iranian entities believed to support terrorism and other human rights abuses. The vote, on July 14, was 246 yeas to 179 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

INTERIOR, EPA FUNDING BILL: The House has passed the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 5538), sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif. The bill would provide $32.1 billion of fiscal 2017 funding for the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency, and various other environmental and artistic agencies, including the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art. The vote, on July 14, was 231 yeas to 196 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

IRANIAN ACCESS TO U.S. BANKS: The House has passed the United States Financial System Protection Act (H.R. 4992), sponsored by Rep. Edward R. Royce, R-Calif. The bill would take various measures to bar Iran from accessing the U.S. financial system and making transactions in U.S. dollars until Iran is found to have ceased its support of international terrorism and ceased its biological, chemical and nuclear weapons programs. The vote, on July 14, was 246 yeas to 181 nays.

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

NAYS: Bishop, Johnson, Lewis, D. Scott

SENATE

NEGOTIATING VERSIONS OF ENERGY BILL: The Senate has agreed to a motion to end debate on a motion to disagree with the House amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act (S. 2012) and request a conference with the House to negotiate the two chambers’ versions of the bill. The bill would direct the Energy Department to conduct various electricity storage and vehicle technology research programs, adopt new energy efficiency standards, increase cybersecurity requirements for the electricity grid and require speedy reviews of applications to export liquefied natural gas. The vote to end debate, on July 12, was 84 yeas to 3 nays. The Senate subsequently passed, by voice vote, the motion to go to conference.

YEAS: Johnny Isakson, R

NAYS: David Perdue, R

REAUTHORIZING THE FAA: The Senate has agreed to the House amendments to the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act (H.R. 636), sponsored by Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi, R-Ohio. The bill would reauthorize the FAA and change various aviation policies, including the adoption of new rules aimed at improving the safe operation of unmanned drone aircraft and avoiding midair collisions between drones and airplanes, and tighten mental health evaluation standards for commercial pilots. The vote, on July 13, was 89 yeas to 4 nays.

YEAS: Perdue, Isakson

LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Carla D. Hayden to serve as Librarian of Congress for a 10-year term. The vote, on July 13, was 74 yeas to 18 nays.

NAYS: Perdue, Isakson

OPIOID AND HEROIN ABUSE: The House has agreed to the conference report for the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (S. 524), sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I. The bill would direct the Justice Department to issue grants to state and local governments for treatment, training, education and other programs that respond to the growing public health threat caused by use of heroin and opioid prescription drugs. The vote, on July 13, was 92 yeas to 2 nays.

YEAS: Perdue, Isakson

VISAS FOR AFGHAN INTERPRETERS: The Senate has approved a motion sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., to instruct conferees with the House to negotiate the two chambers’ versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2943). The motion would instruct conferees to insist that the bill include an extension of the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program and expand the number of visas offered to Afghan interpreters to the military in the Afghanistan war. The vote, on July 14, was 84 yeas to 12 nays.

YEAS: Perdue, Isakson

FUNDING NEW MILITARY COMMITMENTS: The Senate has approved a motion sponsored by Sen. Daniel Sullivan, R-Alaska, to instruct conferees with the House to negotiate the two chambers’ versions of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2943). The motion would instruct conferees to insist that the bill authorize funding for the recent expansion of U.S. activity in the Afghanistan war, the war against Islamic State (ISIS) and other recent expansions of military commitments. The vote, on July 14, was 85 yeas to 12 nays.

YEAS: Perdue, Isakson

DEBATING MILITARY SPENDING BILL: The Senate has rejected a cloture motion to end debate on the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5293), sponsored by Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-N.J. The bill would fund $575.8 billion of fiscal 2017 military spending by the Defense Department, including $58.6 billion for combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and other overseas countries. The vote, on July 14, was 55 yeas to 42 nays, with a three-fifths majority needed to end debate.

YEAS: Perdue, Isakson

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VA, ZIKA FUNDING BILL: The Senate has rejected a cloture motion to end debate on the conference report with the House for the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act and Zika Response and Preparedness Act (H.R. 2577). The bill would provide $82.5 billion for the Veterans Affairs Department and military construction programs in fiscal 2017, and provide $1.1 billion to fund programs for responding to the Zika virus outbreak. The vote, on July 14, was 52 yeas to 44 nays, with a three-fifths majority needed to end debate.

YEAS: Perdue, Isakson