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Sunday, January 19th, 2020
Last Week In Congress: How Cascadia’s U.S. lawmakers voted (January 13th-17th)
Good morning! Here’s how Cascadia’s Members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending Friday, January 17th.
In the United States House of Representatives
The House chamber (U.S. Congress photo)
SENDING IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES TO SENATE: Voting 228 for and 193 against, the House on January 15th adopted a resolution sending to the Senate the two articles of impeachment against President Trump the House approved on December 18th. Minnesota Democrat Collin Peterson, who voted with Republicans in opposition, was the only member to break party ranks.
The measure (House Resolution 798) also appointed seven House Democrats to make the case for impeachment in a Senate trial now underway.
If convicted by a two-thirds vote of senators present, Trump would be removed from office. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and leaders of the Senate’s Republican majority have predicted acquittal.
Jerrold Nadler, D‑New York, said “This trial is necessary because President Trump gravely abused the power of his office when he strong-armed a foreign government to launch investigations into his domestic political rival.…And then he violated the Constitution by stonewalling Congress’ efforts to investigate…”
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R‑California, said: “This was all an exercise in raw partisan politics contrary to the intentions of our founders…the fastest and weakest and thinnest impeachment in American history.”
A yes vote was to send the two impeachment articles to the Senate (see the impeachment vote in this special edition of LWIC) and appoint trial managers.
Voting Nay (1): Republican Representative Russ Fulcher
Not Voting (1): Republican Representative Mike Simpson
Voting Aye (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader
Voting Nay (1): Republican Representative Greg Walden
Voting Aye (7): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Denny Heck
Voting Nay (3): Republican Representatives Jaime Herrera-Beutler, Dan Newhouse, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Cascadia total: 11 aye votes, 5 nay votes, 1 not voting
RELAXING EVIDENCE STANDARD FOR AGE DISCRIMINATION: Voting 261 for and 155 against, the House on January 15th passed a bill (H.R. 1320) that would relax the standard of proof for plaintiffs to win lawsuits filed under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.
The law protects job applicants and employees against age-based bias in hiring and firing, promotions, compensation and other conditions of employment.
Under a 2009 Supreme Court decision, plaintiffs must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that their age was the sole basis for an adverse employment decision.
This bill would restore the law’s original, less-restrictive standard under which plaintiffs must prove age was only a motivating factor — not the sole factor — behind the decision. In addition, the bill specifies that the less demanding standard also applies to lawsuits filed under the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (commonly abbreviated as the ADA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the antiretaliatory provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The Pacific Northwest’s own Suzanne Bonamici, D‑Oregon, said “age discrimination in the workplace remains disturbingly pervasive. According to the AARP, three in five workers over the age of 45 reported seeing or experiencing age discrimination on the job. Americans are living and working longer, and we must do all we can to protect them from discrimination.”
Tim Walberg, R‑Michigan, said: “Right now, we have an economy that is booming… Our focus should be on protecting workers and encouraging greater workforce participation and not rewarding lawyers through increased opportunities to garner legal fees… This bill is designed to help attorneys, not workers.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
Voting Nay (1): Republican Representative Russ Fulcher
Not Voting (1): Republican Representative Mike Simpson
Voting Aye (5): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader; Republican Representative Greg Walden
Voting Aye (8): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Denny Heck; Republican Representative Jaime Herrera-Beutler
Voting Nay (2): Republican Representatives Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Cascadia total: 13 aye votes, 3 nay votes, 1 not voting
BLOCKING ADMINISTRATION RULE ON STUDENT LOANS: Voting 231 for and 180 against, the House on January 16th nullified a new Trump administration rule that would offer potential debt relief to certain students defrauded by their college in obtaining a federal education loan but quash Obama-era “borrower defense” protections for students enrolled in for-profit colleges.
The measure (House Joint Resolution 76) was sponsored by Democrats. The Trump rule would apply to defrauded students at private and public institutions as well as for-profit colleges but would help far fewer students than the Obama rule because of stricter eligibility standards for obtaining relief.
Andy Levin, D‑Michigan, said Trump administration officials “will go to the ends of the earth to defend predatory for-profit colleges at the expense of our students and taxpayers.” He said their rule “creates unnecessary obstacles for students seeking debt relief” from these schools.
Virginia Foxx, R‑North Carolina, said: “Where the Obama administration went haywire was when they blurred the distinction between what acts or omissions constitute fraud versus an inadvertent mistake.” She said that under the Obama rule, “a single marketing error” could subject the school to financial duress.
A yes vote was to send the resolution to the Senate.
Voting Nay (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
Voting Aye (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, Kurt Schrader
Voting Nay (1): Republican Representative Greg Walden
Voting Aye (7): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Denny Heck
Voting Nay (3): Republican Representatives Jaime Herrera-Beutler, Dan Newhouse, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Cascadia total: 11 aye votes, 6 nay votes
In the United States Senate
The Senate chamber (U.S. Congress photo)
SETTING NEW RULES FOR NORTH AMERICAN TRADE: Voting 89 for and 10 against, the Senate on January 16th passed a bill (H.R. 5430) giving final congressional approval to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which would replace the twenty-five-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as the framework for commerce among the three countries.
The agreement requires Mexico to guarantee workers the right to join unions and engage in collective bargaining; authorizes fast-track probes of labor violations in Mexico and factory-specific penalties when transgressions are found; gives U.S. dairy and poultry farmers more access to Canadian markets; raises environmental standards but does not address climate change; sets wage requirements that benefit U.S. and Canadian auto factories over Mexico’s; and protects Internet companies against liability for their users’ content.
Our own Ron Wyden, D‑Oregon, said the agreement’s strong rules on digital trade and technology “protect every single American industry” while empowering the United States “to fight back against authoritarian governments that use the Internet as a tool to repress their own people, bully American businesses and workers and meddle with the free speech rights of American citizens.”
Pat Toomey, R‑Pennsylvania, objected to the fact that the bill’s $843 billion opening price tag was not offset elsewhere in the federal budget and therefore would increase the national debt.
A yes vote was to send the bill to Donald Trump.
Voting Aye (2):
Republican Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo
Voting Aye (2):
Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley
Voting Aye (2):
Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray
Cascadia total: 6 aye votes
CONFIRMING PETER GAYNOR AS FEMA CHIEF: Voting 81 for and eight against, the Senate on January 14th confirmed Peter T. Gaynor as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, where he had been deputy administrator and then acting administrator between October 2018 and March 2019. Gaynor, the director of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency between 2015–2018, is a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
Voting Aye (2):
Republican Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo
Voting Aye (2):
Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley
Voting Aye (2):
Democratic Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray
Cascadia total: 6 aye votes
Key votes ahead
The Senate will conduct an impeachment trial of President Trump during the week of January 20th, while the House will be in recess.
Editor’s Note: The information in NPI’s weekly How Cascadia’s U.S. lawmakers voted feature is provided by Voterama in Congress, a service of Thomas Voting Reports. All rights are reserved. Reproduction of this post is not permitted, not even with attribution. Use the permanent link to this post to share it… thanks!
© 2020 Thomas Voting Reports.
# Written by Voterama in Congress :: 7:30 AM
Categories: Legislative Advocacy, Series & Special Reports
Tags: Last Week In Congress, U.S. House Roll Call Votes, U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes
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