Good morning! Here’s how Cascadia’s Members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending Friday, September 18th, 2020.
In the United States House of Representatives
CONDEMNING RACISM AGAINST ASIAN-AMERICANS: Voting 243 for and 164 against, the House on September 17th adopted a non-binding Democratic-sponsored measure (House Resolution 908) to condemn expressions of racism, discrimination or religious intolerance against Asian-Americans related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the use of such terms as “Chinese Virus,” “Wuhan Virus,” and ”Kung-flu.”
Mark Takano, D‑California, said the measure would counter “the xenophobic anti-Asian rhetoric that President Trump and his allies have been using to distract us from their woefully inadequate response to COVID-19.…fueling racism and inspiring violent attacks on Asian Americans and Asian immigrants.”
Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R‑California, said: “At the heart of this resolution is an absurd notion that referring to the virus as the Wuhan virus or the China virus is the same as contributing to violence against Asian Americans, which I will tell you nobody on this side of the aisle supports.”
A yes vote was in support of the resolution.
 | Voting Nay (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson |
 | Voting Aye (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, and Kurt Schrader; Republican Representative Greg Walden Not Voting (1): Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio |
 | 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: 12 aye votes, 4 nay votes, 1 not voting
ALLOWING THE FILING PRIVATE LAWSUITS AGAINST SCHOOL BIAS: Voting 232 for and 188 against, the House on September 16th passed a bill (H.R. 2574) that would authorize private individuals to file “disparate impact” lawsuits under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This legal doctrine comes into play when government policies that appear neutral on the surface have the effect of discriminating against protected groups. Seemingly neutral policies affecting public schools are often alleged to have an unlawful disparate impact on minorities. This bill would override the 2001 Supreme Court ruling in Alexander v. Sandoval that denies private citizens the right to bring disparate impact claims against federally funded programs.
Bobby Scott, D‑Virgina, said the bill “will restore the right of students and parents to address racial inequities in public schools,” where “discrimination increasingly comes in the form of coded terminology, structural inequality and implicit bias rather than explicit bigotry.”
Virginia Foxx, R‑North Carolina, said: “The creation of a private right of action would lead to additional burdens on already taxed state and local agencies, especially school systems who would have to defend themselves against tenuous allegations advanced by parents and activists.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
| Voting Nay (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson |
| Voting Aye (3): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, and Kurt Schrader Voting Nay (1): Republican Representative Greg Walden Not Voting (1): Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio |
| 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: 10 aye votes, 6 nay votes, 1 not voting
ADDRESSING ANTI-SEMITISM UNDER TITLE VI: Voting 255 for and 164 against, the House on September 16th broadened the duties of officials empowered by H.R. 2574 (above) to monitor compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under the Republican-sponsored motion, these overseers would have to treat anti-Semitism as prohibited discrimination under Title VI, even though the Department of Education and Department of Justice started doing that as early as 2010, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Title VII is the part of the Civil Rights Act focused on religious discrimination.
Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in programs receiving federal assistance.
Sponsor Virginia Foxx, R‑North Carolina, said that under her measure, “We can ensure that recipients of federal education funding are doing all they can to protect members of our communities from horrific anti-Semitism.”
Bobby Scott, D‑Virginia., called the motion “a political attempt to insert religion into Title VI” and divert attention “from that core idea that people who have been discriminated against ought to be able to get into court.”
A yes vote was to adopt the motion.
| Voting Aye (2): Republican Representatives Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher |
| Voting Aye (2): Republican Representative Greg Walden; Democratic Representative Kurt Schrader Voting Nay (2): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer Not Voting (1): Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio |
| Voting Aye (3): Republican Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler, Dan Newhouse, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers Voting Nay (7): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Denny Heck |
Cascadia total: 7 aye votes, 9 nay votes, 1 not voting
ACCOMMODATING PREGNANCY IN THE WORKPLACE: Voting 329 for and 73 against, the House on September 17th passed a bill (H.R. 2694) that would require private-sector firms and government agencies with at least 15 employees to provide reasonable accommodations for workers and job applicants who are pregnant or have recently given birth. The bill would not require employers to make accommodations that impose undue hardship on their operations.
Our own Suzanne Bonamici, D‑Oregon, said: “Reasonable accommodations can range from providing seating, water, and light duty to excusing pregnant workers from tasks that involve dangerous substances. But when pregnant workers do not have access to the accommodations they need, they are at risk of losing their job, being denied a promotion, or not being hired in the first place.”
Virginia Foxx, R‑N.C., said: “House Republicans have long supported protections in federal law for all workers, but especially pregnant workers,” noting that “there are already important protections under federal law to prevent workplace discrimination, including federal laws that rightfully protect pregnant workers.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
| Voting Aye (1): Republican Representative Mike Simpson Voting Nay (1): Republican Representative Russ Fulcher |
| Voting Aye (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, and Kurt Schrader; Republican Representative Greg Walden Not Voting (1): Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio |
| Voting Aye (10): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Denny Heck; Republican Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler, Dan Newhouse and Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
Cascadia total: 15 aye votes, 1 nay vote, 1 not voting
GRANTING EXEMPTION BASED ON RELIGION: Voting 177 for and 226 against, the House on September 17th defeated a Republican bid to exempt employers from having to make reasonable accommodations under H.R. 2694 (above) in cases where to do so would deprive them of religious freedom protected under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Virginia Foxx, R‑North Carolina, said the bill “does not currently include a longstanding provision from the Civil Rights Act that protects religious organizations from being forced to make employment decisions that conflict with their faith,” and therefore it would “create legal risks for religious organizations and their religiously backed employment decisions.”
Bobby Scott, D‑Virginia., said the motion “would jeopardize women’s health and risk their pregnancies in order to provide a religious exemption for employers.” He said “the bill does not in any way amend or change the underlying exemptions in title VII of the Civil Rights Act or Americans with Disabilities Act or any other [law].”
A yes vote was to adopt the Republican motion.
| Voting Aye (2): Republican Representatives Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher |
| Voting Aye (1): Republican Representative Greg Walden Voting Nay (3): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, and Kurt Schrader Not Voting (1): Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio |
| Voting Aye (3): Republican Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler, Dan Newhouse, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers Voting Nay (7): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Denny Heck |
Cascadia total: 6 aye votes, 10 nay votes, 1 not voting
PROMOTING INTEGRATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Voting 248 for and 167 against, the House on September 15th established a grant program to promote integration in school districts where opportunity is sharply divided along racial and economic lines. The bill (H.R. 2639) would provide a limited number of districts with funding to develop strategies for increasing the diversity of student populations shaped by de facto segregation. The bill is patterned after a $10-mllion-per-year Obama administration program, killed by the Trump administration, in which up to twenty school districts received grants to develop pilot programs for increasing racial and economic diversity.
Marcia Fudge, D‑Ohio, said: “Racial segregation in public education has been illegal for more than 66 years in the United States. Still, American public schools are more segregated today than at any time since the 1960s.…[Not] because the law requires it. They are segregated by their ZIP Codes.”
Virginia Foxx, R‑North Carolina called the bill a “mandate that would have the federal government decide how best to address the issues of racial and socioeconomic isolation in America’s schools.…Creating more government programs that have to scramble for funding in order to operate successfully is the last thing we need to foster the best environment for all students to learn. ”
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 (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, and Kurt Schrader; Republican Representative Greg Walden Not Voting (1): Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio |
| 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: 12 aye votes, 3 nay votes, 2 not voting
DEFEATING REPUBLICAN DIVERSITY PLAN: Voting 171 for and 243 against, the House on September 15th defeated a Republican alternative to H.R. 2639 (above) that proposed open-ended funding in the form of block grants rather than narrowly defined categorical grants to increase diversity in K‑12 classrooms.
Sponsor Rick Allen, R‑Georgia, said his amendment is needed because “Democrats have decided the teachers unions are more important to them than real families who are desperate for access to a better education for their children.”
Marcia Fudge, D‑Ohio, said: “I have no idea what bill [Republicans] are reading. There is nothing in this bill about teachers unions or anything else that they are talking about.”
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
| Voting Aye (1): Republican Representative Russ Fulcher Not Voting (1): Republican Representative Mike Simpson |
| Voting Aye (1): Republican Representative Greg Walden Voting Nay (3): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, and Kurt Schrader Not Voting (1): Democratic Representative Peter DeFazio |
| Voting Aye (3): Republican Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler, Dan Newhouse, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers Voting Nay (7): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Denny Heck |
Cascadia total: 5 aye votes, 10 nay votes, 2 not voting
In the United States Senate
CONFIRMING JUDGE VALDERRAMA: Voting 68 for and 26 against, the Senate on September 17th confirmed Franklin U. Valderrama, a Circuit Court judge in Cook County, Illinois as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. Valderrama was an attorney in private practice before joining the Cook County bench in 2007, and he has taught pre-trial civil litigation at the University of Illinois-Chicago John Marshall Law School.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
| Voting Aye (2): |
| Voting Aye (2): |
| Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 6 aye votes
Key votes ahead
This week, the House will take up a clean energy bill and join the Senate in debating stopgap government funding for the fiscal year starting October 1st.
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!
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