Good morning! Here’s how Cascadia’s Members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending Saturday, March 6th, 2021.
In the United States House of Representatives
EXPANDING VOTING RIGHTS, REFORMING CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Voting 220 for and 210 against, the House on March 3rd passed a bill (H.R. 1) designed to broadly expand participation in U.S. elections and make limited changes in the way campaigns are financed. The bill would:
- increase registration opportunities; require voting systems to be backed up with auditable paper ballots;
- qualify felons who have served their time to vote in federal elections;
- require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to disclose personal and any corporate tax returns; modernize voting equipment and harden systems against cyberattacks;
- and prohibit influence peddling by inaugural committees.
The bill would apply primarily to federal elections but also affect state and local balloting in major ways. In other provisions, the bill would:
Gerrymandering: Require states to use 15-member bipartisan and commissions rather than partisan gerrymandering to redraw congressional districts following the decennial census.
Voter registration: Authorize $750 million over five years on state programs to make voter registration easier. States would have to allow no-excuse absentee voting (vote at home); automatically register residents who sign up for government services including education; allow registration applications online and in person on Election Day; and provide at least fifteen days’ early voting.
Public campaign financing: Impose a surcharge on penalties paid by corporate and high-income tax cheats and use the projected $2 billion in revenue over 10 years to partially finance House general and primary election campaigns. Incumbents and challengers who agree to a $200 limit on individual contributions would receive $6 in public funds for each $1 raised privately.
Technology platforms: Require large social media networks (including Facebook, Google and Twitter) to compile public databases of foreign actors and other entities seeking to purchase at least $500 annually in political ads and identify anonymous “dark money” financiers of political ads to the public.
Lloyd Doggett, D‑Texas, said the bill “restores guardrails to our democracy that almost went off the rails as Republicans pledged their loyalty to the cult of Donald Trump. Republicans have long found success creatively suppressing the votes, restrictive voter ID laws, limiting voter hours, locations, and extreme gerrymandering… Fraud is their description of any election that they lose.”
Claudia Tenney, R‑New York, branded the bill as “an attempt to destroy democracy by federalizing aspects of U.S. elections constitutionally delegated to the states. It would prohibit commonsense voter ID rules, encourage ballot harvesting, require no-excuse absentee and early voting, permit felons and noncitizens to vote, and make colleges and universities… voter-registration agencies.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
Voting Nay (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson | |
Voting Aye (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader Voting Nay (1): Republican Representative Cliff Bentz | |
Voting Aye (7): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland Voting Nay (3): Republican Representatives Jaime Herrera Beutler, Dan Newhouse, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers |
Cascadia total: 11 aye votes, 6 nay votes
REJECTING AMENDMENT TO REMOVE DEMOCRACY PANEL: Voting 207 for and 218 against, the House on March 2nd refused to remove from H.R. 1 (above) a proposed commission for protecting U.S. democratic institutions against foreign interference. The amendment was sponsored by Republicans, who said ample defenses already are in place to fend off manipulation from abroad.
Rodney Davis, R‑Illinois, said “absolutely no one wants foreign interference in our elections, but the last thing we need to do is create a commission with another layer of bureaucracy when we have programs in place that have been successful for our local election officials.”
Zoe Lofgren, D‑California, said that “in light of the evidence of foreign interference in the 2016, 2018 and 2020 federal elections, the federal government needs a coordinated approach to protect and secure our democracy.”
Voting Aye (2): Republican Representatives Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher | |
Voting Aye (1): Republican Representative Cliff Bentz Voting Nay (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader | |
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 Marilyn Strickland |
Cascadia total: 6 aye votes, 11 nay votes
PREVENTING, PUNISHING MISCONDUCT BY POLICE: The House on March 3rd passed, 220 for and 212 against, a bill (H.R. 1280) that would set federal rules and guidelines for policing practices at all levels of government.
In addition to addressing misconduct by federal officers, the bill would use the high levels of police funding in federal programs to induce state and local reforms. Dubbed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, the bill would:
Chokeholds: Prohibit federal police from using chokeholds or other applications of pressure on the carotid arteries, throats or windpipes of persons being restrained, and use federal financial incentives to encourage state and local police to do the same. The use of chokeholds based on race would be defined as a civil rights violation.
No more qualified immunity: Eliminate the “qualified immunity” defense from federal and non-federal civil litigation in which a police officer is sued for damages based on misconduct including excessive use of force.
Lynching, no-knock drug warrants: Make lynching a federal crime and prohibit no-knock warrants in federal drug cases while using federal funding to induce states and localities to do the same.
Federal subpoena power: Give the Department of Justice subpoena power for investigating discriminatory and brutal patterns and practices by local departments, and fund efforts by state attorneys general to investigate troubled departments.
Registry of misconduct: Establish a National Police Misconduct Registry of officers fired by local departments for reasons including excessive use of force.
Racial, religious profiling: Prohibit racial, religious and discriminatory profiling by federal and nonfederal law enforcement; aggrieved individuals could bring civil actions for declaratory or injunctive relief.
Use of force: Require police to justify use of force on grounds it was “necessary” rather than merely “reasonable” and require state and local police to report use-of-force data by race, sex, disability, religion and age to a Department of Justice database.
Evidence standard: Lower the criminal-intent standard of evidence in police misconduct prosecutions under federal law from “willful” to “reckless.”
Camera rules: Require uniformed federal police to wear body cameras and marked federal police cars to mount dashboard cameras, while giving state and local departments financial incentives to do the same.
Local oversight: Fund local task forces to develop practices based on community policing rather than the use of force.
Military equipment: Limit the Pentagon’s transfer of combat-level equipment to state and local police.
Sexual misconduct: Make it a crime for a federal officer to engage in sex, even if it is consensual, with an individual under arrest or in custody, and use financial incentives to encourage states to enact the same prohibition.
Ritchie Torres, D‑New York, said the purpose of the bill “is not to second guess officers who act in good faith [but] to hold liable officers who repeatedly abuse their power and who rarely, if ever, face consequences for their repeat abuses. If you are a good officer, you have nothing to fear. But if you are a bad officer, you have accountability to fear.…”
Nicole Malliotakis, R‑New York., said the bill “aims to cripple or degrade our law enforcement” and would “diminish public safety and prevent…officers from serving and protecting our communities, all while trying to hold them personally liable. The brave men and women who put on the uniform every day deserve better.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
Voting Nay (2): Republican Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson | |
Voting Aye (4): Democratic Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader Voting Nay (1): Republican Representative Cliff Bentz | |
Voting Aye (7): Democratic Representatives Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Pramila Jayapal, Kim Schrier, Adam Smith, and Marilyn Strickland 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
APPROVING $1.9 TRILLION IN VIRUS RELIEF: Voting 50 for and 49 against, the Senate on March 6 approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package (H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan) that would:
- expand unemployment benefits by $300 per week from March 14th through September 6th;
- deliver payments of $1,400 per person to individuals with incomes up to $75,000, single parents earning up to $112,500 and couples up to $150,000;
- increase the Child Tax Credit in a way designed to eventually cut child poverty nearly in half;
- deliver $350 billion to state, county, city, tribal and territorial governments;
- establish a $25 billion grant program for the restaurant industry;
- increase Patient Protection Act premium subsidies for a large number of the uninsured;
- fund the reopening of K‑12 schools;
- provide $25 billion in rental aid to avert evictions and $10 billion to help landlords meet their expenses;
- and fund programs to vaccinate against COVID-19 and slow the spread of the virus.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the House.
Voting Nay (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes
ADVANCING VIRUS RELIEF: By a tally of 51 for and 50 against, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote, the Senate on March 4th advanced the American Rescue Plan (H.R. 1319, above) toward a vote on final passage, which then occurred on Saturday, March 5th.
Unlike the House-passed version, the bill would leave the $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage unchanged. A yes vote was to advance the bill.
Voting Nay (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes
KEEPING FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE AT $7.25: Voting 42 for and 58 against, the Senate on March 5th failed to reach sixty votes needed to include a proposed raise in the federal minimum wage — from $7.25 per hour at present to $15 per hour by 2025 — in H.R. 1319 (above).
The amendment, spearheaded by Bernie Sanders, sought to overcome a parliamentary ruling that found the wage hike to be not germane to the bill.
A yes vote was to gradually raise the federal minimum wage.
Voting Nay (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes
MIGUEL CARDONA, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: Voting 64 for and 33 against, the Senate on March 1st confirmed Miguel A. Cardona, forty-five, as secretary of education, the first Latino to hold that position.
An educator in public schools for twenty years, he served most recently as Connecticut’s commissioner of education. A bilingual son of Puerto Rican parents, he was raised in public housing in Connecticut.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
Voting Nay (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes
GINA RAIMONDO, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: Voting 84 for and 15 against, the Senate on March 2nd confirmed Gina M. Raimondo, forty-nine, the first woman governor of Rhode Island, as secretary of commerce.
Formerly a venture capitalist, she has an undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard College and is a graduate of Yale Law School.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
Voting Aye (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): | |
Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 6 aye votes
CECILIA ROUSE, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: Voting 95 for and 4 against, the Senate on March 2nd confirmed Cecilia E. Rouse, fifty-seven, as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, a White House unit that determines administration economic policies. The dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and a specialist in labor economics, Rouse also served former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as an economic adviser.
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
The House and Senate legislative schedules for the week of March 8th have yet to be announced, but both chambers will be in session.
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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