Good morning! Here’s how Cascadia’s Members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending Friday, March 12th, 2021.
In the United States House of Representatives
GIVING FINAL OKAY TO VIRUS RELIEF: Voting 220 for and 211 against, the House of Representatives on March 10th gave final congressional approval to a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package (H.R. 1319) that would:
- add $300 per week to unemployment checks through September 6th;
- deliver payments of $1,400 per person to 150 million Americans;
- increase the Child Tax Credit in a way designed to cut child poverty nearly in half;
- deliver $350 billion to state, county, city, tribal and territorial governments;
- provide $25 billion in grants to the restaurant industry;
- increase Patient Protection Act premium subsidies;
- 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 novel coronavirus (SARS CoV‑2).
A yes vote was to send the bill to President Biden.
 | 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
PROTECTING LABOR’S RIGHT TO ORGANIZE: Voting 225 for and 206 against, the House on March 9th passed a bill (H.R. 842) that would protect and expand employee rights to collectively bargain for better pay, benefits and working conditions. The bill would establish the right to organize as a civil right enforceable in federal court, prohibit the permanent replacement of striking workers and enable employees to file class-action lawsuits over working conditions. The bill also would negate state right-to-work laws allowing non-union employees to benefit from negotiated contracts without paying union dues.
In addition, the bill would:
- Make it difficult for employers to classify “gig economy” workers as independent contractors to prevent them from joining unions.
- Authorize stiff National Labor Relations Board fines for employers who unlawfully disrupt organizing campaigns.
- Impose personal liability on corporate directors who knowingly sanction their company’s union-busting tactics.
- Allow immediate reinstatement in court, through injunctive relief, of workers fired for union activity.
- Allow mediation and arbitration to resolve disputes between newly certified unions and companies in drafting their first contract.
- Permit unions to conduct secondary boycotts.
- Allow union elections to be conducted at neutral sites and prohibit employers’ “captive audience” meetings to persuade workers.
- Permit workers with multiple employers to negotiate directly with the one exercising the most control over their employment.
- Prevent employers from using a worker’s immigration status to determine his or her terms of employment.
Our own U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, D‑Washington, said the bill “will undo decades of Republican antiworker policies. It puts power back into the hands of workers and secures the right to organize and bargain for good wages, fair benefits and an equal voice on the job.”
Scott Fitzgerald, R‑Wisconsin, said the bill would “undermine the ability of states to choose their own labor laws by striking down the right-to-work laws of twenty-seven states,” forcing “millions of workers to pay dues to labor unions without any say about how their money was spent.”
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
EXPANDING CHECKS ON GUN SALES: The House on March 11 voted, 227 for and 203 against, to expand federal gun background checks to cover sales conducted at gun shows, over the Internet or through classified ads, with an exception for sales between family members. The bill (HR 8) would plug loopholes that allow millions of U.S. firearms sales to skirt the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which is structured to deny guns to the mentally ill, individuals with criminal records and domestic abusers.
Mike Thompson, D‑California, said: “Every day thirty people are killed by someone using a gun. That number jumps to one hundred if you factor in accidents and suicides involving guns. The steady stream of gun violence devastates families, communities, and schools… This status quo is not okay.
Greg Murphy, R‑North Carolina, said the bill would “absurdly hamper people’s ability to exercise their constitutional right to defend themselves. This sort of broad government overreach does not save lives but treats everyday law-abiding citizens like criminals.”
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 CHECKS ON UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS: Voting 207 for and 217 against, the House on March 11 defeated a Republican motion to H.R. 8 (above) requiring undocumented immigrants to be reported to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement when federal background checks detect they are attempting to buy a firearm.
Ben Cline, R‑Virgina, said: “Since 1998, over 28,000 illegal aliens have been denied a firearm after failing a [background] check… This means over 28,000 criminals have been allowed to stay in the United States when ICE should have been alerted about their criminal act but [was] not.”
No opponent spoke against the motion.
A yes vote was to adopt the Republican requirement.
| 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
EXTENDING GUN BACKGROUND CHECKS: Voting 219 for and 210 against, the House on March 11th passed a bill (H.R. 1446) that would allow more time for the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System to complete reviews of impending gun sales. Now, sales automatically go through if the check is not finished within three business or weekend days.
The bill would extend the window to as many as twenty business days.
Jerrold Nadler, D‑New York, said the bill would “close a dangerous loophole that puts weapons in the hands of individuals who should not legally be permitted to purchase them merely because the FBI is not able to complete the background check in time.”
Kat Cammack, R‑Florida., said the bill “puts the onus on individuals to contact the government if their background check hasn’t been completed in ten days. You know who cannot afford to wait? The single mom looking to protect herself and her children from a violent ex who has just been released from jail.”
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
CONFIRMING MARCIA FUDGE AS SECRETARY OF HOUSING: Voting 66 for and 34 against, the Senate on March 10th confirmed Representative Marcia L. Fudge, D‑Ohio, as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fudge, sixty-eight, was a mayor in suburban Cleveland before entering Congress in 2009, and she once chaired the Congressional Black Caucus.
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
CONFIRMING MICHAEL REGAN AS EPA CHIEF: Voting 66 for and 34 against, the Senate on March 10th confirmed Michael S. Regan, forty-four, as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the first Black person to lead the agency in its 50-year history. A specialist in reducing air pollution, Regan served at the EPA under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and was secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
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
Key votes ahead
The House will take up a bill to protect women against violence during the week of March 15th, while the Senate will vote on Biden administration nominees.
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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