Last Week In Congress: How Cascadia’s U.S. lawmakers voted (Nov 30th-Dec 3rd)

Good morn­ing! Here’s how Cascadia’s Mem­bers of Con­gress vot­ed on major issues dur­ing the leg­isla­tive week end­ing Fri­day, Decem­ber 3rd, 2021.

In the United States House of Representatives

KEEPING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OPEN: The House on Decem­ber 2nd passed the Fur­ther Extend­ing Gov­ern­ment Fund­ing Act (H.R. 6119), spon­sored by Rep. Rosa L. DeLau­ro, D‑Connecticut, to extend appro­pri­a­tions for fed­er­al gov­ern­ment pro­grams through Feb­ru­ary 18th, 2022. DeLau­ro said: “A vote against this con­tin­u­ing res­o­lu­tion is a vote to shut the gov­ern­ment down.”

An oppo­nent, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Ken Calvert, R‑California, said the bill rep­re­sent­ed a “fail­ure to gov­ern” by the Demo­c­ra­t­ic major­i­ty by sub­sti­tut­ing stop­gap leg­is­la­tion for a prop­er fis­cal 2022 bud­get plan. The vote was 221 yeas to 212 nays.

	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

STRENGTHENING VACCINATION INITIATIVES: The House on Novem­ber 30th passed the Immu­niza­tion Infra­struc­ture Mod­ern­iza­tion Act (H.R. 550), spon­sored by Rep. Ann Kuster, D‑N.H., to require the Health and Human Ser­vices Depart­ment to take mea­sures to improve vac­ci­na­tion admin­is­tra­tion mon­i­tor­ing sys­tems, includ­ing autho­riz­ing $400 mil­lion of grants to states for that purpose.

A sup­port­er, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Frank Pal­lone Jr., D‑New Jer­sey, said updat­ing immu­niza­tion infor­ma­tion sys­tems would “help con­trol dis­ease out­breaks, and put our pub­lic health infra­struc­ture on a sol­id foun­da­tion for years to come.”

The vote was 294 yeas to 130 nays.

	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 (9): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzan Del­Bene, Derek Kilmer, Prami­la Jaya­pal, Kim Schri­er, Adam Smith, and Mar­i­lyn Strick­land; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Jaime Her­rera Beut­ler, Dan New­house, and Cathy McMor­ris Rodgers Not Vot­ing (1): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Rick Larsen

Cas­ca­dia total: 15 aye votes, 2 nay votes

PLANNING FOR 6G WIRELESS NETWORKS: The House on Decem­ber 1st passed the Future Uses of Tech­nol­o­gy Uphold­ing Reli­able and Enhanced Net­works Act (H.R. 4045), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Michael F. Doyle, D‑Pennsylvania.

The bill would cre­ate the 6G Task Force at the Fed­er­al Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Com­mis­sion. Doyle said: “To ensure that all Amer­i­cans ben­e­fit from the next gen­er­a­tion of wire­less tech­nol­o­gy, 6G, we need to be con­sid­er­ing it now.”

The vote was 394 yeas to 27 nays.

	Vot­ing Aye (2): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
	Vot­ing Aye (5): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrad­er; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz
	Vot­ing Aye (10): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzan Del­Bene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Prami­la Jaya­pal, Kim Schri­er, Adam Smith, and Mar­i­lyn Strick­land; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Jaime Her­rera Beut­ler, Dan New­house, and Cathy McMor­ris Rodgers

Cas­ca­dia total: 17 aye votes

CYBERSECURITY EDUCATION: The House on Decem­ber 1st passed the Amer­i­can Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Lit­er­a­cy Act (H.R. 4055), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Adam Kinzinger, R‑Illinois, to require the Nation­al Telecom­mu­ni­ca­tions and Infor­ma­tion Admin­is­tra­tion to adopt a cyber­se­cu­ri­ty lit­er­a­cy cam­paign to edu­cate the gen­er­al pub­lic of ways to reduce cyber­se­cu­ri­ty risks.

The vote was 408 yeas to 17 nays.

	Vot­ing Aye (2): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
	Vot­ing Aye (5): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrad­er; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz
	Vot­ing Aye (10): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzan Del­Bene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Prami­la Jaya­pal, Kim Schri­er, Adam Smith, and Mar­i­lyn Strick­land; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Jaime Her­rera Beut­ler, Dan New­house, and Cathy McMor­ris Rodgers

Cas­ca­dia total: 17 aye votes

RESTORING TRIBAL LANDS: The House on Decem­ber 1st passed a bill (H.R. 4352), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Bet­ty McCol­lum, D‑Minnesota, to over­ride a 2009 Supreme Court rul­ing and allow the Inte­ri­or Depart­ment to take land into trust on behalf of Native Amer­i­can tribes regard­less of when the tribes were rec­og­nized by the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment. McCol­lum said the 2009 rul­ing imposed on the tribes “an unfair, sep­a­rate, and unequal process, a fun­da­men­tal­ly dis­crim­i­na­to­ry process for restor­ing their homelands.”

A bill oppo­nent, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Paul A. Gosar, R‑Arizona, said it would “allow for new off-reser­va­tion casi­nos to be opened in your states, in your com­mu­ni­ties, and in your back­yard, and for land to be ripped away from local juris­dic­tions with­out recourse.”

The vote was 302 yeas to 127 nays.

	Vot­ing Aye (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Mike Simpson Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Russ Fulcher
	Vot­ing Aye (4): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz
	Vot­ing Aye (10): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzan Del­Bene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Prami­la Jaya­pal, Kim Schri­er, Adam Smith, and Mar­i­lyn Strick­land; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Jaime Her­rera Beut­ler, Dan New­house, and Cathy McMor­ris Rodgers

Cas­ca­dia total: 15 aye votes, 2 nay votes

BARRING THE EXPORT OF TRIBAL ARTIFACTS: The House on Decem­ber 2nd passed the Safe­guard Trib­al Objects of Pat­ri­mo­ny Act (H.R. 2930), spon­sored by Rep. Tere­sa Leg­er Fer­nan­dez, D‑New Mex­i­co, to bar the expor­ta­tion of ille­gal­ly acquired Amer­i­can Indi­an trib­al mate­ri­als. Leg­er Fer­nan­dez said: “The pro­tec­tion of these cul­tur­al items must be a pri­or­i­ty for our coun­try, because once they are stolen and tak­en out of our coun­try, they become lost to those who revere them.”

The vote was 364 yeas to 57 nays.

	Vot­ing Aye (2): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson
	Vot­ing Aye (5): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrad­er; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz
	Vot­ing Aye (10): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzan Del­Bene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Prami­la Jaya­pal, Kim Schri­er, Adam Smith, and Mar­i­lyn Strick­land; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Jaime Her­rera Beut­ler, Dan New­house, and Cathy McMor­ris Rodgers

Cas­ca­dia total: 17 aye votes

In the United States Senate

KEEPING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OPEN: The Sen­ate has passed the Fur­ther Extend­ing Gov­ern­ment Fund­ing Act (H.R. 6119, above) spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Rosa L. DeLau­ro, D‑Conn., to extend appro­pri­a­tions for fed­er­al gov­ern­ment pro­grams through Feb­ru­ary 18th, 2022.

A sup­port­er, Sen­a­tor Patrick J. Leahy, D‑Vermont, said that along with pro­vid­ing need­ed time to adopt 2022 spend­ing leg­is­la­tion, the bill “will include crit­i­cal fund­ing to sup­port Afghan refugees as we help them get reset­tled here in the Unit­ed States.” The vote was 69 yeas to 28 nays.

	Vot­ing Nay (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: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes

BRIAN NELSON, TREASURY UNDERSECRETARY: The Sen­ate on Decem­ber 2nd con­firmed the nom­i­na­tion of Bri­an Nel­son to be the Trea­sury Depart­men­t’s under sec­re­tary for ter­ror­ism and finan­cial crimes. Nel­son, a long­time offi­cial in Cal­i­for­ni­a’s Jus­tice Depart­ment whose assign­ments there includ­ed mon­ey laun­der­ing and transna­tion­al crime, is cur­rent­ly chief legal offi­cer for the orga­niz­ing com­mit­tee for the 2028 sum­mer Olympics.

The vote was 50 yeas to 49 nays.

	Vot­ing Nay (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: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes

REJECTING REPUBLICAN AMENDMENT TO BLOCK COVID-19 TESTING OR VACCINATION MANDATE: The Sen­ate on Decem­ber 2nd reject­ed an amend­ment spon­sored by Sen­a­tor Roger Mar­shall, R‑Kansas, to the Fur­ther Extend­ing Gov­ern­ment Fund­ing Act (H.R. 6119). The amend­ment would have barred fund­ing for enforce­ment of the Biden admin­is­tra­tion’s var­i­ous fed­er­al gov­ern­ment and pri­vate employ­er Covid-19 vac­ci­na­tion requirements.

Mar­shall said: “No prece­dent exists in Amer­i­can his­to­ry for pun­ish­ing pri­vate employ­ers who don’t enforce gov­ern­ment vac­cine edicts.” An amend­ment oppo­nent, Sen­a­tor Pat­ty Mur­ray, D‑Washington, called the require­ments among “the strongest tools we have to get peo­ple vac­ci­nat­ed, keep them safe, and end this pan­dem­ic once and for all.” The vote was 48 yeas to 50 nays.

	Vot­ing Aye (2): Repub­li­can Sen­a­tors Jim Risch and Mike Crapo
	Vot­ing Nay (2): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley
	Vot­ing Nay (2): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Maria Cantwell and Pat­ty Murray

Cas­ca­dia total: 2 aye votes, 4 nay votes

Key votes ahead

The House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives plans to take up the Pro­tect­ing our Democ­ra­cy Act and the Fis­cal Year 2022 Nation­al Defense Autho­riza­tion Act. The House may also con­sid­er leg­is­la­tion relat­ed to increas­ing the debt lim­it and end of year health­care pro­vi­sions. The Sen­ate sched­ule was to be announced.

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