Last Week In Congress: How Cascadia’s U.S. lawmakers voted (March 14th-18th)

Good morn­ing! Here’s how Cascadia’s Mem­bers of Con­gress vot­ed on major issues dur­ing the leg­isla­tive week end­ing Fri­day, March 18th, 2022.

In the United States House of Representatives

PROTECTING AMERICANS FROM UNFAIR ARBITRATION REQUIREMENTS: The House on March 17th passed the Forced Arbi­tra­tion Injus­tice Repeal Act (H.R. 963), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Hank John­son Jr., D‑Georgia., to inval­i­date agree­ments to use arbi­tra­tion to set­tle dis­putes that involve employ­ment, con­sumer, antitrust, or civ­il rights litigation.

John­son said: “It is a con­sti­tu­tion­al right that, when there is a dis­pute, a par­ty should be able to take that dis­pute to court and have a jury tri­al, and no forced con­tract should deprive that per­son of that con­sti­tu­tion­al right.”

A bill oppo­nent, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Dan Bish­op, R‑North Car­oli­na, said it would destroy the use of arbi­tra­tion, a legal mech­a­nism “used with great util­i­ty and uti­lized through­out the last hun­dred years almost, since 1925.”

The vote was 222 yeas to 209 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

BARRING DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF HAIRSTYLE: The House on March 18th passed the Cre­at­ing a Respect­ful and Open World for Nat­ur­al Hair Act (H.R. 2116), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Bon­nie Cole­man Wat­son, D‑New Jer­sey, to pro­hib­it dis­crim­i­na­tion in the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment based on a hair tex­ture or hair­style that is tied to eth­nic­i­ty or race. Wat­son Cole­man said: “There is no log­i­cal rea­son that any­one should be dis­crim­i­nat­ed against on any lev­el because of the tex­ture of their hair or the style of their hair.”

An oppo­nent, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Jim Jor­dan, R‑Ohio, said the bill was unnec­es­sary because “under cur­rent law, if a per­son­’s hair­style or hair tex­ture is asso­ci­at­ed with a per­son­’s race or nation­al ori­gin and is used as a pre­text for dis­crim­i­na­tion, that con­duct is unlaw­ful.” The vote was 235 yeas to 189 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, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Prami­la Jaya­pal, Kim Schri­er, Adam Smith, and Mar­i­lyn Strick­land; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Jaime Her­rera Beut­ler and Dan Newhouse Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cathy McMor­ris Rodgers

Cas­ca­dia total: 13 aye votes, 4 nay votes

SUSPENDING TRADE WITH RUSSIA: The House on March 17th passed the Sus­pend­ing Nor­mal Trade Rela­tions with Rus­sia and Belarus Act (H.R. 7108), spon­sored by Rep. Richard E. Neal, D‑Massachusetts, to sus­pend nor­mal trade rela­tions with the two coun­tries, at the World Trade Orga­ni­za­tion and oth­er trade groups, over Rus­si­a’s inva­sion of Ukraine. Neal said: “We must do every­thing in our pow­er to hold Rus­sia account­able for the atroc­i­ties it is com­mit­ting hourly in the nation of Ukraine.” The vote was 424 yeas to 8 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

DIGITIZING FEDERAL MAPS OF PUBLIC LANDS: The House on March 5th passed the Mod­ern­iz­ing Access to Our Pub­lic Land Act (H.R. 3113), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Blake Moore, R‑Utah, to direct fed­er­al agen­cies to devel­op com­pat­i­bil­i­ty stan­dards for dig­i­tiz­ing and dis­trib­ut­ing geo­graph­ic infor­ma­tion sys­tem data on gov­ern­ment lands that are acces­si­ble for recre­ation­al purposes.

Moore said: “Mak­ing this infor­ma­tion more detailed and acces­si­ble in the dig­i­tal age is one of the many rea­sons why this bill enjoys such broad support.”

The vote was 414 yeas to 9 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

PROTECTING FISHERIES AND WESTERN RIVERS: The House on March 15th passed the Upper Col­orado and San Juan Riv­er Basins Recov­ery Act (H.R. 5001), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Joe Neguse, D‑Colorado, to extend, through 2024, the Inte­ri­or Depart­men­t’s author­i­ty to build facil­i­ties to aid recov­ery of endan­gered fish pop­u­la­tions in two South­west riv­er basins.

The vote was 397 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

PRESERVING LOUISIANA THEATER: The House has passed the Save the Lib­er­ty The­atre Act (H.R. 3197), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Mike John­son, R‑Louisiana, to con­vey two parcels of fed­er­al park­land in Eunice, Louisiana, to the city of Eunice for the reha­bil­i­ta­tion of its Lib­er­ty Theatre.

The vote was 422 yeas to 4 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

EL PASO MEMORIAL GARDEN: The House on March 16th passed a bill (H.R. 4380), spon­sored by Rep. Veron­i­ca Esco­bar, D‑Texas, to des­ig­nate a gar­den in El Paso, Texas, as the El Paso Com­mu­ni­ty Heal­ing Gar­den Nation­al Memo­r­i­al, while not mak­ing the gar­den part of the Nation­al Park System.

Esco­bar said the des­ig­na­tion would “help ensure that our entire coun­try hon­ors the 23 inno­cent lives we lost in the attack on El Paso on August 3rd, 2019.”

The vote was 403 yeas to 25 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

WORLD WAR II HISTORY SITES: The House on March 16th passed the Japan­ese Amer­i­can World War II His­to­ry Net­work Act (H.R. 6434), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Jay Ober­nolte, R‑California, to estab­lish a net­work of Nation­al Park Ser­vice mate­ri­als at sites relat­ed to Japan­ese Amer­i­cans and World War II, includ­ing relo­ca­tion camps. A sup­port­er, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Bruce West­er­man, R‑Arkansas, said: “The new net­work will be an impor­tant tool to ensure that this his­to­ry, no mat­ter how painful it may be, is always remem­bered, and the impor­tant sto­ries of interned Japan­ese Amer­i­cans are told with hon­or and respect.” The vote was 406 yeas to 16 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

SHALANDA YOUNG, OMB DIRECTOR: The Sen­ate on March 15th con­firmed the nom­i­na­tion of Sha­lan­da Young to be Direc­tor of Office of Man­age­ment and Bud­get (OMB). Young, the OMB act­ing direc­tor since March 2021, was pre­vi­ous­ly a senior aide, in sev­er­al dif­fer­ent roles, on the House Appro­pri­a­tions Com­mit­tee. A sup­port­er, Sen­a­tor Gary C. Peters, D‑Michigan, said Young “has done an exem­plary job serv­ing as OMB’s Act­ing Direc­tor for the past year. She is a ded­i­cat­ed pub­lic ser­vant and a proven leader.” The vote was 61 yeas to 36 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

CANCELING A CDC RULE REQUIRING MASKING ON PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: The Sen­ate on March 15th passed a res­o­lu­tion (S.J. Res. 37), spon­sored by Sen­a­tor Rand Paul, R‑Kentucky, to dis­ap­prove of and void a Cen­ters for Dis­ease Con­trol rule requir­ing mask­ing on var­i­ous modes of trans­porta­tion, includ­ing trains, air­planes, and buses.

Paul said: “No statute exists that remote­ly con­veys a pow­er to man­date masks to any depart­ment of the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment.” An oppo­nent, Sen­a­tor Tim Kaine, D‑Virginia, said can­celling the rule “could lead us to be extreme­ly vul­ner­a­ble if there were a resurge in coro­n­avirus cas­es, as we are see­ing in oth­er nations like Ger­many.” The vote was 57 yeas to 40 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

JACQUELINE CORLEY, U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: The Sen­ate on March 17th con­firmed the nom­i­na­tion of Jacque­line Cor­ley to be a judge on the U.S. dis­trict court for the north­ern dis­trict of Cal­i­for­nia. Cor­ley has been a mag­is­trate judge in the dis­trict since 2011, and pre­vi­ous­ly was a clerk for a dis­trict judge. The vote was 63 yeas to 36 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

FRED SLAUGHTER, U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: The Sen­ate on March 17th con­firmed the nom­i­na­tion of Fred W. Slaugh­ter to be a judge on the U.S. dis­trict court for the cen­tral dis­trict of Cal­i­for­nia. Slaugh­ter, a fed­er­al pros­e­cu­tor in the dis­trict from 2002 to 2014, has since been an Orange Coun­ty Supe­ri­or Court judge. A sup­port­er, Sen­a­tor Alex Padil­la, D‑California, said: “Judge Slaugh­ter’s long career demon­strates his legal excel­lence as well as his com­mit­ment to pro­vid­ing jus­tice for all.” The vote was 57 yeas to 41 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

ADDITIONAL SENATE VOTES: Along with this week’s roll call votes, the Sen­ate also passed, by voice vote, the Safe Con­nec­tions Act (S. 120), to pre­vent and respond to the mis­use of com­mu­ni­ca­tions ser­vices that facil­i­tates domes­tic vio­lence and oth­er crimes, and the Sun­shine Pro­tec­tion Act of 2021 (S. 623), which would make day­light sav­ing time the new, per­ma­nent stan­dard time, effec­tive as of Novem­ber 5th, 2023.

Key votes ahead

This week, the Sen­ate plans to take up H.R. 4521, the Unit­ed States Inno­va­tion and Com­pe­ti­tion Act of 2021. The House of Rep­re­sen­ta­tives will be in recess.

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