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Offering commentary and analysis from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, The Cascadia Advocate provides the Northwest Progressive Institute's uplifting perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Sunday, December 4th, 2022

Last Week In Congress: How Cascadia’s U.S. lawmakers voted (Nov. 28th — Dec. 2nd)

Good morn­ing! Here’s how Cascadia’s Mem­bers of Con­gress vot­ed on major issues dur­ing the leg­isla­tive week end­ing Decem­ber 2nd, 2022.

In the United States House of Representatives

Chamber of the United States House of Representatives

The House cham­ber (U.S. Con­gress photo)

LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING: The House on Novem­ber 29th reject­ed the Law Enforce­ment De-Esca­la­tion Train­ing Act (S. 4003), spon­sored by Sen. John Cornyn, R‑Texas. The bill would have the Jus­tice Depart­ment devel­op train­ing and grant pro­grams for law enforce­ment depart­ments to adopt alter­na­tive respons­es to indi­vid­u­als in a men­tal, behav­ioral health, or sui­ci­dal crisis.

A sup­port­er, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Jer­rold Nadler, D‑New York, said: “Reforms to law enforce­ment, includ­ing deesca­la­tion train­ing, both improve pub­lic safe­ty and reduce crime.” An oppo­nent, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Thomas P. Tiffany, R‑Wisconsin, said the pro­grams were a soft-on-crime approach to law enforce­ment, and “in recent years, these kinds of approach­es to fight­ing crime have been a boon to crim­i­nals and have led to our cur­rent crime epidemic.”

The vote was 247 yeas to 160 nays, with two-thirds required for approval.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Mike Simpson

Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Russ Fulcher

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (4): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader

Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz

The State of Washington

Vot­ing Aye (8): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzan Del­Bene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Prami­la Jaya­pal, Kim Schri­er, Adam Smith, and Mar­i­lyn Strick­land; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Jaime Her­rera Beutler

Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cathy McMor­ris Rodgers

Not Vot­ing (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Dan Newhouse

Cas­ca­dia total: 13 aye votes, 3 nay votes, 1 not voting

CRACK COCAINE SENTENCES: The House has passed the Ter­ry Tech­ni­cal Cor­rec­tion Act (H.R. 5455), spon­sored by Rep. Sheila Jack­son Lee, D‑Texas, to make all those con­vict­ed of crack cocaine offens­es eli­gi­ble for retroac­tive reduc­tions of their sen­tences under the 2010 Fair Sen­tenc­ing Act. Lee said that by sup­plant­i­ng a Supreme Court rul­ing that dis­al­lowed such sen­tenc­ing reduc­tions, the bill would help “erad­i­cate the dev­as­tat­ing con­se­quences of the poor­ly con­ceived War on Drugs.” The vote, on Nov. 29, was 307 yeas to 101 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Nay (2): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (5): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrad­er; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz

The State of Washington

Vot­ing Aye (9): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzan Del­Bene, Rick Larsen, Derek Kilmer, Prami­la Jaya­pal, Kim Schri­er, Adam Smith, and Mar­i­lyn Strick­land; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Dan New­house and Cathy McMor­ris Rodgers

Not Vot­ing (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Jaime Her­rera Beutler

Cas­ca­dia total: 14 aye votes, 2 nay votes, 1 not voting

RAILROAD LABOR DISPUTE: The House on Novem­ber 30th passed a res­o­lu­tion (H.J. Res. 100), spon­sored by Rep. Don­ald M. Payne, Jr., D‑N.J., to require that U.S. rail­roads and sev­er­al rail work­er unions accept labor agree­ments that include wage and ben­e­fit increas­es. Payne said of the need for the res­o­lu­tion: “The fail­ure to pre­vent a rail stop­page would be irre­spon­si­ble as it would have dev­as­tat­ing con­se­quences on our econ­o­my and every­day Amer­i­can life.” The vote was 290 yeas to 137 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (2): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (4): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader

Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz

The State of Washington

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: 15 aye votes, 2 nay votes

DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINA: The House on Decem­ber 1st passed the Uyghur Pol­i­cy Act (H.R. 4785), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Young Kim, R‑California, to require the State Depart­ment to expand its activ­i­ties on behalf of Uyghurs and oth­er minor­i­ty groups liv­ing in Chi­na’s Xin­jiang region. Kim called the bill “a sig­nif­i­cant step in defend­ing the human rights of Uyghurs and oth­er eth­nic minori­ties sub­ject to the CCP’s oppres­sion and genocide.”

The vote was 407 yeas to 17 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (2): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (5): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrad­er; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz

The State of Washington

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

DOULAS AND THE MILITARY: The House on Decem­ber 1st passed the Deliv­er­ing Opti­mal­ly Urgent Labor Access for Vet­er­ans Affairs Act (H.R. 2521), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Bren­da L. Lawrence, D‑Michigan, to insti­tute a five-year pilot pro­gram at the Vet­er­ans Affairs Depart­ment for pro­vid­ing doula ser­vices to preg­nant vet­er­ans. Lawrence said: “As the use of doula ser­vices con­tin­ue to grow, we must look at ways to expand mater­nal health ser­vices for our women in the VA.” The vote was 376 yeas to 44 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Mike Simpson

Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Russ Fulcher

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (5): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrad­er; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz

The State of Washington

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: 16 aye votes, 1 nay vote

COMMUNITY REENTRY: The House on Decem­ber 1st passed the One Stop Shop Com­mu­ni­ty Reen­try Pro­gram Act (H.R. 3372), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Karen Bass, D‑California, to autho­rize Jus­tice Depart­ment grants to local gov­ern­ments and non­prof­it groups for assist­ing the inte­gra­tion of ex-con­victs into com­mu­ni­ties after their release. A bill sup­port­er, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive David N. Cicilline, D‑Rhode Island, said it “will help peo­ple who are exit­ing the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem effec­tive­ly get back on their feet.” An oppo­nent, Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Jim Jor­dan, R‑Ohio, said the bill was redun­dant and waste­ful, and would allow vio­lent crim­i­nals to work at the com­mu­ni­ty reen­try facilities.

The vote was 259 yeas to 167 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Nay (2): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (4): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrader

Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz

The State of Washington

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

PREGNANCIES IN PRISON: The House on Decem­ber 1st passed the Preg­nant Women in Cus­tody Act (H.R. 6878), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Karen Bass, D‑Calif., to require that the fed­er­al gov­ern­men­t’s pris­ons pro­vide ade­quate preg­nan­cy and child­birth ser­vices to incar­cer­at­ed women. A sup­port­er, Rep. Lois Frankel, D‑Florida, said it “will strength­en and pro­mote the health and safe­ty of preg­nant inmates, pro­vid­ing a nation­al stan­dard of care allow­ing chil­dren to have the oppor­tu­ni­ties they deserve.” The vote was 324 yeas to 90 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Mike Simpson

Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Russ Fulcher

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (5): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrad­er; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz

The State of Washington

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: 16 aye votes, 1 nay vote

HOME VISITS FOR EXPECTANT PARENTS: The House on Decem­ber 2nd passed the Jack­ie Walors­ki Mater­nal and Child Home Vis­it­ing Reau­tho­riza­tion Act (H.R. 8876), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Dan­ny K. Davis, D‑Illinois, to reau­tho­rize through fis­cal 2027, and make changes, includ­ing an increase in fund­ing, for the Mater­nal, Infant, and Ear­ly Child­hood Home Vis­it­ing Pro­gram. Davis said the bill, by increas­ing home vis­it resources for expec­tant par­ents at risk for poor mater­nal and child health, would “make a real dif­fer­ence for chil­dren and fam­i­lies across Amer­i­ca.” The vote was 390 yeas to 26 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Mike Simpson

Vot­ing Nay (1): Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Russ Fulcher

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (5): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Rep­re­sen­ta­tives Suzanne Bonam­i­ci, Earl Blu­me­nauer, Peter DeFazio, and Kurt Schrad­er; Repub­li­can Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Cliff Bentz

The State of Washington

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: 16 aye votes, 1 nay vote

In the United States Senate

Chamber of the United States Senate

The Sen­ate cham­ber (U.S. Con­gress photo)

REPEALING DOMA: The Sen­ate on Novem­ber 29th passed the Respect for Mar­riage Act (H.R. 8404), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Jer­rold Nadler, D‑New York, to repeal the Defense of Mar­riage Act and instead fed­er­al­ly rec­og­nize any mar­riage autho­rized under a state’s mar­riage laws, and require states to sim­i­lar­ly rec­og­nize mar­riages in oth­er states.

A sup­port­er, Sen­a­tor Tam­my Bald­win, D‑Wisconsin, called the bill a chance to “give mil­lions of peo­ple in same-sex and inter­ra­cial mar­riages the cer­tain­ty, dig­ni­ty, and respect they need and deserve.”

A bill oppo­nent, Sen­a­tor James Lank­ford, R‑Oklahoma, said it “will put the issue of reli­gious lib­er­ty at great risk for mil­lions of Amer­i­cans who” do not sup­port same-sex mar­riage. The vote was 61 yeas to 36 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Nay (2):
Repub­li­can Sen­a­tors Jim Risch and Mike Crapo

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley

The State of Washington

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Maria Cantwell and Pat­ty Murray

Cas­ca­dia total: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes

REJECTING REPUBLICAN AMENDMENT TO RESPECT FOR MARRIAGE ACT: The Sen­ate on Novem­ber 29th reject­ed an amend­ment spon­sored by Sen­a­tor Mike Lee, R‑Utah, to the Respect for Mar­riage Act (H.R. 8404). The amend­ment would have barred the fed­er­al gov­ern­ment from tak­ing dis­crim­i­na­to­ry action against peo­ple who believe mar­riage is a union of one man and one woman. Lee said the amend­ment was need­ed to pro­tect reli­gious groups that “are being tar­get­ed and harassed by those who would force them to aban­don their con­vic­tions and embrace the con­vic­tions pre­ferred by the government.”

The vote was 48 yeas to 49 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Repub­li­can Sen­a­tors Jim Risch and Mike Crapo

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Nay (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley

The State of Washington

Vot­ing Nay (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Maria Cantwell and Pat­ty Murray

Cas­ca­dia total: 2 aye votes, 4 nay votes

RAILROAD LABOR DISPUTE: The Sen­ate on Decem­ber 1st passed a res­o­lu­tion (H.J. Res. 100), spon­sored by Rep­re­sen­ta­tive Don­ald M. Payne, Jr., D‑New Jer­sey, to require that U.S. rail­roads and sev­er­al rail work­er unions accept labor agree­ments that include wage and ben­e­fit increases.

A sup­port­er, Sen­ate Major­i­ty Leader Chuck Schumer, D‑New York, said: “The con­se­quences of inac­tion would be severe: unsafe drink­ing water, unus­able gaso­line, shut­tered pow­er plants, and a crip­pling shut­down of pas­sen­ger rail across the coun­try.” The vote was 80 yeas to 15 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Repub­li­can Sen­a­tors Jim Risch and Mike Crapo

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (1): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tor Ron Wyden

Vot­ing Nay (1): Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tor Jeff Merkley

The State of Washington

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Maria Cantwell and Pat­ty Murray

Cas­ca­dia total: 5 aye votes, 1 nay vote

CAMILLE L. VELEZ-RIVE, DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: The Sen­ate on Novem­ber 30th con­firmed the nom­i­na­tion of Camille L. Velez-Rive to be a judge on the U.S. dis­trict court for Puer­to Rico. Velez-Rive has been a mag­is­trate judge on the court since 2004, and before that, was a fed­er­al pros­e­cu­tor in Puer­to Rico. The vote was 55 yeas to 42 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Nay (2):
Repub­li­can Sen­a­tors Jim Risch and Mike Crapo

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley

The State of Washington

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Maria Cantwell and Pat­ty Murray

Cas­ca­dia total: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes

ANNE NARDACCI, DISTRICT COURT JUDGE: The Sen­ate on Novem­ber 30th con­firmed the nom­i­na­tion of Anne M. Nar­dac­ci to be a judge on the U.S. Dis­trict Court for the North­ern Dis­trict of New York. Nar­dac­ci has been a pri­vate prac­tice lawyer at firms in New York City, then Albany, since 2002. A sup­port­er, Sen­ate Major­i­ty Leader Chuck Schumer, D‑New York, called Nar­dac­c­ci “the kind of bread-and-but­ter can­di­date that Upstate New York­ers like, and she has built a career tak­ing on spe­cial inter­ests.” The vote was 52 yeas to 44 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Nay (2):
Repub­li­can Sen­a­tors Jim Risch and Mike Crapo

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley

The State of Washington

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Maria Cantwell and Pat­ty Murray

Cas­ca­dia total: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes

ROBERT STORCH, MILITARY INSPECTOR GENERAL: The Sen­ate on Novem­ber 30th con­firmed the nom­i­na­tion of Robert Storch to be the Defense Depart­men­t’s Inspec­tor Gen­er­al. Storch has been the Nation­al Secu­ri­ty Agen­cy’s Inspec­tor Gen­er­al since ear­ly 2018, and pre­vi­ous­ly was an offi­cial in the Jus­tice Depart­men­t’s Office of Inspec­tor Gen­er­al, and a fed­er­al prosecutor.

The vote was 92 yeas to 3 nays.

The State of Idaho

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Repub­li­can Sen­a­tors Jim Risch and Mike Crapo

The State of Oregon

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley

The State of Washington

Vot­ing Aye (2):
Demo­c­ra­t­ic Sen­a­tors Maria Cantwell and Pat­ty Murray

Cas­ca­dia total: 6 aye votes

Key votes ahead

The House is expect­ed to give final approval to the Respect for Mar­riage Act, send­ing it to Pres­i­dent Joe Biden’s desk, and vote on the Nation­al Defense Autho­riza­tion Act for Fis­cal Year 2023 (NDAA) as well as the EAGLE Act of 2022 and the Vet­er­an Ser­vice Recog­ni­tion Act of 2022, among oth­er bills.

The Sen­ate plans to vote on judi­cial nom­i­na­tions. Nom­i­nees for dis­trict court judge­ships in Michi­gan, Penn­syl­va­nia, and Indi­ana will be considered.

Edi­tor’s Note: The infor­ma­tion in NPI’s week­ly How Cas­ca­di­a’s U.S. law­mak­ers vot­ed fea­ture is pro­vid­ed by Tar­get­ed News Ser­vice. 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!

© 2022 Tar­get­ed News Ser­vice, LLC. 

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