Good morning! Here’s how Cascadia’s United States Senators voted on major issues during the legislative week ending Friday, August 6th, 2021.
The United States House of Representatives was in recess.
In the United States Senate
TRIBAL HEALTHCARE: The Senate on August 2nd passed an amendment sponsored by Senator Alex Padilla, D‑California, to the Invest in America Act (H.R. 3684) that would expand funding authority for renovating and building health care facilities for urban Indian tribal organizations. Padilla called the expanded authority “an easy, no-cost, bipartisan way to help ensure that this package bolsters infrastructure in Indian country.”
The vote was 90 ayes to 7 nays.
 | Voting Aye (2): |
 | Voting Aye (2): |
 | Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 6 aye votes
STUDYING HIGHWAY USE: The Senate on August 3rd passed an amendment sponsored by Senator Cynthia Lummis, R‑Wyoming, to the Invest in America Act (H.R. 3684), to require the Transportation Department to make a study of vehicle highway usage and the cost of wear to highways caused by that usage.
Lummis said: “A highway cost allocation study provides the data that we need in order to make long-term, sustainable, and fiscally sound decisions about how best to invest in our nation’s aging infrastructure.” The vote was 95 yeas to 3 nays.
| Voting Aye (2): |
| Voting Aye (2): |
| Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 6 aye votes
REJECTING TRUMP’S WALL: The Senate on August 4th rejected an amendment sponsored by Senator Ron Johnson, R‑Wisconsin, to the Invest in America Act (H.R. 3684), that would have barred the cancellation of contracts for building walls and other security systems at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Johnson said: “Let’s not waste the taxpayers’ money. Let’s recognize walls work. We need to complete the 285 miles of wall that will help secure our border, that will help secure our homeland, and that will help keep Americans safe.”
An amendment opponent, Sen. Gary Peters, D‑Michigan, said: “We need to move forward with smart, bipartisan investments that secure both our southern and our northern borders, and we must not look backward at the former administration’s boondoggle.” The amendment failed by a vote of 48 ayes to 49 nays.
| Voting Aye (2): |
| Voting Nay (2): |
| Voting Nay (2): |
Cascadia total: 2 aye votes, 4 nay votes
REJECTING FISCAL CONSTRAINTS ON INFRASTRUCTURE BILL: The Senate on August 4th rejected an amendment sponsored by Senator Rick Scott, R‑Florida, to the Invest in America Act (H.R. 3684), that would have prohibited spending authorized by the bill if the Congressional Budget Office finds that the spending would increase inflation, in which case the relevant funds would instead be used to reduce the federal debt.
Scott cited the need to “start doing something about inflation” and recognize that the $1.2 trillion of spending proposed by the bill could hurt consumers by adding to inflationary pressures. The amendment failed by a vote of 42 ayes to 55 nays.
| Voting Aye (2): |
| Voting Nay (2): |
| Voting Nay (2): |
Cascadia total: 2 aye votes, 4 nay votes
LIMOUSINE SAFETY: The Senate on August 4th passed an amendment sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D‑New York, to the Invest in America Act (H.R. 3684), to require the Transportation Department to develop seat-belt and other safety requirements for stretch limousines.
The vote was 58 yeas to 39 nays.
| Voting Nay (2): |
| Voting Aye (2): |
| Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 4 aye votes, 2 nay votes
UR MENDOZA JADDOU, DHS DIRECTOR OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES: The Senate on July 30th confirmed the nomination of Ur Mendoza Jaddou to serve as the Homeland Security Department’s director of citizenship and immigration services (USCIS).
Jaddou was chief counsel for the agency during the latter part of the Obama administration. A supporter, Senator Dick Durbin, D‑Illinois, said that in her time as chief counsel, Jaddou “not only sharpened her mastery of immigration law, she also gained valuable experience navigating USCIS’s administrative complexities and operations.” The vote was 47 ayes to 34 nays.
| Voting Nay (1): Republican Senator Mike Crapo Not Voting (1): Republican Senator Jim Risch |
| Voting Aye (2): |
| Voting Aye (2): |
Cascadia total: 4 aye votes, 1 nay vote, 1 not voting
Other Senate action
Along with the week’s roll call votes, the Senate also passed a resolution (S. Res. 310), expressing solidarity with Cuban citizens demonstrating peacefully for fundamental freedoms, condemning the Cuban regime’s acts of repression, and calling for the immediate release of arbitrarily detained Cuban citizens; the RENACER Act (S. 1041), to advance the strategic alignment of United States diplomatic tools toward the realization of free, fair, and transparent elections in Nicaragua; and a bill (S. 812), to direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization.
Key votes ahead
The Senate is scheduled today to resume consideration of H.R. 3684, beginning at 9 AM Pacific. Votes are expected. Proceedings can be watched on C‑SPAN 2.
“Pending is the Sinema-Portman substitute amendment #2137, as amended, post-cloture,” Senator Roy Blunt’s RPC website advises. “All time during adjournment, recess, and Morning Business counts against the post-cloture time. If all post-cloture time is used, it will expire circa 7:50 PM Eastern.”
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