For the week ending March 12
PROTECTING LABOR’S RIGHT TO ORGANIZE: Voting 225 for and 206 against, the House on March 9 passed a bill (HR 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.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: Deb Haaland, D-1, Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-3
NO: Yvette Herrell, R-2
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.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
NO: Herrell
CHECKS ON UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS: Voting 207 for and 217 against, the House on March 11 defeated a Republican motion to HR 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.
A yes vote was to adopt the GOP requirement.
YES: Herrell
NO: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
EXTENDING GUN BACKGROUND CHECKS: Voting 219 for and 210 against, the House on March 11 passed a bill (HR 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 20 business days.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
NO: Herrell
GIVING FINAL OK TO VIRUS RELIEF: Voting 220 for and 211 against, the House on March 10 gave final congressional approval to a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package (HR 1319) that would add $300 per week to unemployment checks through Sept. 6; 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 Affordable Care 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 virus.
A yes vote was to send the bill to President Biden.
YES: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
NO: Herrell
CONFIRMING MERRICK GARLAND AS ATTORNEY GENERAL: Voting 70 for and 30 against, the Senate on March 10 confirmed federal appeals judge Merrick B. Garland, 68, as attorney general. Garland held Department of Justice positions under former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. In 2016, his nomination to the Supreme Court was blocked in the GOP-controlled Senate for 10 months and then withdrawn.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
YES: Ben Ray Luján, D, Martin Heinrich, D
CONFIRMING MARCIA FUDGE AS SECRETARY OF HOUSING: Voting 66 for and 34 against, the Senate on March 10 confirmed Rep. Marcia L. Fudge, D-Ohio, as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fudge, 68, 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.
YES: Luján, Heinrich
CONFIRMING MICHAEL REGAN AS EPA CHIEF: Voting 66 for and 34 against, the Senate on March 10 confirmed Michael S. Regan, 44, 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.
YES: Luján, Heinrich
HOUSE: Deb Haaland (D) Ben Ray Luján (D) Yvette Herrell (R)
SENATE: Martin Heinrich (D) Tom Udall (D)
Contact your legislators at the U.S. Capitol
Zip codes: House 20515, Senate 20510
Capitol operator: (202) 224-3121