For the week that ended June 18
VETERANS AND CONTRACEPTION: The House has rejected the Equal Access to Contraception for Veterans Act (H.R. 239), sponsored by Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif. The bill would have barred the Veterans Affairs Department from requiring military veterans to pay for contraceptive products that VA health insurance plans cover the cost of.
The vote, on June 15, was 240 yeas to 188 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.
YES: Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-3
NO: Yvette Herrell, R-2
CAPITOL RIOT: The House has passed a bill (H.R. 3325), sponsored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that would award four Congressional gold medals to the U.S. Capitol Police for protecting the Capitol complex during the Jan. 6 riot. The vote, on June 15, was 406 yeas to 21 nays.
YES: Herrell, Leger Fernandez
SMALL BUSINESS LOANS: The House has rejected the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act (H.R. 1443), sponsored by Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. The bill would have required the reporting by financial companies of data for loans provided to businesses owned by non-heterosexuals. The vote, on June 15, was 248 yeas to 177 nays, with a two-thirds majority required for approval.
YES: Leger Fernandez D-NM (3rd)
NO: Herrell
DISCLOSURES BY PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES: The House has passed the ESG Disclosure Simplification Act (H.R. 1187), sponsored by Rep. Juan Vargas, D-Calif. The bill would require companies that issue publicly regulated securities to disclose to their shareholders certain environmental, social, and governance metrics and their connection to the company’s long-term business strategy. The vote, on June 16, was 215 yeas to 214 nays.
YES: Leger Fernandez
NO: Herrell
JUNETEENTH HOLIDAY: The House has passed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act (S. 475), sponsored by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., to make June 19 (Juneteenth) a legal public holiday called Juneteenth National Independence Day, to commemorate the day in 1865 when news of the end of slavery in the U.S. reached slaves in Texas. The vote, on June 16, was 415 yeas to 14 nays.
YES: Herrell, Leger Fernandez
IRAQ WAR: The House has passed a bill (H.R. 256), sponsored by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., to repeal Congress’s 2002 resolution authorizing the war in Iraq. The vote, on June 17, was 268 yeas to 161 nays.
YES: Herrell, Leger Fernandez
APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as a judge on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. Jackson has been a judge on the Washington, D.C., district court for the past eight years. The vote, on June 14, was 53 yeas to 44 nays.
YES: Martin Heinrich, D, Ben Ray Luján, D
REGULATING TRADE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lina M. Kahn to serve as chair of the Federal Trade Commission for a term ending in September 2024. Kahn has been a law professor at Columbia University, legal adviser to the FTC, and legal director of the Open Markets Institute. The vote, on June 15, was 69 yeas to 28 nays.
YES: Heinrich, Luján
REGULATING WATER: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Radhika Fox to serve as assistant administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s water office. Fox had been assistant deputy director of the office since January, and before that as CEO of the U.S. Water Alliance. The vote, on June 16, was 55 yeas to 43 nays.
YES: Heinrich, Luján
MARYLAND JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lydia Kay Griggsby to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Maryland. Griggsby has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for the past seven years, and previously was a Senate staffer and an assistant U.S. attorney. The vote, on June 16, was 59 yeas to 39 nays.
YES: Heinrich, Luján
DEPUTY INTERIOR SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Tommy P. Beaudreau to serve as Deputy Interior Secretary. Beaudreau was a senior Interior official for most of the Obama administration, including three years as the first head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The vote, on June 17, was 88 yeas to 9 nays.
YES: Heinrich, Luján
HOMELAND SECURITY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of John K. Tien to serve as the Homeland Security Department’s deputy secretary. Tien was an Army officer for 24 years and, after retiring as a colonel, became an executive at Citigroup. The vote, on June 17, was 60 yeas to 34 nays.
YES: Heinrich, Luján
HOUSE: Melanie Stansbury (D), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D), Yvette Harrell (R)
SENATE: Martin Heinrich (D), Ben Ray Luján (D)
Contact your legislators at the U.S. Capitol
Zip codes: House 20515, Senate 20510
Capitol operator: (202) 224-3121