For the week ending February 27th
OUTLAWING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Voting 224 for and 206 against, the House on Feb. 25 passed a bill (HR 5) that would expand the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Fair Housing Act of 1968 to protect LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) individuals against discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The proposed Equality Act also would expand the Civil Rights Act’s listing of public accommodations to include retail stores, banks and transportation and health care services, and it would designate sexual characteristics as a protected class in public accommodations. In addition, the bill would prohibit the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1994 from being invoked to sanction discrimination against the
LGBTQ community.
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
PROTECTING GRAND CANYON AND WILDERNESS: Voting 227 for and 200 against, the House on Feb. 26 passed a bill (HR 803) that would protect more than 3 million acres of public land in the West as wilderness while putting a permanent ban on uranium mining claims on 1.2 million acres of federally owned land surrounding Grand Canyon National Park in northern Arizona.
In part, the bill would protect from development more than 1 million unspoiled acres in Colorado, 258,400 acres in Washington, 924,700 acres in California and large swaths of public land in Oregon while expanding the National Wild and Scenic River System by adding 460 miles of protected waterways in Washington and 480 miles in California.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
NO: Herrell
BLOCKING BIDEN ENERGY ORDERS: Voting 204 for and 221 against, the House on Feb. 26 defeated a Republican bid to prevent HR 803 (above) from becoming law until after President Biden has rescinded executive orders aimed at transforming the U.S. energy economy from one based on fossil fuels to clean energy over
the next three decades.
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
YES: Herrell
NO: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
APPROVING $1.9 TRILLION IN VIRUS RELIEF: Voting 219 for and 212 against, the House on Feb. 27 approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package (HR 1319) that would expand unemployment benefits by $400 per week from March 14 through Aug. 29; deliver payments of $1,400 per person to individuals earning up to $75,000 and couples up to $150,000; raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour by 2025; expand Paycheck Protection Program benefits for small businesses and non-profits; establish a $25 billion grant program for the restaurant industry; and increase Affordable Care Act premium subsidies for a large number of the uninsured.
The bill would raise the Child Tax Credit from $2,000 to $3,600 for children younger than 6 and $3,000 for ages 6 through 17. It would make the maximum credit refundable to single heads of household earning up to $112,500 and married couples up to $150,000 as well as to families with little or no income in an attempt to lift 4.1 million children above the poverty line and reduce child poverty by 40%. In addition, the bill would expand the earned income tax credit (EITC) for low-income working adults without children at home from $530 to $1,500 per person and raise the top income for receiving the credit from $16,000 to $21,000 for individuals. It would lower the age at which non-students can start claiming the EITC from 25 to 19 and make the credit available to qualified working seniors over 65.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
NO: Herrell
JENNIFER GRANHOLM, SECRETARY OF ENERGY: Voting 64 for and 35 against, the Senate on Feb. 25 confirmed Jennifer M. Granholm, 62, as secretary of energy. She was the first female governor of Michigan and also served as Michigan’s attorney general, the first woman to hold that post.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
YES: Ben Ray Luján, D, Martin Heinrich, D
THOMAS VILSACK, SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: Voting 92 for and seven against, the Senate on Feb. 23 confirmed Thomas J. Vilsack, 70, as secretary of agriculture. A former governor of Iowa, he served as agriculture secretary throughout both terms of the Barack Obama presidency.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
YES: Luján, Heinrich
LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, UNITED NATIONS ENVOY: Voting 78 for and 21 against, the Senate on Feb. 23 confirmed Linda Thomas-Greenfield, 68, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. A 35-year veteran of the Foreign Service, she served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs under former President Barack Obama.
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