For the week ending March 5th
EXPANDING VOTING RIGHTS, REFORMING CAMPAIGN FINANCE: Voting 220 for and 210 against, the House on March 3 passed a bill (HR 1) designed to broadly expand participation in U.S. elections and make limited changes in the way campaigns are financed. The bill would increase registration opportunities; require voting systems to be backed up with auditable paper ballots; qualify felons who have served their time to vote in federal elections; require presidential and vice-presidential candidates to disclose personal and any corporate tax returns; modernize voting equipment and harden systems against cyberattacks; and prohibit influence peddling by inaugural committees. The bill would apply primarily to federal elections but also affect state and local balloting in major ways.
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
REMOVING DEMOCRACY PANEL: Voting 207 for and 218 against, the House on March 2 refused to remove from HR 1 (above) a proposed commission for protecting U.S. democratic institutions against foreign interference. The amendment was sponsored by Republicans, who said ample defenses already are in place to fend off manipulation from abroad.
A “yes” vote was to adopt the amendment.
YES: Herrell
NO: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
PREVENTING, PUNISHING MISCONDUCT BY POLICE: The House on March 3 passed, 220 for and 212 against, a bill (HR 1280) that would set federal rules and guidelines for policing practices at all levels of government. In addition to addressing misconduct by federal officers, the bill would use the high levels of police funding in federal programs to induce state and local reforms.
A “yes” vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
YES: Haaland, Leger Fernandez
NO: Herrell
MIGUEL CARDONA, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: Voting 64 for and 33 against, the Senate on March 1 confirmed Miguel A. Cardona, 45, as secretary of education, the first Latino to hold that position. An educator in public schools for 20 years, he served most recently as Connecticut’s commissioner of education. A bilingual son of Puerto Rican parents, he was raised in public housing in Connecticut.
A “yes” vote was to confirm the nominee.
YES: Ben Ray Luján, D, Martin Heinrich, D
GINA RAIMONDO, SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: Voting 84 for and 15 against, the Senate on March 2 confirmed Gina M. Raimondo, 49, the first female governor of Rhode Island, as secretary of commerce. Formerly a venture capitalist, she has an undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard College and is a graduate of Yale Law School.
A yes “vote” was to confirm the nominee.
YES: Luján, Heinrich
CECILIA ROUSE, CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: Voting 95 for and four against, the Senate on March 2 confirmed Cecilia E. Rouse, 57, as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, a White House unit that determines administration economic policies. The dean of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and a
specialist in labor economics, Rouse also served former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama as an economic adviser.
A “yes” vote was to confirm the nominee.
YES: Luján, Heinrich
APPROVING $1.9 TRILLION IN VIRUS RELIEF: Voting 50 for and 49 against, the Senate on March 6 approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package (HR 1319) that would expand unemployment benefits by $300 per week from March 14 through Sept. 6; deliver payments of $1,400 per person to individuals with incomes up to $75,000, single parents earning up to $112,500 and couples up to $150,000; increase the Child Tax Credit in a way designed to eventually cut child poverty nearly in half; deliver $350 billion to state, county, city, tribal and territorial governments; establish a $25 billion grant program for the restaurant industry; increase Affordable Care Act premium subsidies for a large number of the uninsured; 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 the House.
YES: Luján, Heinrich
KEEPING MINIMUM WAGE AT $7.25: Voting 42 for and 58 against, the Senate on March 5 failed to reach 60 votes needed to include a proposed raise in the federal minimum wage — from $7.25 per hour at present to $15 per hour by 2025 — in HR 1319 (above). The amendment sought to overcome a parliamentary ruling that found the wage hike to be not germane to the bill.
A “yes” vote was to gradually raise the federal minimum wage.
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