For the week ending December 6
RESTORING KEY PART OF VOTING RIGHTS ACT: The House on Dec. 6 voted, 228 for and 187 against, to restore the 1965 Voting Rights Act’s “preclearance” requirements, which were invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2013. Preclearance under Section 5 of the law requires states and localities with histories of systemic voting discrimination to obtain advance
approval of proposed changes in voting laws from the Department of Justice or a District of Columbia federal court. The requirement originally applied to Alaska and most or all of eight southern states and numerous jurisdictions elsewhere including ones in the North. The Supreme Court ruled that Section 5 was based on an outdated formula for measuring discriminatory practices. The court invited Congress to restore the section using contemporary evidence of voter repression, which this bill (HR 4) seeks to accomplish. In part, the bill updates the formula for invoking preclearance requirements; requires ample public notice of proposed changes in voting laws; prohibits potentially discriminatory
measures from taking effect until lawsuits contesting them have been adjudicated; and expands DOJ powers to send federal election monitors to states and localities. The bill is aimed at practices such as voter ID laws, prohibitions on bilingual ballots, the purging of voter rolls and the scaling back of voting opportunities and polling places.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
YES: Deb Haaland, D-1, Xochitl Torres Small, D-2, Ben Ray Luján, D-3
ADVOCATING TWO-STATE SOLUTION IN MIDDLE EAST: Voting 226 for and 188 against, the House on Dec. 6 adopted a nonbinding measure (H Res 326) calling for a two-state solution in the Middle East in which a Palestinian nation would be established alongside the nation of Israel, with boundaries to be negotiated. The resolution, which also endorses robust U.S. military aid to Israel and increased humanitarian aid for Palestinians, stands in contrast to the Trump administration’s reluctance to advocate Palestinian sovereignty in its still developing Middle East peace plan.
A yes vote was to adopt the resolution.
YES: Haaland, Torres Small, Luján
ENACTING FIRST SPECIFIC LAW ON INSIDER TRADING: Voting 410 for and 13 against, the House on Dec. 5 passed a bill (HR 2534) that would become the first federal law specifically written to prohibit insider trading in U.S. financial markets. The Securities and Exchange Commission traditionally has used court-made law and anti fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to prosecute those who use inside information to gain an advantage over other investors. The bill would apply to individuals who exchange non-public material information about securities regardless of whether they receive payment or other personal benefit in return, and it would cover the manipulation of automated as well as humanly conducted securities transactions.
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
YES: Haaland, Torres Small, Luján
EXCLUDING RUSSIA FROM GROUP OF SEVEN: The House on Dec. 3 adopted, 339 for and 71 against, a nonbinding statement of support (H Res 546) for continuing the exclusion of Russia from the Group of Seven (G-7) economic alliance of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Russia was expelled from the group in 2014 after it forcibly annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and began arming separatists against government forces in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. That war continues today. President Trump has called upon the G-7 to readmit Russia.
A yes vote was to adopt the resolution.
YES: Haaland, Torres Small, Luján
SANCTIONING CHINA OVER MUSLIM CRACKDOWN: Voting 407 for and one against, the House on Dec. 3 passed a bill (S 178) that would impose economic sanctions and visa restrictions on Chinese government officials responsible for an ongoing crackdown on more than one million Muslims, primarily ethnic Uighurs, in the Xinjiang region of western China. In addition, the bill would sanction global firms that export surveillance technology including facial recognition software to China. And it would require the Department of State to report to Congress on forced labor camps in Xinjiang and human-rights abuses including torture and forced renunciations of religious beliefs.
The negative vote was cast by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.
YES: Haaland, Torres Small, Luján
DAN BROUILLETTE, SECRETARY OF ENERGY: Voting 70 for and 15 against, the Senate on Dec. 2 confirmed Dan R. Brouillette, the deputy secretary of energy, as the 15th secretary of the Department of Energy, replacing Rick Perry, who resigned the day before. Brouillette was the department’s assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental affairs under President George W. Bush and staff director of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in 2003-2004. His resume also includes stints as a Washington lobbyist, Ford Motor Co. executive and Army veteran.
A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.
YES: Tom Udall, D, Martin Heinrich, D
HOUSE Deb Haaland (D) Ben Ray Luján (D) Xochitl Torres Small (D)
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
Courtesy of Voterama In Congress © 2019 Thomas Reports Inc.