CongressionalWatch

House Passes Coronavirus Relief Funds; Alabama’s Byrne Is in the Minority Opposing the Spending

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — The House overwhelmingly approved a coronavirus relief and economic stimulus coronavirus-related spending bill Saturday that would spend tens of billions of dollars in stimulus and safety-net spending to cushion the economic and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., was among the minority voting against the bill, which passed 363-40. He said in a statement that representatives were given a 110-page bill and asked to vote on it 26 minutes later. “Although I agree with many of the provisions in this legislation, this is no way to govern. We should be sending a message of calm and steady leadership in the face of this crisis, not forcing through bills in the dead of night,” he said in the statement. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

House, Senate and President Agree Across Party Lines to Adopt Coronavirus Funding Bill

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — All of Alabama’s representatives in Washington last week voted in favor of a bill to appropriate $8.3 billion for public-health initiatives to counter the spread of the coronavirus in the United States while helping the U.S. diplomatic community cope with the epidemic overseas. The vote cut across party lines, being passed by the House and the Senate and signed by the president in just days. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

U.S. House Votes to Extend ERA Ratification Period Indefinitely. Alabama Had Sued to Block Ratification.

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON – Voting 232 for and 183 against, the House on Feb. 13 adopted a measure (HJ Res 79) that would advance the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution by replacing a long-expired deadline for states to vote on ratification with an open-ended deadline. The ERA states: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Alabama, joined by two other states, filed suit in December to block ratification of the amendment, saying the time for ratification had long since passed. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

U.S. House Condemns Move to Switch Portion of Medicaid Funds to State-Regulated Block Grant

KEY VOTES AHEAD The House will take up bills to protect wilderness during the week of Feb. 10, while the Senate will vote on asserting congressional authority over any U.S. military strikes against Iran. WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted last week to condemn a Trump administration plan to scale back Medicaid’s traditional status as an entitlement program, in which everyone who meets income or disability criteria are guaranteed set minimum benefits. Instead, the Department of Health and Human Services has proposed to allow states to shift some of their Medicaid offerings to a block-grant program. In a block-grant program, states would set their own rules for what is covered and cap the amount that Medicaid would pay for patient care in a given year. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

Party-Line Votes Set Up Trump Acquittal Vote This Week

WASHINGTON — Senate votes to block witnesses from being called in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump have set up a Wednesday afternoon session in which the Republican-majority body intends to acquit the president of both charges. But before that, the trial is set to resume Monday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time to allow House managers and the president’s legal team to make closing arguments. Each side has two hours to present its case. Senators can set up speeches explaining their votes before the official vote is held Wednesday at 4 p.m. Alabama senators voted along party lines, as expected, on whether to allow witnesses to be called in the trial. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

Senate Votes on Impeachment Issues

Alabama’s senators split along party lines on votes involving President Trump’s impeachment last week, as did all the senators. The House was in recess. Read the major votes in the Senate during the legislative week ending Jan. 25

by Voterama in Congress

Alabama Representatives Flip Votes on Two Measures Involving Cleanup of PFAS Pollution

KEY VOTES AHEAD The House will take up measures concerning age discrimination in the workplace and student loan forgiveness the week of Jan. 13, while the Senate will vote on judicial and executive branch nominations and possibly a measure restraining the administration's actions against Iran. WASHINGTON — Alabama’s representatives in the U.S. House last week flipped votes on two issues concerning regulation of PFAS chemicals, which have been linked to cancer and found in levels above those allowed by the EPA in the Tennessee River, drinking water and land in northern Alabama. Alabama’s lone Democrat in the House voted for a bill addressing cleanup of PFAS contamination, and the Republicans who voted gave it a thumbs-down. Then the Republicans voted for a motion to specifically name unborn children among the populations that should be protected from PFAS exposure, and the Democrat voted against it. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

Alabama House Members Split Votes on Spending and Tax Cut Package

WASHINGTON – Alabama’s members of the U.S. House of Representatives split votes on a package of eight appropriations bills (HR 1865) that would fund non-defense agencies and departments for the remaining nine months of fiscal 2020. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

Congress OKs Military Budget That Includes Jones’ Repeal of Widow’s Tax, Sends It to Senate

KEY VOTES AHEAD The House will vote on articles of impeachment against President Trump this week and may take up a U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact. The Senate will consider the 2020 military budget and judicial nominations. UPDATED WITH SENATE VOTE:WASHINGTON – The House last week approved a $738 billion military policy budget (S 1790) for fiscal 2020 that included a repeal of the so-called “widow’s tax,” sponsored by Sen. Doug Jones, R-Ala. The “widow’s tax” affects spouses of military men and women who were killed or disabled on active duty or during training. It prevents them from collecting the full amount for which they are eligible under a death benefit and a retirement program, even when retired service members elected to pay into that program. The rules affect an estimated 67,000 surviving military spouses, 2,000 of them in Alabama, Jones stated in a press release. Jones scheduled a press conference for Monday morning at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport to celebrate approval of the repeal. The Senate still has to take up the conference report on the military budget this week, but it is expected to pass the Senate in a bipartisan vote. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

House Passes Sewell-Backed Bill to Restore Voting Preclearance Requirements

WASHINGTON – Here's how area members of Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week ending Dec. 6. HOUSE Restoring Key Part of Voting Rights Act: The House on Dec. 6 voted, 228 for and 187 against, a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, 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. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress