Congress

Trump Inquiry Dominates Congressional Conversation

WASHINGTON — All of Alabama’s U.S. House of Representatives members voted to call for the release of a whistleblower complaint alleging misconduct by President Trump centered on his interactions this year with the Ukrainian government.

That action (H Res 576) passed, but by that time, the administration already had sent Congress the complaint, which it had refused to release for more than a month. The Senate adopted an identical resolution on a non-record vote.

However, the vote split along party lines on a measure (H Res 590) to force floor debate on a Republican resolution disapproving of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to start a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump. The measure was quashed on a technicality, and the House voted 232-193 to uphold that ruling, meaning the measure could not be debated

U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-7, was the only Alabama representative who voted not to debate H Res 590. Supporting the resolution were Republican Reps. Bradley Byrne, R-1, Martha Roby, R-2, Mike Rogers, R-3, Robert Aderholt, R-4, Mo Brooks, R-5, and Gary Palmer, R-6.

Pelosi had announced the inquiry, basing it, in part, on Trump having asked the Ukrainian government to produce damaging information about former Vice President Joe Biden, a potential Democratic opponent of his in the 2020 presidential election.

During debate on the resolution asking for the whistleblower complaint, Pelosi, D-Calif., said: “Our national security depends on this (whistleblower) framework. This vote today is about more than just any one president. This resolution is about the preservation of our American system of government.

The issue of investigating Trump was just one of many the House and Senate took up the week ending Sept. 27, 2019.

HOUSE

Limiting Separation of Migrant Children and Parents:

Voting 230 for and 194 against, the House on Sept. 25 passed a bill (HR 2203) that would impose stricter requirements for the Department of Homeland Security’s treatment of migrant families, including a ban on removing children from parents or guardians within 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border except by court order. When a separation is ordered, DHS must electronically track of the location of the dislocated family members.

The bill would create a DHS ombudsman’s office for receiving and acting on complaints related to immigration practices including the abuse of migrants; improve the training of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers for dealing with vulnerable populations; provide Congress with a plan for requiring immigration officers to wear body cameras and establish an independent commission to investigate and make a public accounting of the Trump administrations treatment of migrant families at and near the border since January 2017. In addition, the bill would reverse Trump administration policies designed to dissuade immigrants from Mexico and the Northern Triangle counties of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras from seeking asylum in the United States.

Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, said: “Our American values, moral conscience and Constitution require that we treat all individuals on American soil humanely and respectfully. This bill helps ensure that that happens.”

Alabama’s Mike Rogers said: “All this bill does is waste taxpayer’s dollars on a duplicative new (ombudsman’s) office designed to demoralize law enforcement and serve the demands of illegal immigrants.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Alabama:

Voting yes: Sewell

Voting no: Byrne, Roby, Rogers, Aderholt, Brooks, Palmer

Reporting Crime in Sanctuary Cities:

Voting 207 for and 216 against, the House on Sept. 25 defeated a bid by Republicans to allow victims of crimes by undocumented immigrants in sanctuary cities to report the incident to the Department of Homeland Security ombudsman’s office that would be created by HR 2203 (above). More than 400 municipalities nationwide are known as sanctuary cities because they decline to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement on grounds it would disrupt their community policing efforts.

Sponsor Mark Green, R-Tenn., said his amendment would allow victims and their families an opportunity to be heard by policymakers in Congress and by the Department of Homeland Security.

Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, said Green completely misses the point of the office of the ombudsman. An ombudsman is supposed to be focused on oversight related to the inner workings of the (Homeland Security) department, not on external policy issues.

A yes vote was to adopt the GOP motion.

Alabama

Voting yes: Byrne, Roby, Rogers, Aderholt, Brooks, Palmer

Voting no: Sewell

Nullifying Trump Border Emergency:

Voting 236 for and 174 against, the House on Sept. 27 adopted a measure (SJ Res 54) that would nullify a national emergency President Trump declared on the southwest border over immigration concerns. The president has used the Feb. 15 declaration as authority for diverting $3.6 billion appropriated for military construction at bases domestically and overseas to a non-military account for building 175 miles of border barriers. If the president vetoes the measure, as he is expected to do, two-thirds majority votes in both chambers would be required for an override.

Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said it was “a disgrace that money is being stolen from over two dozen states and territories, ensuring that American taxpayers, not Mexico as the president repeatedly promised, are actually paying for the wall.”

Ross Spano, R-Fla., said: “When are Democrats going to get serious about securing our border? … My constituents did not elect me to stand by silently as we transition to open borders in this country and I will not.”

A yes vote was to send the resolution to the president.

Alabama

Voting yes: Sewell

Voting no: Byrne, Roby, Rogers, Aderholt, Brooks, Palmer

Medical Screening of Undocumented Immigrants:

Voting 230 for and 184 against, the House on Sept. 26 passed a bill (HR 3525) that would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to conduct medical screenings within 12 hours of undocumented immigrants apprehended on the southwest border and establish an electronic database that all relevant Department of Homeland Security departments could use to track their medical histories. These requirements do not apply to migrants legally seeking U.S. asylum at ports of entry because their medical care is mainly handled by other agencies. Under this bill, vulnerable groups including children would receive priority care and pediatric medical experts would be assigned to each of the nine CBP sectors in the southwest.

Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., said electronic recordkeeping for undocumented migrants is needed because “when I was at the border, I saw busy, overworked Border Patrol officials having to keep health records on paper. I also saw how these records don’t always follow migrants between facilities and transfers of custody.”

Jim Banks, R-Ind., said the bill “would require the Border Patrol to divert resources from its core mission of protecting our nation’s borders and create a new medical screening system for those who illegally cross and enter the country between ports of entry. I believe every part of that is wrongheaded.”

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Alabama:

Voting yes: Sewell

Voting no: Byrne, Roby, Rogers, Brooks, Palmer 

Not voting: Aderholt 

Giving Health-Records Preference to Veterans:

Voting 202 for and 213 against, the House on Sept. 26 defeated a Republican motion that sought to give veterans preferred access to an electronic health-records system that would be established by HR 3525 (above) in the Department of Homeland Security for tracking medical histories of newly arrived undocumented immigrants, particularly children and those with serious illnesses.

Mark Green, R-Tenn., said constituents would find it appalling that we are about to give this health-record system to illegal immigrants before our veterans receive it.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called the motion the gimmick of gimmicks. “It does nothing for veteran’s health care, not a single thing. You know it. I know it. Everybody in this House knows it. All it does is try to delay this bill for 10 years.”

A yes vote was to adopt the GOP motion.

Alabama

Voting yes: Byrne, Roby, Rogers, Aderholt, Brooks, Palmer 

Voting no: Sewell

Opening Federal Banking System to Marijuana Firms:

Voting 321 for and 103 against, the House on Sept. 25 passed a bill (HR 1595) that would permit cannabis-related businesses to use federally regulated banks and credit unions in states where marijuana usage has been legalized. Marijuana, a product of cannabis, is a prohibited substance under federal law but allowed for recreational or medicinal use in a majority of the states, the District of Columbia and four U.S. territories. Cannabis-related firms usually are forced to deal in cash because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration prohibit financial institutions from accepting their deposits. The bill also would allow the industrial hemp industry and firms that support cannabis-based businesses to use the federal banking system without fear of reprisal.

Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., said the bill would help law enforcement root out illegal transactions to prevent tax evasion, money laundering and other white-collar crime. Most importantly, this will also reduce the risk of violent crime in our communities.

David Kustoff, R-Tenn., said that with this bill, “We are voting to nationally legalize marijuana throughout our banking system rather than taking a direct vote to legalize what is currently an illegal substance.”

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

Alabama

Voting yes: Rogers, Brooks,

Voting no: Byrne, Roby, Aderholt, Palmer, Sewell

SENATE

Passing Stopgap Funding Thru Nov. 21:

Voting 81 for and 16 against, the Senate on Sept. 26 passed a continuing resolution (HR 4378) to provide stopgap appropriations for the first seven weeks of fiscal 2020, which starts Oct. 1. Averting a government shutdown, the bill would fund agencies at 2019 levels while giving negotiators time to reach agreement on regular appropriations bills for the 2020 budget year.

A yes vote was to send the bill to President Trump.

Alabama

Voting yes: Richard Shelby, R, Doug Jones, D 

Voting no:  None

Nullifying Trump Border Emergency:

Voting 54 for and 41 against, the Senate on Sept. 25 sent the House a measure (SJ Res 54) that would nullify a national emergency President Trump declared Feb. 15 on the U.S.-Mexico border (see House issue above) as a backdoor means of obtaining funds for wall construction that Congress has declined to appropriate. The president has used the emergency declaration to divert $3.6 billion from military-construction projects to his wall project.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the bill provides “the surest and likely the only way to restore funding the president has stolen from our troops and military projects across the country. President Trump promised Mexico would pay for the wall, not American taxpayers, and certainly not the military – the men and women and their families involved in keeping our nation secure.”

No senator spoke against the resolution.

A yes vote was to send the resolution to the House, where it was approved and sent to Trump.

Alabama

Voting yes: Doug Jones, D

Voting no:  Richard Shelby, R 

Eugene Scalia, Secretary of Labor:

Voting 53 for and 44 against, the Senate on Sept. 26 confirmed Eugene Scalia to be secretary of the Department of Labor. Scalia, the son of deceased Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, has been employed in a Washington law firm with a specialty of representing corporations in labor-management disputes. Backers said he occasionally took the side of unions while serving as the department’s chief attorney under President George W. Bush.

A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.

Alabama

Voting yes: Shelby

Voting no: Jones

KEY VOTES AHEAD

Congress is in recess until the week of Oct. 14.