Targeted News Service

Published: 10-16-2023 11:00 AM

WASHINGTON – Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week.

HOUSE VOTES

FIRST CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS BILL: The House has rejected the Continuing Appropriations and Border Security Enhancement Act (H.R. 5525), sponsored by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. The bill would have provided funding for the federal government through October, and required federal agencies to take various actions to improve immigration enforcement and border security, including resumption of construction of the wall at the border with Mexico. The vote, on Sept. 29, was 198 yeas to 232 nays. NAYS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS: The House has passed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act (H.R. 5860), sponsored by Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, to fund government programs until mid-November, and increase disaster relief funding in fiscal 2024 by $16 billion. Granger said the continuing resolution “prevents a harmful government shutdown, gives us more time to pass the appropriations bills on the floor of the House, and allows us to start negotiations on final, full-year bills with the Senate.” The vote, on Sept. 30, was 335 yeas to 91 nays. YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

REMOVING HOUSE SPEAKER: The House has approved a resolution (H. Res. 757), sponsored by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to vacate the role of Speaker held by Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., was appointed as the temporary Speaker in McCarthy’s place. Gaetz criticized McCarthy for failing to keep “an agreement to fulfill certain commitments to make” the House’s work on the federal budget an open and honest process when he was elected Speaker, including appropriations bills to fund separate government departments. A resolution opponent, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said: “If this motion carries, the House will be paralyzed. We can expect week after week of fruitless ballots while no other business can be conducted.” The vote to vacate the Speakership, on Oct. 3, was 216 yeas to 210 nays. YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

SENATE VOTES

MISSISSIPPI ATTORNEY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Todd Gee to be the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi for a four-year term. Gee, an official in the Justice Department’s public integrity program since 2018, has also been a lawyer on the House Homeland Security Committee and an assistant U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. The vote, on Sept. 29, was 82 yeas to 8 nays. YEAS: Hassan D-NH, Shaheen D-NH

CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Tara McGrath to be the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. An assistant U.S. attorney for the District from 2008 to 2019, McGrath has also been a judge advocate and a lawyer in the Marines. The vote, on Sept. 29, was 52 yeas to 37 nays. YEAS: Hassan D-NH, Shaheen D-NH

CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS: The Senate has passed the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act (H.R. 5860), sponsored by Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, to fund government programs until mid-November, and increase disaster relief funding in fiscal 2024 by $16 billion. A supporter, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the funding extension “will allow us to return our attention to making headway on full-year appropriations our colleagues have been working on, literally, for months.” The vote, on Sept. 30, was 88 yeas to 9 nays. YEAS: Hassan D-NH, Shaheen D-NH

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