Congress Votes | News | albanyherald.com

IMMIGRANTS AND JOBS: The House has passed the Bridging the Gap for New Americans Act (S. 3157) sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to require the Labor Department to make a study of ways to improve the ability of legal aliens and naturalized citizens to obtain employment that fits their level of skills. The vote, on Sept. 19, was 363 yeas to 52 nays.

YEAS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Bishop D-GA (2nd), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Carter R-GA (1st), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

NAYS: Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Hice R-GA (10th)

RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: The House has passed the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act (S. 3895) sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to authorize funding for the Commission through fiscal 2024. The vote, on Sept. 19, was 402 yeas to 4 nays.

YEAS: Entire Georgia delegation

PEACE CORPS: The House has passed the Peace Corps Reauthorization Act (H.R. 1456) sponsored by Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., to reauthorize the Peace Corps through fiscal 2024 and make changes to the program, including a zero-tolerance drug use policy for volunteers and new safety and security measures for volunteers. Garamendi said the bill “will reinvigorate the Peace Corps and ensure that its essential work can continue to shape and inspire people around the world for years to come.” The vote, on Sept. 19, was 290 yeas to 125 nays.

NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)

YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

PASSING LEGISLATION: The House has passed a motion sponsored by Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., to pass a set of 10 bills en bloc, without separate roll call votes. The bills addressed such issues as Syria’s exports of narcotic drugs, sanctions against Russia’s government and Russian individuals, and global telecommunications systems. The vote, on Sept. 20, was 361 yeas to 69 nays.

NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Hice R-GA (10th)

YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Carter R-GA (1st), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

TEXAS SCHOOL: The House has passed the Blackwell School National Historic Site Act (S. 2490) sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, to establish a National Park System unit in Marfa, Texas, memorializing the Blackwell School, which taught Mexican-Americans from 1885 to 1965. The vote, on Sept. 20, was 414 yeas to 12 nays.

YEAS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Bishop D-GA (2nd), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Carter R-GA (1st), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Johnson D-GA (4th), Hice R-GA (10th), Williams D-GA (5th)

NAYS: Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th)

STUDENT LOANS: The House has passed the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act (S. 1098) sponsored by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va. The bill would allow two joint federal student loan borrowers to petition the Education Department to split the joint loan into two separate loans. A supporter, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., said: “The bill provides a pathway for an individual to apply to separate a loan from a spouse, a current spouse or former spouse, including in the event of an absentee or unresponsive spouse, for an act of violence or economic abuse.” The vote, on Sept. 21, was 232 yeas to 193 nays.

NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)

YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

PRESIDENTIAL VOTES: The House has passed the Presidential Election Reform Act (H.R. 8873) sponsored by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. The bill would make numerous changes to Congress’s procedures for registering the Electoral College votes for president, including requiring support from one-third of the members of both the Senate and House for an objection to the Electoral College vote to be heard. The vote, on Sept. 21, was 229 yeas to 203 nays.

NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)

YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

GRANTS TO SMALL LAW ENFORCEMENT: The House has passed the Invest to Protect Act (H.R. 6448) sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., to have the Justice Department award community-oriented policing grants to local government law enforcement agencies with fewer than 200 officers. Gottheimer said of the need for more funding: “We must ensure that local police departments across our country have what they need to recruit and retain the finest officers, provide necessary training, and invest in providing mental health resources for our officers.” The vote, on Sept. 22, was 360 yeas to 64 nays.

NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Hice R-GA (10th)

YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

MENTAL HEALTH GRANTS: The House has passed the Mental Health Justice Act (H.R. 8542) sponsored by Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., to establish a grant program for state and local governments to provide mental health treatments instead of law enforcement responses to people with behavioral health problems. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 223 yeas to 206 nays.

NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)

YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

VIOLENCE PREVENTION GRANTS: The House has passed the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (H.R. 4118) sponsored by Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev. The bill would direct the Health and Human Services Department to issue grants to communities disproportionately impacted by violence, including homicides, and create several entities related to the grant’s effort. Horsford said the multiple billions of dollars of grants authorized by the bill “will invest in proven, community-based violence intervention programs to build safer communities.” The vote, on Sept. 22, was 220 yeas to 207 nays.

NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)

YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

VIOLENT CRIME: The House has passed the Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods Act (H.R. 5768) sponsored by Rep. Val Butler Demings, D-Fla., to establish a Justice Department grant program for state and local law enforcement agencies. Demings said that by helping police investigate violent crime, the grants would help “make sure that our men and women in blue — remember, back the blue — have the support they need to do their jobs.” The vote, on Sept. 22, was 250 yeas to 178 nays.

NAYS: Loudermilk R-GA (11th), Allen R-GA (12th), Scott, Austin R-GA (8th), Clyde R-GA (9th), Greene R-GA (14th), Carter R-GA (1st), Ferguson R-GA (3rd), Hice R-GA (10th)

YEAS: Bishop D-GA (2nd), Scott, David D-GA (13th), McBath D-GA (6th), Bourdeaux D-GA (7th), Johnson D-GA (4th), Williams D-GA (5th)

APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Florence Pan to be a judge on the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals. Pan has been a U.S. district court judge for D.C. for a year, and previously was a D.C. Superior Court judge and federal prosecutor in the District. The vote, on Sept. 20, was 52 yeas to 42 nays.

YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA

CHINA AND HYDROFLUOROCARBONS: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, to the Kigali Amendment on hydrofluorocarbons that would declare that China is not a developing country for the purposes of implementing the Kigali Amendment. The vote, on Sept. 21, was unanimous with 96 yeas.

YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA

HYDROFLUOROCARBONS TREATY: The Senate has ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, a treaty reached in 2016 that would have industrial countries seek to cut hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) use by 80 percent or more by 2050 in order to reduce global warming. A supporter, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said: “Kigali ratification will ensure U.S. companies continue to have access to international markets so that modern, efficient, economical air-conditioners and refrigerators across the world will be stamped ‘Made in America,’ not ‘Made in China.’” The vote to ratify the treaty, on Sept. 21, was 69 yeas to 27 nays.

YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA

GLOBAL MEDIA CEO: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Amanda Bennett to be Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees six government media entities, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. Bennett was director of Voice of America from early 2016 to June 2020, and previously was an editor at various newspapers and a Wall Street Journal reporter. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 60 yeas to 36 nays.

YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Arati Prabhakar to be director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a White House entity that advises the president. Prabhakar has headed the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and been an executive at technology companies and a venture capital firm. The vote, on Sept. 22, was 56 yeas to 40 nays.

YEAS: Ossoff D-GA, Warnock D-GA