HOUSE VOTES

PREGNANT WORKERS: The House has passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 1065), sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., to require employers to make reasonable accommodations for workers who are affected by pregnancy or childbirth. Nadler said the requirement was needed because “pregnant workers are often passed over for promotions, forced out on leave, whether paid or unpaid, and sometimes even fired.” An opponent, Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., said: “This bill allows an independent and uncontrollable federal agency to make additional rules and regulations that could further erode religious liberties.” The vote, on May 14, was 315 yeas to 101 nays.

YEAS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District

NOT VOTING: Jared Golden, D-2nd District

VETERANS AND CORONAVIRUS SPENDING: The House has passed the VA Transparency Trust & Act (H.R. 2911), sponsored by Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., to require the Veterans Affairs Department to send Congress a plan for spending COVID-19 relief funds provided to the VA. Bost said the accountability measure was needed given that the VA was due to receive $17.1 billion with little direction on where that money will be spent at the agency. The vote, on May 17, was 411 yeas to 4 nays.

YEAS: Pingree

NOT VOTING: Golden

CORONAVIRUS HATE CRIMES: The House has passed the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act (S. 937), sponsored by Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, to require the Justice Department to take various measures for reporting and reviewing alleged hate crimes related to COVID-19. A supporter, Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., called the bill “a necessary step to confront the second pandemic of racism and discrimination.” An opponent, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said online and phone complaint reporting systems established by the bill could create an ambiguous new standard for hate crimes that includes “any manner of things someone may deem offensive.” The vote, on May 18, was 364 yeas to 62 nays.

YEAS: Pingree

NOT VOTING: Golden

PASSING VARIOUS LEGISLATION: The House has agreed to a motion sponsored by House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., to pass 21 different bills, some of which dealt with education. The vote, on May 18, was 350 yeas to 75 nays.

YEAS: Pingree

NOT VOTING: Golden

ATLANTA SHOOTINGS: The House has passed a resolution (H. Res. 275), sponsored by Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., to condemn the shootings in Atlanta on March 16 and reject hate, bigotry, and violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community. Chu said: “We must stand up for all of those who have been terrorized by anti-Asian hate and violence.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Jodey C. Arrington, R-Texas, said it “seems to be a veiled criticism of President Trump. It is needless and more divisive identity politics.” The vote, on May 19, was 245 yeas to 180 nays.

YEAS: Pingree

NOT VOTING: Golden

PRESCRIPTION DRUGS: The House has passed the Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act (H.R. 1629), sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa. The bill would prevent prescription drug manufacturers who receive orphan status for a drug from the Food and Drug Administration from using the same status for a newly approved drug that has an ingredient identical to the drug that received orphan status. Dean said the bill “is about ensuring market competition, reducing barriers to the development of new treatments, and, ultimately, supporting patients.” The vote, on May 19, was 402 yeas to 23 nays.

YEAS: Pingree

NOT VOTING: Golden

MASKS ON HOUSE FLOOR: The House has tabled a resolution (H. Res. 414), sponsored by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that would have directed the House’s attending physician to issue guidance for wearing face masks on the House floor and committee rooms that aligns with the guidance recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The vote to table and reject the resolution, on May 19, was 218 yeas to 210 nays.

YEAS: Pingree

NOT VOTING: Golden

INVESTIGATING CAPITOL RIOT: The House has passed the National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act (H.R. 3233), sponsored by Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss. Thompson said: “Given how politically charged the events of January 6 have become, we need to come together in a patriotic, bipartisan way and approve this independent body just as we created the 9/11 Commission.” An opponent, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., criticized the lack of an equivalent “investigation to stop the BLM and antifa riots that have hurt innocent people and attacked government buildings and federal courthouses” since May 2020. The vote, on May 19, was 252 yeas to 175 nays.

YEAS: Pingree

NOT VOTING: Golden

CAPITOL RIOT RESPONSE: The House has passed the Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to January 6th Appropriations Act (H.R. 3237), sponsored by Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Conn. The bill would spend $1.9 billion in response to the Capitol building riot in Washington, D.C., on January 6, including security expenses both for the event and for preventing similar future events at the Capitol, as well as expenses for prosecuting people who were involved in the riot. The vote, on May 20, was 213 yeas to 212 nays, with 3 voting present.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden

SENATE VOTES

EMPLOYER DISCRIMINATION: The Senate has approved a resolution (S.J. Res. 1), sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., to disapprove of and void an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule that revised the agency’s process for settling claims of discriminatory practices by employers by providing the employers with the factual and legal basis for finding that the practices occurred. Murray said the rule “gave employers access to information about the worker’s case, but not the other way around. It made it easier for employers to demand the identity of victims and witnesses, increasing the risk of retaliation.” An opponent, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-K.Y., said the rule “helps ensure the Commission is making a good-faith effort to see if the dispute can be settled outside of court before beginning a costly, adversarial process.” The vote, on May 19, was 50 yeas to 48 nays.

NAYS: Susan Collins, R-Maine

YEAS: Angus King, I-Maine

PATENT DEMOGRAPHICS: The Senate has passed an amendment sponsored by Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., to the Endless Frontier Act (S. 1260), to require the collection of demographic information, submitted voluntarily, by patent inventors. Tillis said the information obtained would help to “create more intellectual property, to create more patents, and to get more people engaged in the patents and intellectual property system.” The vote, on May 19, was 71 yeas to 27 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

FUNDING TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMS: The Senate has rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to the Endless Frontier Act (S. 1260), that would have used unspent funds authorized by coronavirus relief laws to fund implementation of the Act. Scott said that given the trillions of dollars of recently incurred federal debt and higher inflation, “we need to be fiscally responsible in every use of taxpayer dollars.” An amendment opponent, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said redirecting the funds “would take money away from broadband and, eventually, it could take money away from things like aerospace, manufacturing, and money that is there for the people who have been impacted by the downturn who no longer have jobs and need to be retrained and skilled.” The vote, on May 19, was 47 yeas to 50 nays.

YEAS: Collins

NAYS: King