This week's congressional votes

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

HOUSE VOTES:

House Vote 1:

FEDERAL PURCHASING AND NATIONAL SECURITY: The House has passed the Safe and Smart Federal Purchasing Act (H.R. 5528), sponsored by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla. The bill would require the Office of Management and Budget to study whether provisions directing federal agencies to take a lowest price technically acceptable source selection approach to their purchasing process have created national security risks. Donalds said: "Prioritizing price over any other technical or operational factors in federal procurement can result in agencies cutting corners, sacrificing long-term value, and potentially jeopardizing national security." The vote, on Jan. 29, was unanimous with 397 yeas.

YEAS: Feenstra R-IA (4th), Hinson R-IA (2nd), Miller-Meeks R-IA (1st), Nunn (IA) R-IA (3rd)

House Vote 2:

SECRET SERVICE SPENDING: The House has passed the Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act (S. 3427), sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to extend through 2028 authority for Secret Service workers to receive additional overtime pay. A supporter, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said the added pay would give the workers "the respect, gratitude, and compensation that they deserve." The vote, on Jan. 29, was 379 yeas to 20 nays.

YEAS: Feenstra R-IA (4th), Hinson R-IA (2nd), Miller-Meeks R-IA (1st), Nunn (IA) R-IA (3rd)

House Vote 3:

BORDER PURSUITS AND CRIME: The House has passed the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act (H.R. 5585), sponsored by Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz. The bill would designate as federal crimes offenses involved in driving a motor vehicle near the U.S. border while fleeing from the Border Patrol and other law enforcement officers. Ciscomani said it sought to "send a stronger message to the bad actors that we will pursue any actions that threaten American lives to the fullest extent of the law." An opponent, Rep.. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., criticized the bill for not requiring a conviction of fleeing law enforcement in order to render an immigrant deportable, and said its mandatory minimum sentences for convictions were unjust. The vote, on Jan. 30, was 271 yeas to 154 nays.

YEAS: Feenstra R-IA (4th), Hinson R-IA (2nd), Miller-Meeks R-IA (1st), Nunn (IA) R-IA (3rd)

House Vote 4:

COVID AID FRAUD AND IMMIGRATION LAW: The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., to the Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act (H.R. 6678). The amendment would require that aliens who committed criminal misconduct with regards to loans issued during the covid lockdowns be deportable and not eligible for legal residence in the U.S. D'Esposito said: "We must continue to advance legislation that will protect taxpayers' money and penalize those who commit fraud, especially those in our country illegally." An amendment opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., faulted it for requiring only an admission of guilt, not a criminal conviction, and asked: "Do we really want to be deporting lawful permanent residents without any due process?" The vote, on Jan. 31, was 267 yeas to 158 nays.

YEAS: Feenstra R-IA (4th), Hinson R-IA (2nd), Miller-Meeks R-IA (1st), Nunn (IA) R-IA (3rd)

House Vote 5:

SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD AND IMMIGRATION LAW: The House has passed the Consequences for Social Security Fraud Act (H.R. 6678), sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif. The bill would make aliens who have been convicted of or admitted to committing Social Security fraud deportable and not eligible for legal residence in the U.S. A supporter, Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., called the bill "imperative to protect our communities from fraud and ensure aliens who engage in fraud can be more quickly removed from the United States." An opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., called it a measure that "does nothing to address the real problems facing this country and that destroys due process for legal permanent residents." The vote, on Jan. 31, was 272 yeas to 155 nays.

YEAS: Feenstra R-IA (4th), Hinson R-IA (2nd), Miller-Meeks R-IA (1st), Nunn (IA) R-IA (3rd)

House Vote 6:

IMMIGRATION AND HAMAS ATTACKS: The House has passed the No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act (H.R. 6679), sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif. The bill would bar foreigners who took part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel from residing in the U.S., and expand to all Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) members an existing ban on PLO admission to the U.S. A supporter, Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., said: "It is not farfetched to think that October 7 terrorists would try to come here. It is imperative that Congress ensures that such bad actors will find no refuge in the United States." The vote, on Jan. 31, was 422 yeas to 2 nays, with 1 voting present.

YEAS: Feenstra R-IA (4th), Hinson R-IA (2nd), Miller-Meeks R-IA (1st), Nunn (IA) R-IA (3rd)

House Vote 7:

CHANGING FEDERAL TAXES: The House has passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (H.R. 7024), sponsored by Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo. The bill would make numerous changes to the tax code, including increasing the child tax credit, increasing depreciation and expensing allowances and deductions for businesses, and would halt funding for the employee retention tax credit. Smith said: "Parents and Main Street communities across this country will see lower taxes, more opportunity, and greater financial security after we pass this legislation." An opponent, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said the child tax credit would be offered to illegal residents with children born in the U.S., so the bill "takes the problem we have with so-called birthright citizenship and anchor babies and doubles down on it, makes it worse." The vote, on Jan. 31, was 357 yeas to 70 nays.

YEAS: Feenstra R-IA (4th), Hinson R-IA (2nd), Miller-Meeks R-IA (1st), Nunn (IA) R-IA (3rd)

House Vote 8:

IMMIGRATION AND DRINKING AND DRIVING: The House has passed the Protect Our Communities from DUIs Act (H.R. 6976), sponsored by Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., to make driving while intoxicated or impaired by drugs (DUI) as either a convicted or an admitted offense, grounds for deporting and refusing U.S. residency to an alien national. Deportation would require a criminal conviction. Moore said: "If you are a guest in our country, and you drive drunk or impaired, you shouldn't be allowed to stay here as we wait for you to do it again or to kill or seriously injure someone." An opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the conviction standard was inadequate, in part because "every state has a different standard for how they define and prosecute DUIs." The vote, on Feb. 1, was 274 yeas to 150 nays.

YEAS: Feenstra R-IA (4th), Hinson R-IA (2nd), Miller-Meeks R-IA (1st), Nunn (IA) R-IA (3rd)

SENATE VOTES:

Senate Vote 1:

APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Joshua Kolar to be a judge on the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Kolar, currently a U.S. magistrate judge for a district court in Indiana, was previously a U.S. attorney in the state. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Kolar's "service to his country in the military and as a prosecutor, his extensive appellate experience, and his service as a magistrate judge make him well-suited to serve on the Seventh Circuit with distinction." The vote, on Jan. 30, was 66 yeas to 25 nays.

YEAS: Grassley R-IA, Ernst R-IA

Senate Vote 2:

CALIFORNIA JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Kirk Sherriff to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Sherriff has been head of the Fresno Office of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the district since 2015, and a federal attorney in the district since 2002. A supporter, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., called Sherriff "a nominee with a wealth of legal experience, with a fundamental understanding and respect for human dignity, and with deep roots in the community he serves and will continue to serve, and who will be filling a vacancy in one of the busiest courts in the country." The vote, on Jan. 31, was 54 yeas to 45 nays.

NAYS: Grassley R-IA, Ernst R-IA

Senate Vote 3:

PENNSYLVANIA JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Karoline Mehalchick to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. A magistrate judge in the district for the past decade, Mehalchick was previously a private practice lawyer in Lackawanna County. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said: "Her litigation background and her courtroom experience as both an advocate and as a magistrate judge ensure that she will be an asset to the district court." The vote, on Jan. 31, was 50 yeas to 49 nays.

NAYS: Grassley R-IA, Ernst R-IA

Senate Vote 4:

EPA ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Joseph Goffman to be the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. Goffman has been a senior official in the office for the past 3 years, and was in a similar role during the Obama administration; he has also worked at the Environmental Defense Fund, and was a Harvard Law School administrator from 2018 through 2020. A supporter, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., said: "Under his direction, the EPA has made significant progress in implementing many of the programs that we secured in the Inflation Reduction Act." An opponent, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., said that in his time at the EPA, Goffman has shown his intent on implementing anti-fossil fuel regulations "regardless of what the law says or its disastrous consequences on the reliability of the grid or the affordability of energy." The vote, on Jan. 31, was 50 yeas to 49 nays.

NAYS: Grassley R-IA, Ernst R-IA

Senate Vote 5:

ADJUDICATING TRADE DISPUTES: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Lisa W. Wang to be a judge on the United States Court of International Trade. Wang has variously been a private practice lawyer, Commerce Department lawyer and senior official, officer at the U.S. embassy in China, and a lawyer at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative over the past two decades. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said: "At the Department of Commerce, she has led the federal government's efforts to maintain a level playing field for American workers and consumers by holding our partners accountable to their trade agreements." The vote, on Feb. 1, was 53 yeas to 42 nays.

NAYS: Grassley R-IA, Ernst R-IA