Dec 4, 2024
Press
My Votes – Week of May 17th
May 26, 2021
Votes
RULE BILLS
**A rule bill is a bill passed through a full House vote under a rule that has been voted and agreed upon by the Rules Committee. Rule bills require a simple majority of the House to pass (218 votes) through a recorded vote.
| Result and Date | Bill # | Bill Title | My Vote | What it means for you and your family |
| 5-19-2021
PASSED |
H. Res. 275 | Condemning the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021, and reaffirming the House of Representatives’ commitment to combating hate, bigotry, and violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community | NO | I am opposed to hate, bigotry, and violence in all forms and I condemn the shootings in Atlanta, Georgia. I opposed this resolution because it made conclusions about the ongoing investigation in Atlanta. I supported S. 937, which requires the Justice Department to take additional action to stop hate crimes and condemns the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia on March 16, 2021. |
| 5-19-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 3233 | National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act | NO | The events that took place in our nation’s capital on January 6th were disgraceful and un-American. The criminals who breached and defaced our Capitol Building not only put people’s lives in danger, but they threatened the very values we hold dear as Americans. Thanks to the Department of Justice – and the incredible work of state and local law enforcement – 445 people responsible for this assault have been arrested. More arrests are expected in the coming weeks and months, and I fully support prosecuting every individual who acted illegally to the fullest extent of the law. Unfortunately, the commission established in H.R. 3233 could impede the ongoing investigation of these events and delay the prosecution of those responsible by unnecessarily duplicating efforts. The bill also fails to provide an avenue for examining the violence that swept across the nation last summer as rioters looted and burned to the ground cities like Seattle and Portland, events that cannot be ignored as we assess the factors that led to an attack on our democracy. Instead, we must unite as Americans to condemn all violence and strive to hold accountable those who commit these shameful acts. We are Americans, and we are better than this. I pray that we can come together as ‘one nation under God’ and move forward to build a brighter future. |
| 5-20-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 3237 | Emergency Security Supplemental to Respond to January 6th Appropriations Act, 2021 | NO | I have supported past funding for Capitol security during the annual appropriations process. I am concerned this bill is not a judicious use of taxpayer dollars. It is not clear how this money would be used to address the breakdowns in communication that occured on January 6, 2021. Further, it includes funding that is not related to Capitol security. |
SUSPENSION BILLS
**A suspension bill is a bill passed by the House through suspending the rules to move quickly, circumventing the House Rules Committee. Suspension bills are typically less controversial pieces of legislation, and as the rules are being suspended, they require a higher threshold, two-thirds of those voting in the House, to pass. Additionally, these bills are often passed by a voice vote, without a formal roll call vote.
| Result and Date | Bill # | Bill Title | My Vote | What it means for you and your family |
| 5-17-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2911 | VA Transparency and Trust Act of 2021 | YES | This bill would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a plan for obligating and expending Coronavirus pandemic funding made available to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Congress has awarded the VA a large amount of extra funding to address problems caused by the Coronavirus crisis. The public deserves to know how this funding is being used. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED VOICE |
H.R. 3146 | SAVE Act of 2021 | YES | This bill would amend the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ensure the availability of medical equipment, clarify that the president may provide incentives to ensure the availability of medical articles essential for national defense, require the president to create a strategy on securing medical article supply chains, including for drugs that diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease; and provide the president explicit authority to use the DPA to protect supply chains by allowing entities to increase the security of supply chains and their activities. The Coronavirus epidemic has shown that America can do more to be prepared for epidemics, and this bill is an important step. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED VOICE |
H.R. 3125 | COVID-19 Emergency Medical Supplies Enhancement Act of 2021 | YES | This bill authorizes the President to use the DPA to further advance the production, acquisition, and distribution of medical supplies used to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED VOICE |
H.R. 2959 | COVID-19 Fraud Prevention Act | YES | This bill would help protect against fraudulent products or investment opportunities, deceptive marketing, and malicious scam attempts on Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as assist those who have been victims of fraud. Too many bad actors are using the current crisis to defraud Americans and this will help us combat them. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
S. 937 | COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act | YES | This bill requires a designated officer or employee of the Department of Justice to facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes and reports of COVID-19 hate crimes. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2704 | Improving VA Accountability To Prevent Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Act of 2021 | YES | This bill improves the equal employment opportunity functions at the VA, making the VA better at being accountable for and responsive to sexual harassment and discrimination. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2788 | VA Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor Modernization Act | YES | This bill eliminates the cap on the number of full-time employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs who provide equal employment opportunity counseling, allowing the VA to better prevent and address discrimination of all kinds. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 240 | Homeless Veterans with Children Reintegration Act | YES | This bill directs the Department of Labor to give veterans experiencing homelessness with dependents priority under homeless veterans reintegration programs. Veterans experiencing homelessness who have dependents should be prioritized. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 711 | West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act of 2021 | YES | This bill requires that land use revenues received by the VA in connection with the use of an easement, certain leases, or third-party land use at the VA’s West Los Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, California, be used exclusively for specified purposes on campus. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2167 | GI Bill National Emergency Extended Deadline Act | YES | Extends the deadline for use of VA educational assistance programs by reason of school closures due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2878 | Native VetSuccess at Tribal Colleges and Universities Pilot Program Act | YES | This bill gives Native American veterans attending Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) educational counseling and vocational support by expanding the VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) program to TCUs. Currently, the VSOC program isn’t available to Native American veterans attending TCUs, despite Native Americans having a higher rate of military service than any other demographic. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 1510 | To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit to Congress a report on the use of cameras in medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. | YES | This bill requires the VA to report on its policies and procedures relating to the usage and maintenance of video cameras for patient safety and law enforcement at VA medical centers. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2441 | Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans Mental Health Act of 2021 | YES | This bill requires the VA to establish and maintain three new centers of the Rural Access Network for Growth Enhancement (RANGE) Program in areas with a need for additional mental health care for rural veterans in places like Eastern Washington. The RANGE Program serves rural veterans who are experiencing mental illness, a group that is all too often underserved. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2494 | To amend title 38, United States Code, to establish in the Department the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration, and for other purposes. | YES | This bill establishes the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration to administer economic opportunity assistance programs for veterans and their dependents and survivors such as vocational rehabilitation and employment programs, educational assistance programs, veterans’ housing loan and related programs, the Transition Assistance Program, and the database of small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 210 | Rural STEM Education Research Act | YES | This bill directs the National Science Foundation to support research regarding STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, including computer science) education in rural schools. Too often our rural children are left behind when it comes to STEM opportunities, something this bill helps address. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 144 | Supporting Early-Career Researchers Act | YES | This bill authorizes the National Science Foundation to establish a two-year pilot program to award grants to highly qualified early-career investigators to carry out an independent research program at the institution of higher education chosen by such investigators. The NSF will select grantees from among citizens, nationals, and lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens of the United States. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 204 | STEM Opportunities Act | YES | This bill addresses barriers to education, recruitment, and retention of women and underrepresented groups in scientific fields by providing guidance, data collection, and grants.This will help advance American scientific achievement by bringing in a diverse group of minds. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2027 | MSI STEM Achievement Act | YES | This bill supports efforts to increase science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at minority-serving institutions of higher education (IHEs), including by requiring the National Science Foundation to award grants for building the capacity of such IHEs to increase the number and success of their students in the STEM workforce. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2695 | Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act | YES | This bill addresses sexual harassment and gender harassment in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields by supporting research regarding such harassment and efforts to prevent and respond to such harassment. Sexual and gender harassment has no place anywhere, and this will help those groups who have been pushed away from STEM fields due to harassment. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 1447 | COAST Research Act of 2021 | YES | This bill addresses the effects of ocean and coastal acidification on marine organisms and ecosystems by reauthorizing through FY2026 and revising the Ocean Acidification Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the ocean acidification grant program of the National Science Foundation. This bill expands those programs, as well as the ocean acidification activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to include efforts to research and monitor the effects of coastal acidification. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2533 | NEAR Act of 2021 | YES | This bill directs the Department of Commerce to arrange for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study that examines the existing science of ocean acidification in estuarine environments, examines the challenges to studying ocean acidification and acidification’s interactions with other environmental stressors in estuaries, provides recommendations for improving future research with respect to ocean acidification in estuarine environments, and identifies pathways for applying science in management and mitigation decisions related to ocean acidification in those environments. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 1157 | Department of State Authorization Act of 2021 | YES | This bill modifies the management and operations of the Department of State through various measures. These include requiring actions to recruit and retain a diverse workforce by establishing a strategic staffing plan, establishing offices and roles to carry out designated functions, and providing for certain public diplomacy and anti-corruption measures. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 1711 | Financial Inclusion in Banking Act of 2021 | YES | This bill expands the duties of the Office of Community Affairs within the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding under-banked, un-banked, and underserved consumers. Specifically, the office must report on impeding factors for individuals and families that do not participate in the banking system, and develop strategies to increase such participation. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 2655 | Insider Trading Prohibition Act | YES | This bill creates a specific law against insider trading. No one should be able to profit from illegally-obtained information. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 3008 | Homebuyer Assistance Act of 2021 | YES | This bill would cut red tape in the home appraisal process for home purchases financed by an FHA mortgage by bringing federal standards for FHA appraisers in line with the federal minimum requirements already in place for other home mortgages, such as those purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. |
| 5-18-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 707 | Ghost Army Congressional Gold Medal Act | YES | I was a cosponsor of this important bill, which awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the 23rd HQ Special Troops and the 3133d Signal Service Company, known as the “Ghost Army”, for their service in WWII. Tasked with misdirecting the enemy, they played an important part in keeping the Germans guessing as to where the D-Day site would be by creating fake troop movements and equipment. Because their actions were kept secret for decades after, they have not been honored the way they should be. |
| 5-19-2021
PASSED |
H.R. 1629 | Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act | YES | I support this legislation. Last week I voted against it because I oppose the process by which it was brought to the floor for expedited consideration during the 117th Congress. I am committed to driving down drug prices for individuals and families in Eastern Washington without limiting access to cures. |