Among the recent issues that Congress addressed during the last week were Medicare payments to physicians, the high-cost mortgages of manufactured houses and state and local sales tax deductions. Following, are how Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio and House Representative Gwen Graham, of the 2nd Congressional District, voted on the various issues. Included also, for the sake of Madison County voters in District 3, are the votes of Congressman Ted Yoho.
On the Senate side:
Human Trafficking Victims’ Fund: The Senate, by a vote of 99-0, with one abstention, passed a bill that would establish a Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund, to which both new criminal penalties and, as amended, matching funds from already appropriated money for community health centers would be transferred. Amounts originating from criminal fines would be prohibited from being used for healthcare or medical services. Both Nelson and Rubio voted yes.
Lynch Nomination: The Senate, by a vote of 66 to 34, agreed to a motion to invoke cloture, thus limiting debate on President Obama’s nomination of Loretta E. Lynch of New York to be Attorney General. Nelson voted yes. Rubio voted no.
On the House side:
Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Boards: The House, by a vote of 235 to 183 (with 13 abstentions), passed a bill that would formally establish three advisory boards with which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) must consult on matters regarding small businesses, credit unions and community banks. Limiting funding for the CFPB in future years offsets the measure. Graham voted no. Yoho was one of the 13 who abstained from voting.
Coming up, is a bill that amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to ensure that emergency services volunteers are not taken into account as employees under the shared responsibility requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; and a resolution that would set forth the congressional budget for the United States government for fiscal year 2016 and set forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2017 through 2025.