Among the issues that Congress addressed in recent weeks were trade promotion, the Patriot Act, human trafficking and science programs. Following are the corresponding votes from Senators Bill Nelson, Senator Marco Rubio and House Representative Gwen Graham, of the 2nd Congressional District, and Congressman Ted Yoho, of the 3rd Congressional District.
In the Senate:
Trade Promotion Authority: The Senate voted 62 to 37, with one abstention, to pass a bill that would set specific conditions on the president of the United States when negotiating foreign trade agreements, granting Congress final approval on any accord reached by the participating parties without amendment in an up or down vote. The bill would also extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program through June 30, 2021, at an annual level of $450 million. Both Nelson and Rubio voted yes.
Patriot Act Reauthorization: The Senate voted 57 to 42, with one abstention, to reject a motion to invoke cloture on a bill that would modify domestic surveillance authorities by prohibiting the National Security Agency's bulk collection and storage of telephone metadata and its ability to collect other bulk data. Nelson voted yes. Rubio voted no.
Two-Month FISA Reauthorization: The Senate rejected 45 to 54, with one abstention, a motion to invoke cloture on a bill that would amend the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to extend until July 31, 2015. The bill also would expire provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Both Nelson and Rubio voted yes.
In the House:
Anti-Human Trafficking Programs and Victims Fund: The House voted 420 to 3, with nine abstentions, to approve a motion to suspend the rules and pass a bill that would authorize a number of programs to combat sex trafficking, particularly the sex trafficking of minors. The bill would include provisions that would establish a fund to support trafficking victims; it would create a new victim-centered grant program to provide assistance to states and local law-enforcement agencies so as to bolster the investigation and prosecution of sex trafficking; and it would help victims of such crimes. It would also bolster the ability of law-enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute sex trafficking, including the targeting of individuals who purchase sex from human trafficking victims. Both Graham and Yoho voted yes.
Fiscal 2016 Legislative Branch Appropriations: The House voted 357 to 67, with eight abstentions, to approve a bill that would provide $3.3 billion for legislative branch operations, excluding Senate operations, in fiscal 2016. The total would include $1.2 billion for House operations, $591 million in net appropriations for the Library of Congress, $522 million for the Government Accountability Office, $492 million for the Architect of the Capitol and $369 million for the Capitol Police. As amended, the bill would provide no funding for the Open World Leadership Center. Both Graham and Yoho voted yes.
Science Programs Reauthorization: The House voted 217 to 205, with 10 abstentions, to approve a bill that would authorize $32.9 billion over fiscal 2016 and fiscal 2017 for a number of agencies that support scientific research, industrial innovation and certain educational activities. Within that total, the bill would annually authorize for those two fiscal years: $7.6 billion for the National Science Foundation, roughly $7.9 billion for various Energy Department activities, $939 million for the National institute of Standards and Technology and $5 million for the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Graham voted no. Yoho voted yes. All information is courtesy of National Write Your Congressman, the mission of which is to keep citizens informed on what their elected leaders are doing, or not doing, and encourage citizens to speak out on the issues.