Congressional votes for May 15

Besides roll-call votes, the Senate and House also took action on legislation by voice vote. The Senate passed the Don't Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act (H.R. 606) to exempt from federal taxation benefits paid to surviving dependents of state or federal government public safety officers who were killed in the line of duty. The House passed the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act (S. 665) to promote Blue Alert plans for distributing information about threats to law enforcement officers as well as alerts about missing, wounded or killed law enforcement officers. The House also passed the Fallen Heroes Flag Act (H.R. 723) to provide flags flown at the U.S. Capitol to the immediate family of fire fighters, law enforcement officers, members of rescue squads or ambulance crews, and public safety officers who have been killed in the line of duty.

HOUSE VOTES

TAXING SURVIVOR BENEFITS: The House passed the Don't Tax Our Fallen Public Safety Heroes Act (H.R. 606), sponsored by Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn. The bill would exempt from federal taxation benefits paid to surviving dependents of state or federal government public safety officers who were killed in the line of duty. The vote, on May 12, was unanimous with 413 yeas.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

REGULATING WATERWAYS: The House passed the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act (H.R. 1732), sponsored by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa. The bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw their proposed rule defining waterways of the United States eligible for federal regulation, and replace it with a new proposed rule that uses a more limited definition of those waterways and reflects the input of various stakeholders, including state and local governments. The vote, on May 12, was 261 yeas to 155 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th)

PUBLIC SAFETY WORKERS AND RETIREMENT PLANS: The House passed the Defending Public Safety Employees' Retirement Act (H.R. 2146), sponsored by Rep. David G. Reichert, R-Wash. The bill would allow police, firefighters and air traffic controllers employed by the federal government to make withdrawals from their retirement plans after turning 50, without incurring penalties. The vote, on May 12, was 407 yeas to 5 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

ABORTION AND LATER-TERM PREGNANCIES: The House passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. The bill would ban abortions in cases where the fetus is at least 20 weeks old, except for pregnancies that endanger the life of the mother and pregnancies resulting from rape or incest against a minor. The vote, on May 13, was 242 yeas to 184 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st), Cleaver D-MO (5th)

ELECTRONIC SURVEILLANCE: The House passed the USA FREEDOM Act (H.R. 2048), sponsored by Rep. James F. Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis. The bill would establish new evidence requirements for the FBI to present to a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court when seeking approval of electronic surveillance for national security purposes or of suspected terrorists or criminals, and make a variety of changes to FBI electronic surveillance programs and the oversight of those programs. The vote, on May 13, was 338 yeas to 88 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

REVIEWING NUCLEAR DEAL WITH IRAN: The House concurred in the Senate amendment to the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act (H.R. 1191), sponsored by Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa. The bill would provide for congressional review of the proposed nuclear development agreement with Iran, including the question of whether to lift sanctions against Iran after that country's agreement to stop its nuclear weapons program, and Iran's sponsorship of acts of terrorism against the U.S. The vote, on May 14, was 400 yeas to 25 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

HEZBOLLAH FINANCING: The House passed the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act (H.R. 2297), sponsored by Rep. Edward R. Royce, R-Calif. The bill would require the use of sanctions and other measures to block financing of the Hezbollah group, and designate Hezbollah as an international criminal organization. The vote, on May 14, was unanimous with 423 yeas.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st), Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF U.S. AIRCRAFT CARRIERS: The House rejected an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735). The amendment would have changed the statutory requirement for the number of aircraft carriers operated by the Navy from 11 to 10. The vote, on May 14, was 60 yeas to 363 nays.

YEAS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NAYS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

IMMIGRATION AND MILITARY SERVICE: The House passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735). The amendment would strike from the bill a provision requiring the military to study whether people living in the country illegally who have received amnesty should be authorized to enlist in the military. The vote, on May 14, was 221 yeas to 202 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES: The House passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., to the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 1735). The amendment would bar the transfer to Yemen or U.S. soil of suspected terrorist detainees held at the military's Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba. The vote, on May 14, was 243 yeas to 180 nays.

YEAS: Graves (MO) R-MO (6th), Hartzler R-MO (4th), Long R-MO (7th), Luetkemeyer R-MO (3rd), Smith (MO) R-MO (8th), Wagner R-MO (2nd)

NAYS: Clay D-MO (1st)

NOT VOTING: Cleaver D-MO (5th)

SENATE VOTES

RELEASE OF IRANIAN-HELD U.S. CITIZENS: The Senate passed a bill (S. Con. Res. 16), sponsored by Sen. James E. Risch, R-Idaho, calling on Iran's government to release four U.S. citizens believed to be held by Iran and calling on the U.S. government to make all possible efforts to secure the immediate release of the four citizens. The vote, on May 11, was unanimous with 90 yeas.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Sally Quillian Yates to serve as U.S. Deputy Attorney General. The vote, on May 13, was 84 yeas to 12 nays.

YEAS: McCaskill D-MO

NAYS: Blunt R-MO

TRADE AND DEVELOPING NATIONS: The Senate passed the Trade Preferences Extension Act (H.R. 1295), sponsored by Rep. George Holding, R-N.C. The bill would extend preferential duties for goods imported from Haiti and also extend the generalized system of preferences exempting certain goods from tariffs, as well as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides preferential treatment for textiles and other goods imported from Africa. The vote, on May 14, was 97 yeas to 1 nay.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

TRADE BILL: The Senate passed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (H.R. 644), sponsored by Rep. Tom Reed, R-N.Y. The bill would establish a center for coordinating federal government efforts to protect intellectual property from infringement, automate the processing of certain trade documents by the Customs and Border Protection agency and establish processes for investigating whether foreign countries are directly or indirectly manipulating their currency to subsidize their exports. The vote, on May 14, was 78 yeas to 20 nays.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO

TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY: The Senate approved a motion to end debate on a motion to consider the Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act (H.R. 1314), sponsored by Rep. Patrick Meehan, R-Pa. The bill would authorize fast-track trade promotion authority for President Barack Obama to negotiate terms of trade treaties, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 other nations bordering the Pacific Ocean. The vote to end debate, on May 14, was 65 yeas to 33 nays.

YEAS: Blunt R-MO, McCaskill D-MO