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

Along with roll call votes this week, the House also passed the following bills: the Post-Disaster Assistance Online Accountability Act (H.R. 259), to create an online repository for certain reporting requirements for recipients of federal disaster assistance; the Securities and Exchange Commission Real Estate Leasing Authority Revocation Act (H.R. 388), to eliminate the SEC’s leasing authority; and the Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act (H.R. 449), to amend the Small Business Act to increase transparency.

HOUSE VOTES

ASSESSING GOVERNMENT JOB APPLICANTS: The House has passed the Chance to Compete Act (H.R. 159), sponsored by Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., to change the hiring system for the federal government’s civil service jobs by prioritizing skills-based assessments of an applicant’s qualifications. Foxx said the current system, by over-emphasizing academic qualifications, “seriously undermines the federal workforce’s ability to serve the American people in both a proper and efficient manner.” The vote, on Jan. 24, was 422 yeas to 2 nays.

YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

DISCLOSING LAWSUIT SETTLEMENTS: The House has passed the Settlement Agreement Information Database Act (H.R. 300), sponsored by Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., to require federal government agencies to release to the public information about consent decrees and settlement agreements they have reached with litigants. Palmer said: “Citizens have a right to access the federal government’s records and operations to facilitate oversight of the public business.” The vote, on Jan. 24, was unanimous with 425 yeas.

YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: The House has passed the NOTAM Improvement Act (H.R. 346), sponsored by Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn. The bill would create a task force at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to suggest improvements to the agency’s notices to air missions (NOTAM) system. Stauber said the grounding of all domestic airline departures two weeks ago due to a NOTAM outage highlighted the need for the FAA to improve its complicated, outdated system for communicating safety and traffic alerts to pilots. The vote, on Jan. 25, was 424 yeas to 4 nays.

YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

INVESTING IN SMALL BUSINESSES: The House has passed the Investing in Main Street Act (H.R. 400), sponsored by Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., to increase the amount a bank can invest in small business investment companies from 5 percent to 15 percent of the bank’s capital and surplus. Chu said: “Raising this cap will dramatically increase the amount of investment capital available to our country’s small businesses for whom even small investments can mean so much.” The vote, on Jan. 25, was 411 yeas to 13 nays.

YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

IRAN PROTESTS: The House has passed a resolution (H. Con. Res. 7), sponsored by Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., to commend Iranians protesting against their government and condemn Iran for violently suppressing protests and killing some protestors. Tenney said the resolution “reaffirms our resounding support for the brave Iranians who continue to put their lives on the line to secure their fundamental rights and freedoms.” The vote, on Jan. 25, was 420 yeas to 1 nay.

YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

ATLANTIC COAST FOSSIL FUEL PRODUCTION: The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., to the Strategic Production Response Act (H.R. 21) that would preserve a moratorium on oil and natural gas production leases off the Southeast coast. Mace said the moratorium “protects South Carolina’s coastline, which every South Carolinian and visitor to our state knows is vital to our livelihoods and our economy.” The vote, on Jan. 26, was 389 yeas to 42 nays.

YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

OIL AND NATURAL GAS LEASES: The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., to the Strategic Production Response Act (H.R. 21) that would change the increase in federal lands that can be leased for oil and natural gas production in response to a drawdown of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve from a 10 percent to a 15 percent increase. Boebert said the increase “allows for responsible emergency use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves while also allowing for responsible American energy production on federal lands.” An amendment opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said it would impair the ability to release supplies from the Reserve in response to emergencies. The vote, on Jan. 26, was 220 yeas to 212 nays.

NAYS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

OIL SALES TO RIVAL NATIONS: The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, R-N.J., to the Strategic Production Response Act (H.R. 21) that would require the Energy Department to ensure that oil sold from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is not sold to Iran, China, Russia, or North Korea. Gottheimer said the restriction was needed to “properly protect from the terrifying prospect of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve ending up in the wrong hands.” The vote, on Jan. 26, was 418 yeas to 12 nays.

YEAS: Pappas D-NH (1st), Kuster D-NH (2nd)

SENATE VOTES

MANAGING MILITARY BUILDINGS: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Brendan Owens to be the Defense Department’s Assistant Secretary for Energy, Installations and Environment. Owens, currently a consultant at Black Vest Strategy, was an official at the U.S. Green Building Council for 19 years, and before that the energy manager for the Army’s Fort Belvoir in Virginia. The vote, on Jan. 23, was 60 yeas to 35 nays.

YEAS: Hassan D-NH, Shaheen D-NH

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