Here’s a look at how Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators voted over the previous week.
Along with the week’s roll call votes, the Senate also passed the following measure by voice vote: the Safe Sleep for Babies Act (HR 3182), to provide that inclined sleepers for infants and crib bumpers shall be considered banned hazardous products under Section 8 of the Consumer Product Safety Act.
There were no key votes in the House this week.
FINANCIAL MARKETS: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Joshua Frost to serve as the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for financial markets. Frost has been an official at the Federal Reserve’s New York bank since 1999, with responsibilities including oversight of money markets and Treasury debt markets. An opponent, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said: “I will vote against his nomination out of growing concerns that the Treasury Department has been derelict in its responsibilities to the Senate Finance Committee and its members.” The vote, on May 3, was 54 yeas to 42 nays.
YEAS: Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.; NAYS: Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa.
MANAGING HUD BUREAUCRACY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Elizabeth Bhargava to be assistant secretary of administration at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Bhargava, most recently New York’s deputy secretary for labor and workforce, has been a New York state and city government official for over 20 years. A supporter, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said Bhargava “recognizes that the program continuity depends on strong leadership at the top and meeting the department’s urgent staffing needs.” The vote, on May 3, was 62 yeas to 34 nays.
YEAS: Casey; NAYS: Toomey
HEAD START MASKING RULE: The Senate has passed a resolution (SJ Res 39) sponsored by Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., that would disapprove of and void a Health and Human Services Department rule requiring face masks to be worn indoors and outdoors by children and workers in Head Start programs, and requiring Head Start workers to have received COVID vaccinations. Thune said: “The scientific evidence for masking toddlers is shaky at best. The World Health Organization does not recommend masking for children under 5. The concerns about the effect on speech and children’s development are real.” A resolution opponent, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said: “Once our youngest children can get fully vaccinated, it probably makes sense to revisit some of these requirements, but we are not there yet.” The vote, on May 3, was 55 yeas to 41 nays.
NAYS: Casey; YEAS: Toomey
OIL AND NATURAL GAS LEASES: The Senate has passed a motion, sponsored by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., to instruct Senate conferees with the House negotiating the two chambers’ versions of the America Competes Act (HR 4521). The motion insisted on the final bill including provisions for the sale of oil and natural gas production leases on the Outer Continental Shelf of U.S. waters, including the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Alaska. Barrasso said the motion was needed because the Biden administration has failed to make a five-year leasing plan that would increase American energy production and decrease dependence on “oil from our enemies, like Iran and Venezuela.” An opponent, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said: “We need to focus on delivering clean energy, efficient solutions to communities, not undercutting federal processes and giving more handouts to Big Oil.” The vote to instruct, on May 4, was 53 yeas to 44 nays.
NAYS: Casey; YEAS: Toomey
CHINA AND IRAN: The Senate has passed a motion, sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to instruct Senate conferees with the House negotiating the two chambers’ versions of the America Competes Act (HR 4521). The motion insisted on the final bill including provisions for combating cooperation between China and Iran with sanctions and other measures. Cruz said the provisions were needed because “China is our most significant geopolitical foe for the next 100 years. Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.” A motion opponent, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said: “To tie our Iran terrorism sanctions to our China policy would have the effect, really, of muddying the waters about the purpose of terrorism sanctions.” The vote to instruct, on May 4, was 86 yeas to 12 nays.
YEAS: Casey and Toomey
WEAPONS RESEARCH AND CHINA: The Senate has passed a motion, sponsored by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., to instruct Senate conferees with the House negotiating the two chambers’ versions of the America Competes Act (HR 4521). The motion insisted on the final bill including provisions rejecting authorization for spending on the Green Climate Fund and authorizing $8 billion for military research on weapons systems that counter China. Cotton said: “Instead of giving that $8 billion to the United Nations to waste on climate schemes and corruption, we should send it to our troops and help rebuild our military.” A motion opponent, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said: “Our national security and our economic advantage are both served by actually supporting the international climate fund and helping the world work its way through the predicament that the fossil fuel industry has foisted on us.” The vote to instruct, on May 4, was 50 yeas to 44 nays.
NAYS: Casey; YEAS: Toomey
NUCLEAR PACT WITH IRAN: The Senate has passed a motion, sponsored by Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., to instruct Senate conferees with the House negotiating the two chambers’ versions of the America Competes Act (HR 4521). The motion insisted on the final bill including provisions requiring that a nuclear weapons agreement with Iran maintain sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and address Iran’s support for terrorism and its other malign activities. Lankford cited Iran’s use of the Corps to attack and kill U.S. soldiers in the Iraq War as reason to maintain the sanctions. A motion opponent, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said: “To deny this administration the ability to enter into a nuclear agreement isn’t just folly; it is downright dangerous.” The vote to instruct, on May 4, was 62 yeas to 33 nays.
NAYS: Casey; YEAS: Toomey
CLIMATE CHANGE EMERGENCIES: The Senate has passed a motion, sponsored by Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., to instruct Senate conferees with the House negotiating the two chambers’ versions of the America Competes Act (HR 4521). The motion insisted on the final bill including provisions stating that the president cannot declare a national emergency or a public health emergency due to climate change. Capito said: “We should address climate change, but ceding broad authority over to the executive (branch) is not the way to go.” A motion opponent, Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said: “Taking away the ability for the president to declare major disasters or health emergencies or national emergencies when there are disasters striking our people is a terrible idea.” The vote to instruct, on May 4, was 49 yeas to 47 nays.
NAYS: Casey; YEAS: Toomey
NUCLEAR ENERGY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Kathryn Huff to be the Energy Department’s assistant secretary for nuclear energy. Huff was a nuclear engineering professor at the University of Illinois before, a year ago, joining the Energy Department as a senior official. A supporter, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said: “We need to be looking for opportunities to expand our use of nuclear energy. Dr. Huff is ready and able to take on that responsibility.” The vote, on May 5, was 80 yeas to 11 nays.
YEAS: Casey; NOT VOTING: Toomey
