I voted “no” on the Democratic Motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 2642 (the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 – FARRM bill). This motion would have instructed conferees to support keeping the five-year authorizations for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Agricultural portion of the FARRM bill, which would keep both programs coupled together. Earlier this year, the House decided to consider SNAP and an Agriculture bill separately, which allows for better consideration of these individual programs. The bill failed 195-204 with 2 voting present. I voted “no” on H.Res 378 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding certain provisions of the Senate amendment to H.R. 2642 (FARRM bill) relating to the Secretary of Agricultures administration of tariff-rate quotas for raw and refined sugar. I believe the current sugar program is in need of reform as it costs taxpayers money and results in higher sugar prices for manufacturers. I supported a sugar reform amendment earlier this year but do not believe this amendment adequately addresses the issue. The resolution failed 192-212 with 1 voting present. On October 12, 2013, I voted “yes” on H.J.Res. 80 – the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, and Indian Health Service Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014. This resolution was offered to fund essential services to American Indians and Alaska Natives during the government shutdown. The resolution passed 233-160. I voted “yes” on H.R. 185 - to designate the United States courthouse in Sherman, Texas, as the Paul Brown United States Courthouse. Judge Brown, a Korean War veteran, was selected by President Ronald Reagan to serve as the U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Texas in 1985. He served in the position from 1985-2006, and passed away in November, 2012.The bill passed 402-1. I voted “yes” on H.R. 3205 - Promoting Adoption and Legal Guardianship for Children in Foster Care Act. Ii is important for me to support policies that encourage family and protect children. These tax credits provide not only an incentive, but help families who have decided to open up their hearts and their homes to children in need of loving homes. The bill passed 402-0. I voted “yes” on H.R. 3080 - the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013. This bill authorizes waterways infrastructure projects, de-authorizes outdated projects, allows greater non-federal involvement in projects, and provides greater Congressional oversight to the Army Corps of Engineers. This bill included many fiscal reforms, including sunsets for new project authorizations. This bill authorizes needed investments in America’s ports and infrastructure to improve global competitiveness, create jobs, and strengthen our transportation system. The bill passed 417-3. I voted “yes” on H.R. 2011 - the Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Education Improvement Act. I remain committed to ensuring that our veterans have access to the educational resources that will best assist them. Extending the Advisory Committee will enable the VA to keep seeking ways to better aid our veterans in the most cost effective manners possible. The bill passed 404-2. I voted “yes” on H.R. 2189. This bill provides retired reservists and members of the National Guard with the respect and acknowledgement they deserve, sets up a review board to evaluate and eliminate the backlog problem at the VA, and helps veterans determine whether they were exposed to Agent Orange while service in Vietnam, among other things. I support our veterans and support any measures that will hold the VA responsible for its failure to effectively serve the men and women who fought for this country. The bill passed 404-1. I voted “yes” on H.R. 2374 – the Retail Investor Protection Act. This bill keeps the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of Labor (DOL) from issuing conflicting regulations relating to securities broker-deals. Furthermore, the SEC must prove that investors are being harmed, and the SEC and DOL would be required to analyze the costs and benefits of such regulation. I am opposed to unnecessary regulations which may reduce investment options and advice for middle and lower-income investors. The bill passed 254-166. I voted “yes” on H.R. 992 – the Swaps Regulatory Improvement Act. This bill provides some relief from Dodd-Frank for banks who offer risk-mitigation products for clients like manufacturers and farmers who use swaps to insure against price swings in the price of their cost of goods or final product. The bill also ensures that the use of these products takes place within financial institutions that are monitored by regulators rather than non-bank affiliates which may have little oversight. The bill passed 292-122. The recently passed continuing resolution and debt limit increase (which I voted against) allows suspension of the debt limit through February 7, 2014. This suspension of the debt limit, which is estimated by the Bipartisan Policy Committee to allow $600 billion in new borrowing, is subject to congressional disapproval. The disapproval resolution–H.J.Res. 99–stops the suspension of the debt ceiling from continuing beyond what was specified in the continuing resolution and brings back the question of the debt ceiling in February. I voted “yes.” It passed 222-191 with 2 voting present.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 20:40:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015