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Transparency in Congress and a well-informed electorate are vital to preserving our self-governing Constitutional Republic. My constituents deserve to know how their members of Congress vote, which is why I have explained every vote I have cast in Congress since I was first elected.
To read more about my votes and see the full list with explanations of all the legislation considered this week by the House, please click here.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3738, the Veterans Economic Opportunity and Transition Administration Act. Currently, the Veterans Benefits Administration is responsible for all Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits provided to veterans outside of health care and cemetery services. However, the bulk of staffing and resources have been directed toward the administration of disability compensation and pension claims. As a result, other benefits, such as transition assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and the Forever GI Bill, have received less attention. H.R. 3738 would address this issue by aligning transition, education, and employment programs in a separate wing within the VA. This will modernize the VA and give the aforementioned programs the proper attention and oversight they deserve without increasing bureaucracy. H.R. 3738 passed the House by a vote of 403-10.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4016, the Veteran Fraud Reimbursement Act. H.R. 4016 will help veterans who have suffered from benefits fraud, requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to quickly reimburse affected veterans. The VA will then be responsible for recouping the amount from the perpetrators of the fraud. It is vital to protect veterans and ensure their receipt of benefits does not suffer as a result of fraud. H.R. 4016 passed the House by a vote of 413-0.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 1767, the Student Veteran Benefit Restoration Act. H.R. 1767 will safeguard the education benefits of student veterans, requiring the restoration of benefits to any student veteran who was unable to complete their program due to a school closure or determination that the program is ineligible for VA education benefits. The educational institution will then be required to refund all amounts to the VA. Student veterans should not lose out on their hard-earned benefits due to forces outside of their control. H.R. 1767 passed the House by a vote of 406-6.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3397, the Western Economic Security Today Act of 2023. H.R. 3397 would stop a recent public lands rule proposed by the Biden administration from coming into effect. Under this proposed rule, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would be able to lock up certain land under vaguely defined conservation leases, incorporate new standards when evaluating traditional multiple use decisions, and apply land health standards to all public lands. The proposed rule marks a significant shift in public land management that would lock up 10 percent of land in the United States and is an attempt to further the administration’s flawed Green New Deal agenda. Rural communities across the American West rely on access to public lands for economic development, grazing, timber production, and recreation. Stopping the Biden administration’s proposed rule will protect $201 billion in economic output and save 783,000 jobs. H.R. 3397 passed the House by a vote of 212-202.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 615, the Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act of 2023. Recently, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed to ban the use of lead ammunition and tackle in seven national wildlife refuges and to ban lead ammunition, but not tackle, in one additional national wildlife refuge by 2026. Lead ammunition and fishing tackle are the most cost-effective options on the market and provide an important revenue source for conservation efforts. In FY2024 alone, FWS received over $1.3 billion in conservation funding from excise taxes on hunting and fishing equipment, including ammunition and fishing tackle. H.R. 615 will prevent this misguided rule from coming into effect, ensuring Americans can continue to enjoy hunting and fishing. This bill passed the House by a vote of 214-201.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 764, the Trust the Science Act. H.R. 764 would reinstate the Trump administration’s final rule removing the gray wolf as a protected species under the Endangered Species Act in the lower 48 states, where they do not face the threat of extinction. The current gray wolf population exceeds the recovery goal for delisting, which requires a stable or increasing population of wolves in Minnesota and at least 200 wolves outside of Minnesota. However, after the Trump administration published a 2020 rule to delist the gray wolf, an activist judge in California vacated the rule. This decision was so extreme, even the Biden administration is appealing the decision in order to reinstate the rule. H.R. 764 passed the House by a vote of 209-205.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3195, the Superior National Forest Restoration Act. H.R. 3195 halts the Biden administration’s attack on domestic mineral development in Minnesota’s Superior National Forest (SNF). In January 2022, the Biden administration cancelled the two decades old mineral lease held by Twin Metals Minnesota in the SNF. One year later, a public land order went into effect, withdrawing 225,000 acres of land in the SNF from mineral extraction for 20 years. The SNF in northeastern Minnesota contains vast amounts of copper, nickel, cobalt, and platinum, which are vital for manufacturing batteries, electronics, and countless other high-tech items. In order to harness the technologies of the future, it is vital we responsibly mine the materials needed to make them here at home. H.R. 3195 passed the House by a vote of 212-203.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 6090, the Antisemitism Awareness Act. H.R. 6090 seeks to combat the pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic protests taking over American college campuses by requiring the Department of Education to consider the 2016 International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism and its contemporary examples when reviewing, investigating, or determining whether discrimination has occurred. It further expresses the sense of Congress that discrimination against Jews may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism and its contemporary examples are widely accepted and a vital tool for identifying and addressing discriminatory conduct that is motivated by anti-Semitism. Lastly, H.R. 6090 explicitly states that nothing in the bill “shall be construed to diminish or infringe upon any right protected under the First Amendment”. There can be no tolerance for anti-Semitism at our universities, in our communities, or anywhere across our country. H.R. 6090 passed the House by a vote of 320-91.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 6285, Alaska’s Right to Produce Act. Since his first day in office, President Biden has waged war on domestic fossil fuels to the detriment of American workers and families. H.R. 6285 reverses the Biden administration’s harmful anti-American energy policies by reinstating the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) oil and gas leases and canceling the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) rule. DOI was required to hold two lease sales in the 1002 Area of the ANWR – the first by December 2021 and the second by December 2024. The Trump administration held the first lease sale, but the Biden administration cancelled the leases. Earlier this month, DOI announced a rule that would lock up over half of the NPR-A for future energy production. These decisions will have a devastating impact on American jobs and energy production. H.R. 6285 would reverse these harmful actions from the Biden administration. This bill passed the House by a vote of 214-199 with two members voting present.
I voted “Yes” on H.Res. 1112, Denouncing the Biden administration's immigration policies. The crisis at our southern border is the direct result of President Biden’s radical open-borders policies. This resolution recognizes that the Biden administration’s actions have created the worst border crisis in our nation’s history, denounces these open borders polices, and urges the administration to immediately implement policies to end the crisis. Under President Biden’s watch, more than 9.5 million illegal aliens from around the world, including suspected terrorists, have arrived at our southern border. And during his first 100 days in office, President Biden took almost 100 executive actions on immigration, including halting border wall construction. Additionally, the Biden administration suspended and terminated asylum agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. These agreements, which were entered into during the Trump administration, reduced the incentive for illegal immigration by allowing for the removal of certain aliens seeking asylum. President Biden also halted the successful “Remain in Mexico” program and his administration issued multiple memos limiting enforcement actions that can be taken against illegal aliens. These are examples of how the Biden administration has repeatedly violated federal immigration law, including granting so-called “mass parole” to more than one million people and failing to detain or place aliens in removal proceedings. It is vital that President Biden changes course and starts enforcing our nation’s immigration laws for the sake of our national security. H.Res. 1112 passed the House by a vote of 223-191.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4866, the Fire Weather Development Act of 2024. H.R. 4866 would require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to collaborate with other federal, state, and local stakeholders to undertake activities to improve wildfire forecasting, detection, and communication. Improving wildfire forecasting and detection will help protect communities across the country and save taxpayers billions of dollars in emergency response costs. I supported this legislation when it passed the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and was pleased to support it again when it passed the full House of Representatives. H.R. 4866 passed the House by a vote of 341-48.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4755, the Privacy Enhancing Technology Research Act. H.R. 4755 would require the National Science Foundation to award research grants to projects that enhance privacy and security for personally identifiable information that may be collected. Congress must do more to protect Americans’ private, sensitive data and this bill works to create the technological solutions to solve this critical issue. I voted in favor of this bill’s passage through the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and once again on the House floor. H.R. 4755 passed the House by a vote of 354-36.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 529, the Extending Limits of U.S. Customs Waters Act. H.R. 529 would formally extend authorities for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) to perform law enforcement activities from 12 nautical miles to 24 nautical miles off the coast. New technologies have allowed CBP and USCG to interdict ships further off our nation’s coast, allowing them to catch human traffickers and drug smugglers further from shore. This commonsense bill will help keep our nation safe and support law enforcement’s ability to catch criminals. H.R. 529 passed the House by a vote of 402-6.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4824, the Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act. H.R. 4824 would expand certain research activities on carbon dioxide sequestration conducted by the Department of Energy to include terrestrial carbon sequestration and carbon sequestration in geological formations. I support an all-of-the-above energy approach, which includes coal and natural gas. Investing in carbon sequestration technology will allow us to continue taking advantage of the vital energy produced by coal and natural gas. H.R. 4824 passed the House by a vote of 364-44.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4877, the Abandoned Well Remediation Research and Development Act. H.R. 4877 would direct the Department of Energy to carry out a research, development, and demonstration program on plugging and remediating abandoned oil and gas wells. Abandoned oil and gas wells can pose environmental and health challenges for local communities. Programs like this will invest in research solutions for plugging and remediating these abandoned wells to protect our communities. H.R. 4877 passed the House by a vote of 333-75.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 6093, the Weather Act Reauthorization Act. H.R. 6093 would reauthorize weather forecasting and emergency preparedness activities related to extreme weather events. Programs included in this bill are critical to New York’s 24th District, as they help us prepare for the extreme lake-effect snow and give our farmers the tools to navigate various adverse weather events. I was honored to vote to reauthorize these programs when this bill passed unanimously through the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and was honored to support it once again on the House floor. H.R. 6093 passed the House by a vote of 394-19.
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