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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 S. 870, the Fire Grants and Safety Act. S. 870 reauthorizes the United States Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) program. The AFG and SAFER programs are critical to local fire departments, who use these programs to procure the equipment they need to serve our communities. I strongly supported the passage of this legislation through the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and have consistently advocated for additional funding for these programs. I urge the President to expeditiously sign this bill into law so we can continue supporting our local fire departments. S. 870 passed the House by a vote of 393-13, with one member voting present.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 4143, the National Construction Safety Team Enhancement Act of 2023. H.R. 4143 would allow the National Institute of Standards and Technology National Construction Safety Teams to investigate structural failures that caused loss of life or risked loss of life. This would allow the National Construction Safety Teams to learn from previous structural collapses to help with recommendations to prevent future collapses. I supported this bill when it passed unanimously through the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and supported its passage on the House floor. H.R. 4143 passed the House by a vote of 358-41.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 7109, the Equal Representation Act. H.R. 7109 would codify the Trump administration’s efforts to add a citizenship question to the census and exclude non-citizens for the purpose of congressional reapportionment. As required by the Constitution, every ten years, the census counts the number of individuals living in the United States and the number of congressional seats allocated to each state is reapportioned based on these numbers. However, there is currently no way to determine how many of these individuals are citizens or non-citizens. H.R. 7109 would add this as a question to the census so we can better understand how many non-citizens, including illegal aliens, are currently residing in the United States. Additionally, this bill would ensure that non-citizens are not counted during congressional reapportionment, which would remove the benefit that states like California receive by counting illegal aliens. I am honored to cosponsor this important bill and strongly supported its passage through the House. H.R. 7109 passed the House by a vote of 206-202.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 2925, the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act of 2024. In May of 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision revoking an approved mine plan for the Rosemont Copper Mine Project, partially located in the Coronado National Forest in Arizona, known as the “Rosemont decision.” The Rosemont decision reinterprets key facets of the Mining Law of 1872 and upends longstanding precedent by requiring mining operators to prove public lands contain commercially developable mineral deposits. If allowed to stand, the Rosemont decision would impact hardrock mining projects across Western states since the mineral-rich states of Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, and Idaho are located within the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit. H.R. 2925 provides much-needed certainty for domestic hardrock mining operators by codifying longstanding regulatory practices and legal interpretation regarding use, occupancy, and operations on public lands. Domestic mining of hardrock and critical minerals ensures we are not reliant on adversarial nations like China for the technologies essential to Americans’ everyday lives. H.R. 2925 passed the House by a vote of 216-195.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 8289, the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2024. Currently, the authorization for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operations and programs is set to expire on May 10, 2024. While there is currently legislation under consideration in the Senate that will authorize and update these program for five years, it will need additional time to move through the legislative process. H.R. 8289 extends FAA authorization through May 17, 2024, allowing this to take place. This bill passed the House by a vote of 385-24, with one member voting present.
I voted “Yes” on H.J.Res. 109, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to "Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121". H.J.Res. 109 disapproves of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 (SAB 121), a Biden administration rule that weakens consumer protections, impedes financial innovation, and hinders competition. SAB 121 requires public companies, including banks, that safeguard digital assets for their customers to record the value of those consumer-owned assets on their balance sheets. This treatment of digital assets held in custody on behalf of a bank’s customers deviates from traditional custodial practices. Recording the value of consumer-owned digital assets on a bank’s balance sheets will increase capital and liquidity costs, which will ultimately be passed onto the American consumer. Further, SAB 121 prevents financial institutions from engaging in digital asset custody, which leaves Americans’ assets vulnerable if a custodian becomes insolvent or enters receivership. H.J.Res. 109 passed the House by a vote of 228-182.
I voted “Yes” on the Motion to Table H.Res. 1209, Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant. As Speaker, Mike Johnson has remained committed to our Constitutional conservative values and has brought principled steady leadership to the House of Representatives. We cannot afford to descend back into the chaos of choosing a new Speaker while so much of our country is in jeopardy. This would inhibit the House Republican Majority from holding the Biden administration accountable and fighting to save America from dangerous far-left policies. I stand with President Trump and nearly all of my Republican colleagues who wholly opposed the motion to vacate Speaker Johnson and I believe that we must remain united and focused as we head to November. The Motion to Table H.Res. 1209 passed the House by a vote of 359-43 with seven members voting present.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3354, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 220 North Hatcher Avenue in Purcellville, Virginia, as the "Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Post Office Building". Albright came to the United States from Eastern Europe at the age of two after the Nazis invaded her birth country of Czechoslovakia. Her career in government included serving as a staffer in the United States Senate, the Ambassador to the United Nations, and as the first female U.S. Secretary of State. H.R. 3354 passed the House by a vote of 371-28, with three members voting present.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 6192, the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act. H.R. 6192 would prevent the Biden administration from banning household appliances that run on natural gas. Unfortunately, President Biden has continued to wage an out-of-touch war on America’s home appliances. Since he took office, the Department of Energy has unleashed an onslaught of new regulations for home appliances such as stoves, dishwashers, showers, toilets, heaters, and furnaces. These actions from the Biden administration are not based in science and will only serve to increase costs for hardworking Americans. H.R. 6192 passed the House by a vote of 212-195.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 7423, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 103 Benedette Street in Rayville, Louisiana, as the "Luke Letlow Post Office Building". A devoted businessman and public servant, Letlow was elected to the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District in 2020. Tragically, he lost his life before he was able to take office due to complications caused by the COVID-19 virus. Letlow worked as a staffer for Bobby Jindal in both the United States House of Representatives and during Jindal’s first term as governor of Louisiana. Later, Letlow served as campaign manager and chief of staff for Ralph Abraham during his tenure in Congress. I was glad to see this bill pass the House by a vote of 401-0, with two members voting present.
I voted “Yes” on the veto message for H.J.Res. 98, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to "Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status". This resolution would overturn the Biden administration’s radical joint-employer rule that will harm small businesses and kill jobs. The Biden administration’s rule vastly expands the definition of “joint employer” to include all businesses that share “indirect” or “potential” control of an employee, even if they do not actually exercise this control. This rule was initially proposed by the Obama administration, and it raised operational costs by $33 billion and killed 376,000 jobs in the franchise sector alone. H.J.Res. 98 required a two-thirds majority to pass and failed in the House by a vote of 214-191.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 7219, the Information Quality Assurance Act. H.R. 7219 will improve the federal rule making process, updating existing requirements so federal agencies are required to use the best available information to develop, issue, or inform the public of the nature and basis of rules and guidance. It would also require agencies to make that information publicly available as an open government data asset that would include methodologies, models, scientific sources, and other forms of information that informed the policy decision. This commonsense change will allow Americans to gather greater insight into how their federal government works and provide more informative feedback to rule makers. H.R. 7219 passed the House by a vote of 377-4.
I voted “Yes” on H.R. 7525, the Special District Grant Accessibility Act. Special districts are authorized through state statute to deliver specialized services, like fire stations or waste management, to a district that the local city or county does not provide. As of 2022, there are 39,555 special districts in the United States. However, a special district is not currently defined in U.S. code and is ineligible for direct federal funding or grant programs. As a solution, H.R. 7525 will require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue guidance requiring special districts to be recognized when agencies are considering federal financial assistance. It is important our vital local services are not left behind. This bill passed the House by a vote of 352-27.
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