How our legislators voted
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week (Oct. 22-28):
House votes
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (HR 3110) — Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), this bill would extend requirements for an employer to accommodate women to pump their breast milk at work. Maloney said it “would ensure that working moms who want to breastfeed can continue to do so and prevent nursing mothers from being singled out, ridiculed, or fired.” An opponent, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said the bill “falsely victimizes employees and is truly just another payout for trial lawyers” filing unwarranted lawsuits against employers. The vote passed on Oct. 22, 276-149.
Kilmer (D-WA, Sixth District) Yes
Sovereign Debt Contract Capacity Act (HR 4111) — Sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), this bill would require the U.S. representative at the International Monetary Fund to urge the Fund to help member countries evaluate the terms of their sovereign debt contracts. Waters said that with China using secretive sovereign debt contracts to exert power over vulnerable countries, training would help those countries improve transparency and reduce corruption by political leaders. The vote passed on Oct. 25, 391-29.
Kilmer D-WA Yes
Financial Transparency Act (H.R. 2989) —Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), this legislation would establish transparency standards for data submitted to federal financial regulators. Maloney said the bill would produce “more transparent and open data sources and data that is readily comparable across businesses and sectors.” The vote passed on Oct. 25, 400-19.
Kilmer D-WA Yes
Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (H.R. 2119) — Sponsored by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), this bill would reauthorize through fiscal 2026 and modify the Family Violence and Prevention Services program for victims of domestic violence, including emergency shelters for abuse victims. McBath said: “We must make sure that our children and their families have the resources they need to prevent domestic violence and abuse.” An opponent, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said the bill “tramples the rights of faith-based providers by forcing organizations to abandon their sincerely held religious beliefs or give up helping victims through these programs.” The vote passed on Oct. 26, 228-200.
Kilmer D-WA Yes
Protecting America’s First Responders Act (S 1511) — Sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), this legislation would provide payments, under the Justice Department’s Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program, to police officers and other first responder workers who have been permanently disabled by job-related injuries. The vote passed on Oct. 27, 420-3.
Kilmer D-WA Yes
Further Surface Transportation Extension Act (H.R. 5763) — Sponsored by Rep. Peter A. DeFazio (D-Ore.), this bill would extend through Dec. 3 statutory authority for federal highway, transit and other transportation programs. DeFazio said “we need to act immediately to be certain we don’t have a lapse in authorization” while the House and Senate negotiate their versions of a bill for a five-year authorization for the programs. The vote passed on Oct. 28, 358-59.
Kilmer D-WA Yes
Senate votes
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Douglas L. Parker to serve as the Labor Department’s assistant secretary for occupational safety and health. Parker has headed California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health since September 2019. A supporter, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said: “At every step in his career, Mr. Parker has been a dogged advocate for worker safety. I have no doubt he will continue when he is confirmed to lead OSHA.” The vote passed on Oct. 25, 50-41.
Maria Cantwell D-WA Yes
Patty Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Myrna Perez to serve as a judge on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Since 2006, Perez has been the director of the voting rights and elections program at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Perez was “really competent and experienced. She has been handling complex civil litigation and will be ready to serve on the Second Circuit on day one.” The vote passed on Oct. 25, 48-43.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Jia M. Cobb to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Washington, D.C. Cobb has been a private practice lawyer at a D.C. law firm since 2010. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Cobb “understands the distinction between being an advocate and a judge. As a judge on the District of D.C., she has promised to rule based on the law and facts of the cases before her.” The vote passed on Oct. 26, 52-45.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Karen McGlashan Williams to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for New Jersey. Williams, a federal magistrate judge in the state since 2009, was previously a private practice lawyer in Atlantic City. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Williams’s unanimous well qualified rating from the American Bar Association was “a testament to her integrity, temperament, and experience.” The vote passed on Oct. 26, 56-38.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Patricia Giles to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the eastern district of Virginia. Giles has been a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district for 18 years. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Giles “has a deep understanding of the district which she has been nominated to serve.” The vote passed on Oct. 26, 68-27.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Michel Nachmanoff to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the eastern district of Virginia. Nachmanoff has been a magistrate judge in the district since 2014, and previously was a public defender in the district. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Nachmanoff has “received praise from prosecutors and defense attorneys alike. It is a testament to his integrity and even-handedness.” The vote passed on Oct. 27, 52-46.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Sarala Nagala to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Connecticut. For the past nine years, Nagala has been an assistant U.S. attorney in the state. The vote passed on Oct. 27, 52-46.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Omar Williams to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Connecticut. Since 2002, Williams has been first an assistant public defender and then a superior court judge in Connecticut. The vote passed on Oct. 28, 52-46.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Matthew Olsen to serve as an assistant attorney general for national security at the Justice Department. Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center for three years of the Obama administration and a longtime Justice Department official, was most recently a law professor at the University of Virginia. The vote passed on Oct. 28, 53-45.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate confirmed the nomination of Christopher Schroeder to serve as an assistant attorney general serving as head of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. Schroeder was a senior Justice Department official in the Clinton and Obama administrations. The vote passed on Oct. 28, 56-41.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Hampton Dellinger to serve as an assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy. Until last year, Dellinger was a partner at the Boies Schiller Flexner law firm in Washington, D.C. The vote passed on Oct. 28, 53-37.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes
The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Elizabeth Prelogar to serve as U.S. Solicitor General. Prelogar had been the acting solicitor general before her nomination, and was an assistant to the solicitor general from 2014 to 2019. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Prelogar has “argued nine cases before the Supreme Court and filed hundreds of amicus briefs and other petitions. She knows this job, and she knows it well.” The vote passed on Oct. 28, 53-36.
Cantwell D-WA Yes
Murray D-WA Yes.
