Here’s how area House and Senate members voted on major issues during the legislative week ending Sept. 30. See the nonpartisan VoteFacts.com for more information on top congressional issues and individual voting records. Click here for previous votes.
Michael Lawler (R), District 17 (including Philipstown)
Lawler, 37, was elected to Congress in 2022. From 2021 to 2022, he was a Republican member of the state Assembly from the 97th district in Rockland County. A graduate of Suffern High School, he holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Manhattan College. He is a former director of the state Republican Party and former deputy town supervisor of Orangetown.
Pat Ryan (D), District 18 (including Beacon)
Ryan, 41, was elected to Congress in 2022. Formerly the county executive of Ulster, he grew up in Kingston and holds a bachelor’s degree in international politics from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master’s degree in security studies from Georgetown. Ryan served in the U.S. Army as a combat intelligence officer from 2004 to 2009, including two tours in Iraq. He is also a former technology executive.
Bipartisan Bill to Avert Government Shutdown
Voting 335 for and 91 against, the House on Sept. 30 passed a continuing resolution (HR 5860) that would fund the government on a stopgap basis (HR 5860) through Nov. 17. The Senate was expected to approve the bill later in the day, averting a partial government shutdown slated to begin at midnight Sept. 30 without enactment of this legislation. The bill, which President Biden was prepared to sign into law, would fund disaster assistance for U.S. locales ravaged by floods and wildfires but omit military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine,
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Republicans’ Stopgap Funding and Immigration Bill
Voting 198 for and 232 against, the House on Sept. 28 defeated a Republican-sponsored continuing resolution (HR 5525) intended to keep the government fully open during October while Congress seeks agreement on regular funding for the new fiscal year. Opposed by 21 Republicans and all 211 Democrats who voted, the bill slashed discretionary spending by up to 30 percent at all agencies except the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security. The vote occurred after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), said he would not allow the House to consider a popular bipartisan continuing resolution working its way through the Senate (below). McCarthy’s decision, which placated his detractors on the far-right fringe of the GOP caucus, increased odds that a partial government shutdown would start at midnight on Sept. 30.
The House bill also sought to reinstate harsh Trump-era immigration policies for securing the southwest border and punishing undocumented immigrants including those seeking asylum pursuant to U.S. and international law. In part, the bill would speed the return of unaccompanied migrant children to their native country unless doing so would expose them to sex trafficking, and it would end federal funding of attorneys to represent these youths in immigration proceedings. The bill would prohibit the transfer of migrant families to U.S. communities while they await hearings in immigration court, instead requiring their detention near the border, among other provisions.
Mike Johnson (R-La.) said: “We have to change the way that the Biden administration is administering the economy. We have to change…this radical green energy transition. It is nonsense. The American people have had enough. They see the ‘Democrat’ policies destroying our economy, destroying our security, destroying opportunity for their children and grandchildren. We are taking a stand here. We are operating in good faith. We are negotiating together for the best outcome for the people, and we do not desire a shutdown.”
Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said: “With just hours remaining before…an unnecessary shutdown, the House is being forced to waste time on a measure that would impose draconian cuts to vital federal programs and compel the enactment” of Trump-era immigration policies. The Senate will not take up [the bill] and it will never go to the president’s desk. The House must come together today and stop coddling extreme MAGA members looking to get former President Trump’s failed illegal and immoral policies enacted into law.”
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Ending Military Support of Ukraine
Voting 93 for and 339 against, the House on Sept. 27 defeated an amendment that sought to remove U.S, military aid to Ukraine from the fiscal 2024 defense appropriations bill (HR 4365), which was later passed. Congress has approved $113 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022, and the Biden administration has asked Congress to approve tens of billions more in the 2024 budget year.
Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said: “I do not fear broken Russian tanks rolling through Europe. I fear Russia’s nuclear weapons and the risk that we could be sleepwalking into a nuclear conflict that could end life as we know it on the planet, all for what? To live out some neoconservative dream in Ukraine? Give me a break.”
Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) said: “Putin and his thugs are committing war crimes on a mass scale. The United States and the other democratic nations of the world must continue to oppose him. If we do not, then he or another authoritarian leader will try something like this again, yes, either in Ukraine or elsewhere in the world.”
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted no
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
SENATE
Stopgap Bill to Keep Government Functioning
By a tally of 77 for and 19 against, the Senate on Sept. 26 voted to advance a bill (HR 3935) that would fund government operations for seven weeks beyond the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, giving Congress more time to agree on regular funding for fiscal year 2024. Senate passage of this bipartisan bill to avert a government shutdown was expected on Sept. 30. However, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he would block House action on the legislation even though a clear majority of the House membership had signaled support for it. McCarthy’s stance, which appealed to the most extreme members of the GOP caucus, increased odds that the government would be partially shut down at midnight Sept. 30.
In addition to funding agencies at current levels through Nov. 17, the Senate bill would provide $6.2 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and $6 billion in disaster relief following catastrophic wildfires and flooding in several states, among other short-term funding measures.
Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) the minority leader, said: “Bipartisan majorities recognize the ongoing need to counter Russia and China and continue to provide lethal aid to Ukraine. In the coming weeks, I hope the administration will work with Congress to address these pressing needs. But in order for work on appropriations to continue uninterrupted, Congress needs to extend government funding by the end of this week.”
Ted Cruz (R-Texas) voted to block the bill. But he complained that active-duty military personnel would go unpaid if the government were to close. He urged the Democratic leadership to take up his bill to continue military pay during a shutdown. “At 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, the paychecks will stop for every soldier, every sailor, every airman, every marine, every member of the Space Force, and every coastguardsman. That is not right. The good news is, we can prevent it.”
A yes vote was to advance the bill.
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
