Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative weeks ending March 8, as reported by Targeted News Service. 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 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.
Childhood Diseases
The House on March 5, by a 384-4 vote, passed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0 (H.R. 3391), sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) to reauthorize through fiscal 2028 a National Institutes of Health program for research into pediatric cancer and diseases. Wexton said the reauthorization was needed because “there is still a long fight ahead to better understand, treat and ultimately cure childhood cancer.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Maternal Deaths
The House on March 5, by a 382-12 vote, passed the Preventing Maternal Deaths Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3838), sponsored by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) to reauthorize federal programs that fund state maternal health care programs. Burgess said the bill “will help to ensure that resources are directed where they will have the most positive impact.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Consolidated Government Spending
The House on March 6, by a 339-85 vote, passed an amendment to the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 4366), sponsored by Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) to provide fiscal 2024 funding for various federal departments, including Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs. A supporter, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) said the bill “honors our commitment to our veterans, strengthens our energy security, holds agencies accountable, supports our farmers and ranchers, and makes our transportation systems safer.” An opponent, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), criticized the bill for excessive spending that went beyond previously legislated limits for 2024 and for failing to secure the border with Mexico.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Cancer and Firefighters
The House on March 6, by a 413-7 vote, passed the Firefighter Cancer Registry Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3821), sponsored by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.), to reauthorize through fiscal 2028 the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health’s registry of nationwide information about firefighters and cancer. Pascrell said the registry could lead to more knowledge of “the ties between career-long exposure to dangerous fumes and toxins and the incidence of firefighter cancer.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Undocumented Immigrants and Crime
The House on March 7, by a 251-170 vote, passed the Laken Riley Act (H.R. 7511), sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) to require the Homeland Security Department to apprehend undocumented immigrants who are facing charges for theft in the U.S. Collins called the requirement “a key piece in our fight to restore the rule of law and get criminal illegal aliens off our street” by removing undocumented immigrants before they commit more serious crimes than theft. An opponent, Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) said Congress did not have the authority to set such a requirement.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Expanding Dental Workforce
The House passed on March 7, by a vote of 391-32, the Action for Dental Health Act (H.R. 3843), sponsored by Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), to reauthorize through fiscal 2028 a program for issuing grants to states for resolving local shortages of dental health providers. Kelly said: “By prioritizing early diagnosis, intervention, and preventive dental treatments, we can significantly improve the well-being of patients and alleviate strain on our health care system.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Along with this week’s roll call votes, the House also passed these measures:
■ The Improving Travel for Families Act (H.R. 5969), to revise certain regulations to permit certain children to accompany their parents or legal guardians through Global Entry airport lanes;
■ The 9-8-8 Lifeline Cybersecurity Responsibility Act (H.R. 498), to secure the suicide prevention lifeline from cybersecurity incidents; and
■ The DiasporaLink Act (H.R. 3385), to require a report on the value, cost, and feasibility of developing a trans-Atlantic submarine fiber optic cable connecting the contiguous U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Ghana.
SENATE
Appointments
The Senate on March 6, by a 69-30 vote, confirmed the nomination of Ronald Keohane to be assistant secretary of defense for manpower and reserve affairs. Keohane, a partner at the veterans-focused Blue Rose consultancy, was previously a Clinton and Obama administration official in the Defense Department and the National Guard.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on March 6, by a 50-49 vote, confirmed the nomination of Moshe Marvit to be a member of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission for a term ending in 2028. Marvit has been a lawyer at the commission for a decade, and has been a law professor and a private practice lawyer representing the United Steelworkers union and other workers.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on March 6, by a 51-48 vote, confirmed the nomination of Cathy Harris to be chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Harris is a lawyer in private practice in Washington, D.C., who specializes in federal government employment law.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on March 7, by a 51-45 vote, confirmed the nomination of Adrienne Jennings Noti to be a judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Noti has been a magistrate judge on the Superior Court for a decade, and before that was a law professor and a lawyer specializing in family law.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) did not vote
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Nuclear Radiation Compensation
The Senate on March 7, by a 69-30 vote, passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act (S. 3853), sponsored by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). The bill would extend the deadline for filing compensation claims for exposure to radioactive waste from the 1940s Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear bomb and from working in uranium mines. Hawley said the extension “is about doing basic justice for the working people of this nation whom their own government has poisoned.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
