Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative weeks ending May 17, 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.
Police Recruitment Grants
The House on May 14, by a 370-18 vote, passed the Recruit and Retain Act (S. 546), sponsored by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), to authorize issuance of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants to law enforcement agencies for police recruitment purposes. A supporter, Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), said the grants “would leverage the COPS Hiring program to ensure the program is responsive to the latest hiring challenges that law enforcement agencies are experiencing nationwide.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
FAA Reauthorization
The House on May 15, by a 387-26 vote, agreed to the Senate amendment to the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act (H.R. 3935), sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.). The bill would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board through fiscal 2028, and set out an array of policy directives for the FAA and the Transportation Department, including updated regulations for drone aircraft and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Graves said: “This bill is vital to America’s airport infrastructure, to our economy, and to the future of American leadership in aviation.” An opponent, Rep. Donald Beyer (D-Va.), criticized a provision allowing more flights at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C., which he said “directly harms our airport and the passengers who use it.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Washington, D.C., Criminal Law
The House on May 15, by a 225-181 vote, passed the D.C. Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safe Act (H.R. 7530), sponsored by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). The bill would change the criminal code for Washington, D.C., by defining as a juvenile those age 18 or younger, and by barring the D.C. Council from changing the District’s criminal liability jail sentences. Currently, those age 19 through 24 are defined as juveniles. Donalds said: “This bill is a great step toward ensuring our capital city is going to be safe.” An opponent, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), said the bill permanently ends the D.C. government’s authority to make its own criminal laws.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Border Security Resolution
The House on May 15, by a 223-185 vote, passed a resolution (H. Res. 1210), sponsored by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), to condemn as a crisis, caused by the Biden administration, immigration and other security problems at the border with Mexico, and advocate for support for law enforcement at the border and elsewhere who are responding to the crisis. Higgins said the resolution acknowledges that law enforcement officers “have been horribly impacted by the Biden administration policies at our southern border which have brought generational trauma upon our country and an era of misery we may never forget.” An opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), called it “just another excuse for Republicans to play politics with the southern border and to sound tough without actually doing anything.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Attacks on Police
The House on May 15, by a 356-55 vote, passed the Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act (H.R. 7581), sponsored by Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.), to require the attorney general to provide Congress with a report on nationwide criminal attacks against law enforcement officers that includes recommendations for ways to prevent such attacks. Bishop said the bill would help Congress “develop the information necessary so that we can protect the officers who serve us, who risk their lives every day.” An opponent, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), said there were already adequate reporting programs, and Jayapal asserted that “absolutely nothing in this bill makes a single police officer safer or invests a single dollar in officer wellness.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Immigration and Police Violence
The House on May 15 passed, by a 265-148 vote, the Detain and Deport Illegal Aliens Who Assault Cops Act (H.R. 7343), sponsored by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.). The bill would direct the Homeland Security Department to deport any unauthorized U.S. resident who has been charged with or convicted of assaulting a police officer or other type of first responder. Van Drew called it “an important step in ensuring that we have zero tolerance for those in our country who break our laws and assault those who are sworn to protect and to serve our American communities.” An opponent, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), said deportation was already a penalty for such assaults, and she faulted the bill for lacking “provisions to protect those who are mistakenly arrested and are released without charges.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Sodium Nitrite
The House on May 15, by a vote of 376-33, passed the Youth Poisoning Protection Act (H.R. 4310), sponsored by Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), to ban the sale to consumers of products that have at least a 10 percent concentration of sodium nitrite. Trahan said the bill “solely seeks to end the straight-to-consumer sale of highly concentrated sodium nitrite that is helping fuel the efforts of anonymous suicide forum users pushing vulnerable people to end their lives.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Regulating Lithium Batteries
The House on May 15 passed, by a 378-34 vote, the Setting Consumer Standards for Lithium-Ion Batteries Act (H.R. 1797), sponsored by Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish safety regulations for mobility products such as electric scooters. Torres cited a rapid increase in the number of fires in urban areas, such as New York City, caused by lithium-ion batteries used in e-mobility products, and said “the fire hazard here has become too glaring to ignore.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Promoting Blockchains
The House on May 15, by a 334-79 vote, passed the Deploying American Blockchains Act (H.R. 6572), sponsored by Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), to require the Commerce Department to adopt measures to promote the position of U.S. blockchain technologies. Blockchains, such as bitcoin, use distributed electronic ledgers to keep track of user activity without a centralized private database. Bucshon said the share of global blockchain developers based in the U.S. has been declining, and the bill sought to reverse that trend by increasing U.S. competitiveness.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Prices for Event Tickets
The House on May 15, by a 388-24 vote, passed the Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act (H.R. 3950), sponsored by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.). The bill would require sellers of tickets to entertainment events to disclose, during the purchasing process, the total ticket price and the elements that make up the total price. Bilirakis said: “This bill will have an immediate impact on providing market transparency and enhancing the event ticketing experience for consumers.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Concealed Carry and Police Officers
The House on May 16, by a 221-185 vote, passed the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act Reform Act (H.R. 354), sponsored by Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), to allow qualified law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms in various federally regulated locations, such as national parks and federal buildings. A supporter, Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.), said: “At a time when violent crimes continue to plague our nation, we must support our active and retired law enforcement officers and ensure that they are able to protect themselves and others.” An opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), said the bill “intrudes on the states’ ability to make their own judgments about public safety, concealed firearms, and the regulation of their own law enforcement.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Border Impacts for Law Enforcement
The House on May 16, by a 254-157 vote, passed the Police Our Border Act (H.R. 8146), sponsored by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.), to require the attorney general to submit to Congress a report on the impact of problems at the border with Mexico on federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. D’Esposito said the report would “make sure that law enforcement agencies throughout the country have the ability and have the information that they need to effectively protect and serve the communities they represent.” An opponent, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), said the bill “is full of empty rhetoric, it makes no policy changes to address the outdated immigration system, and it provides no funding of any kind.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Military Aid to Israel
The House on May 16, by a 224-187 vote, passed the Israel Security Assistance Support Act (H.R. 8369), sponsored by Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), to bar federal workers from canceling the delivery of military goods and services to Israel. Calvert said: “This bill reverses President Biden’s misguided attempts to withhold vital security assistance to Israel as they fight to defend their citizens from terrorists.” An opponent, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), called the bill an effort by Republicans “to sow division and use the United States-Israel relationship and American security assistance to advance their own political agenda.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
This week, the House also passed these measures without a roll call vote:
■ The Consumer Safety Technology Act (H.R. 4814), to direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a pilot program to explore the use of artificial intelligence in support of the mission of the Commission and to direct the Secretary of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission to study and report on the use of blockchain technology and digital tokens, respectively;
■ The Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act (H.R. 5390) to direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study on the feasibility of manufacturing in the U.S. products for critical infrastructure sectors;
■ The Awning Safety Act (H.R. 6132) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to promulgate a mandatory consumer product safety standard with respect to retractable awnings; and
■ A resolution (H. Con. Res. 106) expressing support for local law enforcement officers and condemning efforts to defund local law enforcement agencies.
SENATE
UNESCO Representative
The Senate on May 15, by a 49-45 vote, confirmed the nomination of Courtney O’Donnell to be U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). O’Donnell has been a senior aide to Douglas Emhoff in the Biden administration and to Jill Biden in the Obama administration, as well as an executive at Airbnb. A supporter, Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), said: “She has a proven track record of working to counter anti-Semitism and Holocaust denialism through her work on the U.S. national strategy to combat anti-Semitism.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Federal Judges
The Senate on May 15, by a 51-42 vote, confirmed the nomination of Sanket Bulsara to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Bulsara was a private practice lawyer for about a decade before, in 2015, becoming a lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was named a federal magistrate judge for the Eastern District in 2017.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on May 15, by a 61-33 vote, confirmed the nomination of Eric Schulte to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for South Dakota. Schulte has been a private practice lawyer in Sioux Falls, specializing in commercial law, for the past two decades.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on May 16, by a 90-4 vote, confirmed the nomination of Camela Theeler to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for South Dakota. Theeler has been a circuit judge in South Dakota’s court system since 2018; previously, she was an assistant U.S. attorney in South Dakota and a private practice lawyer.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Regulating COVID Aid Funds
The Senate on May 15, by a 49-46 vote, rejected a resolution (S.J. Res. 57), sponsored by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), that would have disapproved of and voided a Treasury Department rule allowing for state and local fiscal recovery money that was included in the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act to be used by local governments to cover regulatory costs. Schmitt said Treasury’s rule would grant more power to overreaching bureaucrats in “an insult to Congress and those who believe in our Constitution as well as a complete misuse of taxpayer dollars.” An opponent, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), said the resolution would lead to cancelling “smart investments for the future” by disrupting planned infrastructure spending projects.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
SEC Accounting Rule
The Senate on May 16, by a 60-38 vote, passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 109), sponsored by Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), to disapprove of and void a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule that issued accounting guidance requiring banks to place digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, that they hold in custody on their own balance sheets. A resolution supporter, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), said that putting cryptocurrencies on bank balance sheets would endanger customer assets in the event of a bank’s bankruptcy, by leaving the assets exposed to creditors’ claims. An opponent, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), said cancelling the SEC’s guidance “would deprive investors of accurate information on the risks of holding crypto-assets and corrode public trust in our financial system and our institutions.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
