Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative week ending Sept. 13, 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.
Competition with China
The House on Sept. 9, by a 351-36 vote, passed the Countering the PRC Malign Influence Fund Authorization Act (H.R. 1157), sponsored by Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) to authorize $325 million of annual spending, for the next three years, on government actions against China’s attempts at malign influence on the U.S. and its allies. Barr said the bill sought to “direct those scarce taxpayer resources effectively so that they actually do the job that the taxpayers deserve and we actually win this fight” with China.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Contracts with Chinese Biotechnology Firms
The House on Sept. 9, by a 306-81 vote, passed the BIOSECURE Act (H.R. 8333), sponsored by Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) to bar federal government agencies from reaching contracts with, or sending grant funds to, any of five China-based biotechnology companies that have been deemed to be a risk to U.S. national security. Wenstrup said the ban “will help protect the biologic data of American patients and make sure that their data does not fall into the hands of our adversaries.” A bill opponent, Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.), cited a lack of due process and transparency for determining which companies to ban, as well as the political nature of the ban.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Hong Kong Governance
The House on Sept. 10, by a 413-3 vote, passed the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act (H.R. 1103), sponsored by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.). The bill would require the removal of various forms of special treatment for the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices should China impair Hong Kong’s autonomy. Smith said, “These offices serve as Beijing’s propaganda arm in the United States, defending and dismantling the freedom of Hong Kong and obscuring the truth.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Report on College Ties to China
The House on Sept. 10, by a 253-151 vote, approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) to the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act (H.R. 1516). The amendment would require a Homeland Security Department report to Congress on colleges and universities with ties to a Confucius Institute or other Chinese groups deemed national security threats. Cline said: “Congress has a duty to conduct oversight of institutes of higher education that value their relationships with Communist China over national security for the American people.” An opponent, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), said it would drain Homeland Security resources and could lead to punishing U.S. colleges for innocent ties with Chinese colleges.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Confucius Institutes and Colleges
The House on Sept. 10, by a 249-161 vote, passed the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act (H.R. 1516), sponsored by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas). The bill would bar certain types of Homeland Security Department funding for U.S. colleges and universities that have established ties to Confucius Institutes, which are cultural organizations linked to China’s government. Pfluger said the institutes were part of an adversarial campaign from China, and that “we cannot allow any of these malign activities or actions to continue to undermine the United States.” An opponent, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), said the bill’s overly broad funding ban “denies critical Homeland Security funding to U.S. universities, puts American students at risk, and harms our national security.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Taiwan and the WHO
The House on Sept. 11, by a unanimous vote, passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Andrew Ogles (R-Tenn.) to the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act (H.R. 1425). The amendment would voice unequivocal U.S. support for Taiwan’s full participation in the World Health Organization. Ogles said of the need for full participation: “Because the world allowed the PRC’s [China’s] pressure campaign against Taiwan to succeed, no one listened when Taiwan tried to warn the World Health Organization of possible human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus on Dec. 31, 2019.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) did not vote
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Approving Pandemics Treaty
The House on Sept. 11, by a 219-199 vote, passed the No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act (H.R. 1425), sponsored by Rep. Thomas Tiffany (R-Wis.), to require Senate approval of U.S. involvement in any pandemic-related international agreement involving the World Health Assembly. Tiffany said Senate review of the draft pandemic treaty currently proposed by the World Health Organization was needed because the draft treaty “shreds intellectual property rights. It also contains certain provisions that may police our First Amendment rights.” An opponent, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), said “this bill only serves to undermine diplomatic efforts seeking to strengthen global health security.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) did not vote
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Anti-China Initiative
The House on Sept. 11, by a 237-180 vote, passed the Protect America’s Innovation and Economic Security from CCP Act (H.R. 1398), sponsored by Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas). The bill would re-establish the China Initiative at the Justice Department and rename it the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) Initiative. The Initiative, which began in 2018 and was halted in 2022, aimed to counter threats from China, including spying and economic espionage. Gooden said: “The rollback of the China Initiative left us lacking a dedicated approach and no oversight on issues of critical national interest.” A bill opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), said the Initiative produced “little more than a series of unsupportable cases against Chinese academics at the height of their careers that left their reputations in tatters.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) did not vote
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Farmland Sales and National Security
The House on Sept. 11, by a 269-149 vote, passed the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act (H.R. 9456), sponsored by Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), to require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to determine whether to make a national security review of potential sales of agricultural land to certain foreign parties, including Russian or Chinese nationals. Newhouse said: “This legislation strengthens the safety of our supply chains and opens a door to new reporting mechanisms that USDA [Agriculture Department] can use to keep us safe from this threat.” An opponent, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), said: “The bill’s broad-brush approach of targeting individuals from China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran amounts to racial profiling.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) did not vote
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Electric Vehicle Batteries and Taxes
The House on Sept. 12, by a 217-192 vote, passed the End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act (H.R. 7980), sponsored by Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.). The bill would bar electric vehicles that use batteries sourced from certain companies in China and other foreign countries from eligibility for the federal new clean vehicle tax credit. Miller said: “This legislation will close the Chinese billionaire loophole that currently allows those entities owned by billionaires from countries of concern to benefit from the electric vehicle subsidies.” A bill opponent, Rep. Daniel Kildee (D-Mich.), said it imposed unworkable, unclear restrictions on electric vehicle makers that would “lead the auto industry and battery manufacturers to pull back their U.S. investments and to pull back on investing in manufacturing for those critical elements right here in the United States and from friendly countries and to, instead, go back to relying on China.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Along with this week’s roll-call votes, the House passed these measures:
■ The Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act (H.R. 6513), to confirm the requirement that states allow access to designated congressional election observers to observe the election administration procedures in Congressional elections;
■ The Subterranean Border Defense Act (H.R. 7404), to require annual reports on counter illicit cross-border tunnel operations;
■ The No Russian Tunnel to Crimea Act (H.R. 7701), to require sanctions on any foreigner who knowingly participates in the construction, maintenance, or repair of a tunnel or bridge that connects the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula; and
■ The Economic Espionage Prevention Act (H.R. 8361), to impose sanctions with respect to economic or industrial espionage by foreign adversarial companies.
SENATE
Confirmations
The Senate on Sept. 10, by a 53-43 vote, confirmed the nomination of Adam Abelson to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for Maryland. Abelson was a lawyer at a Baltimore law firm before, in 2023, being named a magistrate judge on the Maryland court.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on Sept. 10, by a 51-43 vote, confirmed the nomination of Jeannette Vargas to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. A staffer in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District since 2002, Vargas has been the deputy chief of its civil division since 2016.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on Sept. 11, by a 55-42 vote, confirmed the nomination of Mary Kay Lanthier to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for Vermont. A public defender for a Vermont county since 2007, Lanthier was previously a private practice lawyer and a public defender.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on Sept. 12, by a 54-41 vote, confirmed the nomination of Laura Margarete Provinzino to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for Minnesota. Provinzino, a prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district since 2010, was previously a lawyer in Minneapolis.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
