Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative week ending Sept. 27, 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.
Immigration Enforcement and Federal Aid
The House on Sept. 20, by a 219-186 vote, passed the No Bailout for Sanctuary Cities Act (H.R. 5717), sponsored by Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.). The bill would bar cities and other governments that provide benefits to unauthorized immigrants from receiving federal funding for those benefits. LaLota said the bill was “about ensuring that cities and states that refuse to enforce federal laws are not rewarded with federal dollars related to their defiance.” An opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), said it “would simply bankrupt states and localities that have chosen a different path on immigration than the Republican agenda.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Regulating Vehicle Emissions
The House on Sept. 20, by a 215-191 vote, passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 136), sponsored by Rep. John James (R-Mich.), to disapprove of and void an Environmental Protection Agency rule restricting greenhouse gas and other emissions from cars and other personal and light industrial vehicles. James said that by requiring at least two-thirds of new cars to be electric by 2032, the rule would drive up costs for commercial and personal transportation, hurting the economy at large. A resolution opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), called it a move to “roll back commonsense air pollution protections” that “puts the profits of corporate polluters over the health and safety of the American people.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Secret Service Protection for Candidates
The House on Sept. 20, by a unanimous vote, passed the Enhanced Presidential Security Act (H.R. 9106), sponsored by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.). The bill would direct the Secret Service to use a uniform standard for providing agents to protect the sitting president and vice president, and major candidates for president and vice president. Lawler said: “The idea that our election could be decided by an assassin’s bullet should shake the conscience of our nation, and it requires swift action by the federal government.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Regulating Semiconductor Chip Production
The House on Sept. 23, by a 257-125 vote, passed the Building Chips in America Act (S. 2228), sponsored by Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), to reduce regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act for the construction of semiconductor chip factories. A supporter, Rep. Jennifer Kiggans (R-Va.), said: “We cannot allow federal bureaucracy to hold up critical CHIPS Act projects while the Chinese Communist Party spends billions of dollars to become the world’s leading producer of advanced semiconductors.” An opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), said the bill was “attacking one of the most important environmental laws that protects all of our communities from corporate malfeasance.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
NASA Programs
The House on Sept. 23, by a 366-21 vote, passed the NASA Reauthorization Act (H.R. 8958), sponsored by Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), to authorize $25.2 billion of funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in fiscal 2025. Lucas said it “ensures NASA continues making progress toward returning humans to the Moon, developing the best strategy for NASA’s future operations in LEO [low-Earth orbit], and promotes a range of scientific research and technological development activities.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Religious Freedom
The House on Sept. 23, by a 365-20 vote, passed the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reauthorization Act (S. 3764), sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), to reauthorize the Commission through fiscal 2026. A bill supporter, Rep. Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), said it “will ensure the commission will be able to continue to defend and promote religious freedom by conducting research, publishing reports and analysis for the public, and offering recommendations to policymakers on religious freedom violations around the world.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Cybersecurity and Homeland Security
The House on Sept. 24, by a 377-43, passed the DHS Cybersecurity On-the-Job Training Program Act (H.R. 3208), sponsored by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), to establish a cybersecurity training program for Homeland Security Department (DHS) employees. A supporter, Rep. J. Luis Correa (D-Calif.), said “there are nearly 2,000 cybersecurity vacancies at DHS today. With cybersecurity threats from adversaries like Russia and China only further increasing, filling these vacancies is a national security imperative.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Pipeline Technologies
The House on Sept. 24, by a 373-41 vote, passed the Next Generation Pipelines Research and Development Act (H.R. 7073), sponsored by Rep. Randy Weber Sr. (R-Texas), to establish a demonstration project at the Energy Department for funding research on new pipeline technologies. Weber said: “Through the technological innovation directed by this legislation, the American energy sector will actually see a strengthened focus on material behavior, leak detection capabilities, and multifuel transportation.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Forest Management
The House on Sept. 24, by a 268-151 vote, passed the Fix Our Forests Act (H.R. 8790), sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), to change forest management practices on federal government and tribal lands. Changes would include speeding regulatory reviews of forest management plans, promoting public-private partnerships, and establishing procedures for prioritizing forests with the highest fire hazards. Westerman said “reducing the risk of wildfires will lower wildfire suppression costs, allowing us to invest more in proactive, preventative forest management.” An opponent, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), said: “If we genuinely want to protect our communities and environment from devastating wildfires, we must prioritize people, ecosystems, and the economy. This bill fails to do each of those things.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Oversight of Congressional Elections
The House on Sept. 25, by a 413-1 vote, passed the Senate amendment to the Confirmation Of Congressional Observer Access Act (H.R. 6513), sponsored by Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio). The bill would authorize Congress to have its employees observe state administration of Congressional elections. Carey said the bill, by authorizing an existing observation program, created an “added layer of accountability for the American people” in ensuring the integrity of elections.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Continuing Appropriations
The House on Sept. 25, by a 341-82 vote, passed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act (H.R. 9747), sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), to fund federal programs through Dec. 20, as well as increased funding for the Secret Service and extended authorizations for a variety of programs. Cole said: “This path ensures Americans aren’t needlessly punished with a costly shutdown and allows the people, and, importantly, the next president, to have a say in the appropriations process.” An opponent, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), said a short-term extension would mean a lame-duck Congress hastily working on an ill-considered and wasteful omnibus spending bill just before Christmas.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Sanctioning Chinese Officials
The House on Sept. 25, by a 243-174 vote, passed the Sanctioning Tyrannical and Oppressive People within the Chinese Communist Party Act (H.R. 3334), sponsored by Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), to require sanctions on Chinese officials who have violated the rights of people in Hong Kong, Taiwan or China. McClain said sanctions would send the message to China “that the deliberate disregard for human rights, international norms, and blatant bullying will no longer be tolerated.” A bill opponent, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), said unilateral sanctions “would undermine the United States’ interests, divide us from our partners and allies, and endanger our national security by making a conflict more likely in the Indo-Pacific.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Crime Prevention Grants
The House on Sept. 25, by a 255-161 vote, passed the Keeping Violent Offenders Off Our Streets Act (H.R. 8205), sponsored by Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), to define bail bonds as an insurance product, thereby authorizing local government agencies to use federal Byrne grant funds for crime reporting systems to regulate bonds and charitable bail funds. Fitzgerald said expanded oversight would work toward “ensuring accountability of these funds by subjecting them to federal insurance fraud statutes if they misappropriate funds or misrepresent the use of these funds in any financial reports.” An opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), said the bill “targets nonprofit bail funds that try to address the clear inequities that result when people without financial means are held pending trial simply because they can’t afford to pay the bail amounts set by the courts.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Afghanistan Withdrawal
The House on Sept. 25, by a 219-194 vote, passed a resolution (H. Res. 1469), sponsored by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), to criticize President Joe Biden and 14 other Biden administration officials for failures during the spring and summer 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. McCaul said: “The administration prioritized the optics and the politics of the withdrawal over the security of U.S. personnel and diplomats on the ground.” An opponent, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), called the resolution a Republican effort intended “solely to attack the Biden administration in an election year and deflect the scrutiny of their own partisan claims.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Along with roll call votes, this week the House also passed these measures:
■ The Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act (S. 134), to require an annual budget estimate for the initiatives of the National Institutes of Health pursuant to reports and recommendations made under the National Alzheimer’s Project Act;
■ The Online Dating Safety Act (H.R. 6125), to require online dating service providers to provide fraud ban notifications to members;
■ The Give Kids a Chance Act (H.R. 3433), to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to molecularly targeted pediatric cancer investigations; and
■ The Stop Campus Hazing Act (H.R. 5646), to require institutions of higher education to disclose hazing incidents.
SENATE
Tax Court Judge
The Senate on Sept. 23, by a 69-17 vote, confirmed the nomination of Rose Jenkins to be a judge on the U.S. Tax Court for a 15-year term. Currently an Internal Revenue Service attorney, Jenkins has also been an advisor on tax law at New York University, a tax executive at the KPMG consultancy and a private practice lawyer.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Wisconsin Judge
The Senate on Sept. 25, by a 58-37 vote, confirmed the nomination of Byron Conway to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Conway has been a lawyer, at Milwaukee and then Green Bay law firms, for the past two decades, specializing in personal injury cases.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Arctic Affairs Ambassador
The Senate on Sept. 24, by a 55-36 vote, confirmed the nomination of Michael Sfraga to be the U.S. Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs. Sfraga has chaired the U.S. Arctic Research Commission for three years; he founded the Polar Institute, and was a geography professor and administrator at the University of Alaska. A supporter, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), said Sfraga “is known widely throughout Arctic circles as our Arctic expert and the expert in everything from research to policy, to national security.” An opponent, Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), said Sfraga’s ties with Chinese academic institutions, together with his lack of transparency to the Senate about his experiences with Russia and China, meant Sfraga “could pose a counterintelligence and foreign malign influence threat to our nation.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Budget Plan
The Senate on Sept. 25, by a 56-39 vote, rejected a motion to consider a resolution (S. Con. Res. 41), sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) that would have established a fiscal 2025 budget and outlined budgets for fiscal 2026 through 2034. The resolution sought to eliminate the deficit by fiscal 2030 by decreasing annual spending to about $4 trillion while annual revenue increased to above $4.5 trillion. Paul said of the need for a balanced budget: “If we continue down this unsustainable path, American families will be forced to deal with even higher inflation, confiscatory tax rates, rising interest rates, and a weak economy.” An opponent, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), said: “What we should do, in bipartisan fashion, is de-corrupt the tax code so that big corporations and billionaires are no longer a favored, free-riding elite.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Continuing Appropriations
The Senate on Sept. 26, by a 78-18 vote, passed the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act (H.R. 9747), sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), to fund federal programs through Dec. 20, as well as increased funding for the Secret Service and extended authorizations for a variety of programs. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), said the bill “will prevent vital government services from needlessly coming to a halt. We will give appropriators more time to fully fund the government before the end of the year.” An opponent, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), said continued deficit spending without an annual budget was weakening the U.S.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate also passed:
■ The Enhanced Presidential Security Act (H.R. 9106); and
■ The WILD Act (H.R. 5009), to reauthorize wildlife habitat and conservation programs.
