Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative week ending Dec. 20, 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 and re-elected in 2024. 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 and re-elected in 2024. 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.
Autism Treatment Programs
The House on Dec. 16 concurred, by a 374-15 vote, in the Senate amendment to the Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education, and Support Act (H.R. 7213), sponsored by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.). The bill would reauthorize, through fiscal 2029, several autism research and education programs. Smith said it “is designed to address the full range of needs faced by individuals, including to ensure the physical safety and to promote the well-being of all Americans with autism.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Status of Federal Judgeships
The House on Dec. 16, by a unanimous vote, passed the Federal Judiciary Stabilization Act (S. 3998), sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), to make permanent assorted federal district judgeships in 10 states spanning the U.S. A supporter, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), said: “Each of these judicial districts has relied on these temporary judgeships for decades, and it is long past time that we make them permanent.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Programs for Veterans
The House on Dec. 16, by a 382-12 vote, passed the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act (S. 141), sponsored by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). The bill would make various changes to Department of Veterans Affairs programs, including homelessness, job training, health care and GI Bill education benefits. A supporter, Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), called it “not only a commonsense bill, but one that would save lives and push the VA forward and not backward.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Dianne Feinstein Post Office Naming
The House on Dec. 16, by a 348-39 vote (with five voting “present”), passed a bill (S. 4077), sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), to name a post office in San Francisco after Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died in September 2023. A supporter, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), said “her legacy is one of unswerving devotion to public service and the common good.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Overturning Executive Branch Regulations
The House on Dec. 17, by a 210-201 vote, passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act (H.R. 115), sponsored by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.). The bill would allow Congress to use a single joint resolution to disapprove of and void multiple regulations issued by a president in the last 60 legislative days of that president’s term. Biggs said such group reviews would “allow Congress to more efficiently exercise the oversight authority it already has and respond to the influx in agency regulations during the midnight hours of a president’s term.” A bill opponent, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), said it “would eviscerate vital regulations, would open rules and protections to even more political interference, and could prevent agencies from ever working on similar issues again.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Holocaust Education Efforts
The House on Dec. 17, by a 402-12 vote, passed the Never Again Education Reauthorization Act (S. 3448), sponsored by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), to reauthorize through fiscal 2030 Holocaust education programs at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. A supporter, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), said: “While Congress should not dictate school curriculum, this legislation maintains the balance of promoting important education while allowing school districts to govern themselves.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
North Carolina Indian Tribe
The House on Dec. 17, by a 311-96 vote, passed the Lumbee Fairness Act (H.R. 1101), sponsored by Rep. David Rouzer (R-N.C.), to federally recognize the Lumbee Indian tribe in North Carolina, with a resulting land reservation and government benefits. Rouzer said a law passed by Congress was needed because the Lumbee tribe cannot go through an administrative process to be recognized, and the bill would grant tribal members the “full federal recognition they have been unfairly denied for decades.” An opponent, Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.), said: “If the Lumbee community truly had a legitimate claim for federal recognition, they would go through that process like other prospective tribes have done.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Abuse at Youth Residential Programs
The House on Dec. 18, by a 373-33 vote, passed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act (S. 1351), sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), to create a federal working group on developing recommendations for the operation and regulation of youth residential programs, which are behavioral treatment centers for adolescents. A supporter, Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), called the bill an “effort to strengthen accountability and transparency in youth residential treatment programs.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
California Land Transfer
The House on Dec. 18, by a 369-37 vote, passed the Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act (S. 3857), sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), to transfer 172 acres of land in San Diego County to the Jamul Indian tribe’s reservation, with a ban on gaming on the transferred land. A supporter, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), said that expanding its reservation would enable the Jamul tribe to “better provide essential government operations, including healthcare services, administrative offices, law enforcement, and other community resources.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Training Dogs to Inspect Packages
The House on Dec. 18, by a 381-20 vote, passed the Beagle Brigade Act (S. 759), sponsored by Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), to authorize an Agriculture Department center for training dogs to detect insects and other pests in packages, luggage, and automobiles. A supporter, Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr. (D-Ga.), said along with authorizing the center, which has been open since 1984, the bill would help ensure the well-being of the dogs being trained.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Continuing Appropriations
The House on Dec. 19, by a 235-174 vote, rejected the American Relief Act (H.R. 10515), sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.). The bill would have provided federal government funding through March 14, 2025, suspended the debt ceiling until January 2027, and provided about $110 billion for new disaster recovery and agriculture relief efforts. Cole said that the short-term funding extension would ensure government operational continuity, the disaster relief was much needed, and the debt ceiling extension “will allow President-elect Trump to begin his term without needing to immediately address our national debt limit.” A bill opponent, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), faulted Republicans for cancelling previous plans for a vote on a broader funding bill that would have benefited the working class, and said the debt ceiling extension was “designed to bring about a massive tax cut unpaid for wealthy donors, for wealthy corporations
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:
■ The No Congressionally Obligated Recurring Revenue Used as Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now Act (S. 932), to provide for the halt in pension payments for members of Congress sentenced for certain offenses;
■ The Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act (H.R. 6394), to provide for the creation of a Congressional time capsule in commemoration of the semiquincentennial of the U.S.;
■ The Honor Our Living Donors Act (H.R. 6020), to eliminate consideration of the income of organ recipients in providing reimbursement of expenses to donating individuals; and
■ The Chance to Compete Act (S. 59), to implement merit-based reforms to the civil service hiring system that replace degree-based hiring with skills- and competency-based hiring.
SENATE
2025 Military Budget
The Senate on Dec. 18, by a 85-14 vote, concurred in the House amendment to the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 5009), sponsored by Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio). The bill would authorize about $895 billion of fiscal 2025 military spending, with provisions including a 20-percent pay increase for junior enlisted military members, increased spending on military schools and housing, and about $20 billion of decreased spending on aircraft, ship, and weapons programs deemed unviable. A supporter, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), said it “authorizes critical investments across the board,” including shipbuilding, nuclear deterrence, and more military assistance for U.S. allies in the Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Water Management
The Senate on Dec. 18, by a 97-1 vote, agreed to the House amendment to the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act (S. 4367), sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), to authorize, deauthorize or modify various water resources projects by the Army Corps of Engineers. Carper said that by working to maintain U.S. ports and coastal waterways, the bill would help “create a nurturing environment for job creation and job preservation.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate also passed:
■ The Lahaina National Heritage Area Study Act (H.R. 8219), to require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating certain land as the Lahaina National Heritage Area;
■ The BADGES for Native Communities Act (S. 465), to require federal law enforcement agencies to report on cases of missing or murdered Indians;
■ The Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act (H.R. 6492); and
■ A bill (H.R. 9600) to designate a post office in Plains, Georgia, as the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Post Office.
