Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative week ending Feb. 28, as reported by Targeted News Service. Click here for previous votes.
Michael Lawler (R), District 17 (including Philipstown)
Lawler, 38, 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, 42, 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.
Punishing Small Business Fraud
The House on Feb. 24, by unanimous vote, passed the Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act (H.R. 825), sponsored by Rep. Roger Williams (R-Texas), to bar people convicted of fraud crimes due to making false claims in order to receive Small Business Administration (SBA) loans during the pandemic lockdowns from receiving future aid from the agency. Williams said $200 billion of fraudulent aid was issued, and the bill’s prohibition was needed to “support prioritizing honest, hardworking entrepreneurs over those who defrauded the government.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Tracking Small Business Contracting
The House on Feb. 24, by a 384-25 vote, passed the Small Business Procurement and Utilization Reform Act (H.R. 818), sponsored by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), to require federal government agencies to track their first awarding of prime contracts to various types of specially designated small businesses in their annual scorecard for contracting that is submitted to the Small Business Administration. Stauber said the reporting change “will ensure that small businesses, especially new and growing ones, have a fair shot at competing” for federal contracts.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Rural Businesses and Disaster Aid
The House on Feb. 25, by a 415-8 vote, passed the Rural Small Business Resilience Act (H.R. 804), sponsored by Rep. Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.), to require the Small Business Administration to make efforts to ensure that small businesses in rural areas have full access to offered disaster assistance. Morrison said the bill sought to achieve the goal “that every small business owner in this country should have fair access to disaster assistance, regardless of where they live.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Budget Resolution
The House on Feb. 25, by a 217-215 vote, passed a resolution (H. Con. Res. 14), sponsored by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), to establish a budget for fiscal 2025 and a budget framework for fiscal 2026 through fiscal 2034. Arrington said the resolution “will guide the process for restoring the fiscal health of our nation by reining in reckless spending and reigniting economic growth. In addition, it provides critical resources to our commander in chief to secure our border, strengthen our military, and provide for the common defense.” An opponent, Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), said it would increase the debt, cut spending on Medicaid and other vital social programs, and that most of its $4.5 trillion of tax cuts would benefit the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Medal of Honor Payments
The House on Feb. 26, by unanimous vote, passed the Medal of Honor Act (H.R. 695), sponsored by Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), to increase the special pension for veterans who have received the Medal of Honor from about $1,400 monthly to above $5,500 monthly. Nehls called the increase “the very least that Congress can do to recognize and show support for these selfless, courageous heroes.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Oil and Natural Gas GHG Emissions
The House on Feb. 26, by a 220-206 vote, passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 35), sponsored by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), to disapprove of and void an Environmental Protection Agency rule penalizing excessive waste greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, from oil and natural gas operations. Pfluger said: “It is critical to negate these punitive regulatory requirements now to ensure that the United States can reclaim its place as the world leader in energy for generations to come.” An opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), called the resolution “another giveaway that saddles Americans with higher energy bills, plain and simple, all to help Republicans’ corporate polluter friends.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Water Heater Efficiency
The House on Feb. 27, by a 221-198 vote, passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 20), sponsored by Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), to disapprove of and void a December 2024 rule issued by the Energy Department imposing an energy efficiency standard for gas-fired instantaneous water heaters. Palmer said: “If this rule is not stopped, a substantial number of Americans would be forced to purchase more expensive and less-efficient models of water heaters.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), called it a move “to force to working families to spend more money, to use more energy and to sell out American manufacturers.”
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:
■ A bill (H.R. 250), to direct the Joint Committee on the Library to procure a statue of Benjamin Franklin for placement in the Capitol;
■ The Semiquincentennial Congressional Time Capsule Act (H.R. 469), to provide for the creation of a Congressional time capsule to commemorate the semiquincentennial of the U.S.;
■ The Successful Entrepreneurship for Reservists and Veterans Act (H.R. 828), to require the Small Business Administration to report on the veterans interagency task force, and require the U.S. Comptroller General to report on access to credit for small businesses owned and controlled by reservists and veterans; and
■ The Investing in Main Street Act (H.R. 754), to increase the amount that may be invested in small business investment companies.
SENATE
Army Secretary
The Senate on Feb. 25, by a 66-28 vote, confirmed the nomination of Daniel Driscoll to be Army Secretary. Driscoll was an Army soldier during the war in Iraq before becoming a lawyer, taking on venture capital and private equity roles in business, and most recently being a senior advisor to JD Vance.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Marine Archaeology
The Senate on Feb. 25, by a 54-44 vote, passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 11), sponsored by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), that would disapprove of and void a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management rule issued in September to require energy companies to identify archeological sites in the ocean as part of their project application process. Kennedy said the rule was unnecessary because oil and natural gas companies have already extensively surveyed the Gulf of Mexico, so requiring repetitive surveys would only increase fossil fuel production costs. A resolution opponent, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), said: “It is entirely reasonable to require energy developers to identify archeological sites and other cultural resources on the ocean floor, just as they do when they produce energy on land.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Trade Representative
The Senate on Feb. 26, by a 56-43 vote, confirmed the nomination of Jamieson Greer to be U.S. Trade Representative. Greer, a law firm partner, specializing in trade, in Washington, D.C., was chief of staff to the trade representative in the first Trump administration, and is a former lawyer in the Air Force.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Declared Energy Emergency
The Senate on Feb. 26, by a 52-47 vote, rejected a resolution (S.J. Res. 10), sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), that would have ended the national emergency for energy declared by President Trump in January. Kaine said the emergency declaration “set a horrible precedent, a precedent that a president of either party can invent a sham emergency and then grab away from Congress powers that Congress has under article I” of the Constitution. A resolution opponent, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), said presidential emergency powers were needed to ensure that in two years “we are not running out and we are not having brownouts all across the entire nation in our electric grid.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Oil and Natural Gas GHG Emissions
The Senate on Feb. 27, by a 52-47 vote, passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 35), sponsored by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), to disapprove of and void an Environmental Protection Agency rule penalizing excessive waste greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, from oil and natural gas operations. A supporter, Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), said: “Instead of new taxes and regulations designed to stifle production, we should be supporting innovation to maximize the use of our abundant and affordable oil and gas reserves.” An opponent, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), called the rule “a reasonable, common-sense, and a carefully tailored safeguard to prevent consumers from footing the bill of Big Oil’s methane waste, paired with federal funding to help big oil companies reduce their waste.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Now that Rep. Mike Lawler has voted to cut Medicaid in the budget resolution that passed the U.S. House on Feb. 25 and headed to the Senate, he doesn’t have to pretend to be bipartisan anymore. His hypocrisy is exposed by his previous statement that he “will not cut Medicaid benefits to our constituents, period.”
According to the House Budget Committee Democratic Caucus, there are 230,000 people enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program in District 17 [which includes Philipstown and Putnam Valley], including 113,000 under the age of 19 and 19,000 over 65. Lawler has abandoned them in the hope that Elon Musk’s America PAC, which contributed $1.4 million to his 2024 campaign, will generously support his 2026 run for re-election to the House or possibly his campaign for governor.
I have called Lawler’s office repeatedly to request that he hold Town Hall meetings to explain his vote. Neither he nor anyone on his staff has responded.