Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative week ending March 14, 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.
Border Smuggling Tunnels
The House on March 10, by a 402-1 vote, passed the Subterranean Border Defense Act (H.R. 495), sponsored by Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), to require the Homeland Security Department to file annual reports with Congress on its plan to curtail cross-border tunnels used to smuggle people and goods into the U.S. Crane said tunneling has increased by 80 percent since 2008, and “Congress must address this deadly threat and ensure U.S. Customs and Border Protection has the resources needed to acquire counter-tunnel technology.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Technology and Border Security
The House on March 10, by a 406-9 vote, passed the Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act (H.R. 993), sponsored by Rep. Louis Correa (D-Calif.), to require the Homeland Security Department to develop plans for using various advanced technologies, including sensors and artificial intelligence, to improve border security efforts. Correa said the technologies could improve targeting and “detection capabilities, which would help officers find and stop more illegal drugs like fentanyl before they reach our communities and harm our communities and children.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Prosecuting Unemployment Aid Fraud
The House on March 11, by a 295-127 vote, passed the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act (H.R. 1156), sponsored by Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), to extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting cases of alleged fraud under federal COVID lockdown unemployment assistance programs to 10 years. Smith said the bill “doubles the statute of limitations from 5 to 10 years so we can prosecute and recover hundreds of billions of stolen tax dollars.” An opponent, Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), said: “Extending the statute of limitations without a Senate-confirmed nonpartisan inspector general and without any guardrails limiting the extension to serious criminals could put every American who lost their job during the pandemic at risk of harassment and accusations of fraud.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
2025 Continuing Appropriations
The House on March 11, by a 217-213 vote, passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act (H.R. 1968), sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), to provide for spending on federal programs for the rest of fiscal 2025 in the absence of new appropriations legislation. Cole said keeping funding at 2024 levels, without adding controversial policy riders, would sustain “critical functions of government, including border defense, roads, parks, childcare, water infrastructure projects, biomedical research, job training, and countless others.” An opponent, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), called the bill “an attack on veterans. It is an attack on families. It is an attack on seniors. It cuts funding for veterans.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Regulating Decentralized Finance
The House on March 11, by a 292-132 vote, passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 25), sponsored by Rep. Mike Carey (R-Ohio), to disapprove of and void an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule regulating the computer infrastructure that enables decentralized finance systems, including cryptocurrencies. Carey said the rule “invades the privacy of tens of millions of Americans, hinders the development of an important new industry in the United States, and would overwhelm the IRS with over 8 billion new information returns.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), said it “would add $4 billion to the deficit solely due to taxpayer noncompliance” with rules for reporting cryptocurrency transactions.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
In addition to roll call votes this week, the House also passed these measures:
■ The Decoupling from Foreign Adversarial Battery Dependency Act (H.R. 1166), to prohibit the Homeland Security Department from procuring certain foreign-made batteries;
■ The TSA Commuting Fairness Act (H.R. 862), to have the Transportation Security Administration submit a study on the feasibility of treating as on-duty hours the time TSA employees working at airports spend traveling between regular duty locations, airport parking lots, and bus and transit stops; and
■ The DHS Biodetection Improvement Act (H.R. 706), to improve the biodetection functions of the Department of Homeland Security.
SENATE
Labor Secretary
The Senate on March 10, by a 67-32 vote, confirmed the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be Labor secretary. Previously a medical business owner and mayor in Oregon, Chavez-DeRemer was a member of the House in 2023 and 2024.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Transportation Deputy
The Senate on March 11, by a 51-46 vote, confirmed the nomination of Steven Bradbury to be the Transportation Department’s Deputy Secretary. Bradbury was the agency’s general counsel for most of the first Trump administration, after time at the Justice Department in the George W. Bush administration. Otherwise, he has been a lawyer at Washington, D.C., law firms. An opponent, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said Bradbury “has shown more interest in a light-touch approach that benefits industry, than being a champion for safety.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Antitrust Lawyer
The Senate on March 11, by a 78-19 vote, confirmed the nomination of Abigail Slater to be assistant attorney general at the Justice Department’s antitrust division. Recently a vice president at Roku and adviser to JD Vance, Slater has also been a lawyer at the federal Trade Commission, general counsel for the Internet Association and a policy aide in the first Trump administration. A supporter, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said she has “learned the nuts and bolts of antitrust enforcement. Ms. Slater also understands antitrust and economics from a policy perspective.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Economic Adviser
The Senate on March 12, by 53-46 vote, confirmed the nomination of Stephen Miran to chair the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers. Miran was a policy advisor at the Treasury Department during the first Trump administration, and is a strategist at a private investment firm and fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Labor Deputy
The Senate on March 12, by a 53-46 vote, confirmed the nomination of Keith Sonderling to be the Labor Department’s deputy secretary. An official at Labor and commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 2017 to 2021, Sonderling was previously a labor lawyer in Florida.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Financing Mortgages
The Senate on March 13, by a 56-43 vote, confirmed the nomination of William Pulte to direct the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage agencies, for a five-year term. Pulte is the CEO of Pulte Capital Partners, a private equity business focused on housing products, and founder of the Detroit Blight Authority.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Commerce Official
The Senate on March 13, by a 54-45 vote, confirmed the nomination of Jeffery Kessler to be the Commerce Department’s under secretary for industry and security. A lawyer at the WilmerHale law firm in Washington, D.C., for most of the 2010s and again for the past four years, Kessler was Commerce’s assistant secretary for enforcement and compliance from April 2019 to January 2021.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Military Deputy Secretary
The Senate on March 14, by a 59-40 vote, confirmed the nomination of Stephen Feinberg to be deputy secretary at the Defense Department. Feinberg co-founded the Cerberus Capital Management company in 1992 and was its co-CEO before being nominated; he also chaired the Intelligence Advisory Board to the White House from 2018 to 2021. A supporter, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), called Feinberg “the man to help us rebuild the military, reform the way the Pentagon does business, and turn this unaudited Pentagon bureaucracy around.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Policing Fentanyl
The Senate on March 14, by an 84-16 vote, passed the Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act (S. 331), sponsored by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), to register fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I controlled substances, with no medical value, a high danger of being abused, and accordingly strict legal penalties. Cassidy said the bill, by making Schedule I classification permanent, would give law enforcement agencies “the most vital tool they have to hold fentanyl dealers accountable and to go after criminals.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Veterans and Government Jobs
The Senate on March 14, by a 53-47 vote, rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), to the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act (H.R. 1968), that would have required the reinstatement of military veterans working in the federal government’s civil service who were fired from their jobs within the last two months. Duckworth said President Trump had fired 6,000 or more veterans “for no apparent reason, forcing the bravest people you and I could ever meet to have to worry about how they are going to put food on their family’s table next week or keep a roof over their heads next month.” An amendment opponent, Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), said, “Let’s stop using veterans as political pawns and keep the government funded.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Defunding DOGE
The Senate on March 14, by a 52-48 vote, rejected an amendment sponsored by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), to the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act (H.R. 1968), that would have barred funding for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Van Hollen called DOGE an “illegal Elon Musk operation, which has nothing to do with government efficiency and everything to do with rigging the government for people like Elon Musk and powerful special interests.” An opponent, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), said: “We can’t afford the Washington business as usual that gave us $36 trillion of debt.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Continuing Appropriations
The Senate on March 14, by a 54-46 vote, passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act (H.R. 1968), sponsored by Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), to provide for spending on federal programs for the rest of fiscal 2025 in the absence of new appropriations legislation. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), called a continuing resolution “our best option to make sure that last year’s failure by Democrats doesn’t interfere with this year’s appropriations process,” allowing ample time for deliberation of the fiscal 2026 budget. An opponent, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), said the bill “doesn’t change the course of accumulating $2 trillion in debt every year” despite the federal debt already being at a dangerous level.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
The Senate also passed:
■ A resolution (S. Res. 72), affirming that Hamas cannot retain any political or military control in the Gaza Strip; and
■ The Justice for Murder Victims Act (S. 960), to ensure that homicides can be prosecuted under federal law without regard to the time elapsed between the act or omission that caused the death of the victim and the death itself.
