Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative weeks ending March 1, 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 town 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.
Nuclear Power
The House on Feb. 28, by a vote of 365-36 (with one voting present), passed the Atomic Energy Advancement Act (H.R. 6544), sponsored by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) to make a variety of changes to federal policies, including easing Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations, to speed the development of advanced nuclear energy technologies. Duncan said the bill “contains numerous, sensible regulatory reforms and market incentives that will empower the nuclear industry to provide affordable, resilient, reliable and responsible power for Americans.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Continuing Appropriations
The House on Feb. 29 passed, by a 320-99 vote, the Extension of Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act (H.R. 7463), sponsored by Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), to provide funding through March 8 for one group of federal agencies, including agriculture, energy and military construction; and funding through March 22 for most other federal agencies. Granger said the extensions were needed to give Congress time to finish drafting and reviewing legislation for full-year appropriations. A bill opponent, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), said rather than continuing to fund excessive levels of government spending, “we ought to pass single-subject spending bills. We ought to vote for the spending cuts that this country desperately needs.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Tribal Small Business
The House on Feb. 29 passed, by a 402-16 vote, the Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act (H.R. 7102), sponsored by Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), to authorize the creation of an Office of Native American Affairs at the Small Business Administration. Davids said the Office would aid “successful entrepreneurship in tribal communities.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Funding for Airports
The House on Feb. 29, by a 401-19 vote, passed the Airport and Airway Extension Act (H.R. 7454), sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), to extend the authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration’s airport improvement program through May 10. Graves said: “Failure to enact this extension is going to jeopardize aviation safety and will directly and immediately increase our national debt by more than $50 million a day.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
The House also passed these measures: H.R. 5426, which requires the Small Business Administration to provide a link to resources for submitting reports on suspected fraud relating to certain COVID-19 loans; the Service-Disabled Veteran Opportunities in Small Business Act (H.R. 3511), which requires training on increasing contract awards to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans; and the SBA Rural Performance Report Act (H.R. 5265), which requires a report on the performance of the Office of Rural Affairs.
SENATE
Florida Judges
The Senate, by a 56-40 vote on Feb. 27, confirmed the nomination of Jacqueline Becerra to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Becerra was a federal government attorney for a decade, then, from 2004 to 2019, was a private practice lawyer in Miami; she has been a magistrate judge in the Southern District since 2019. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said Becerra’s “experience in both criminal and civil matters has prepared her to serve with distinction.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate, by a 64-33 vote on Feb. 27, confirmed the nomination of David Seymour Leibowitz to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. After being a government attorney for a decade, in 2012 Leibowitz took on his current role as a senior lawyer at the Braman Management holding company in Florida. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), said Leibowitz’s “significant litigation background in both civil and criminal matters ensure that he will be an asset to the district court.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on Feb. 28 confirmed, by a 54-44 vote, the nomination of Julie Sneed to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Sneed was a private practice lawyer for most of the years between 1995 and 2015, when she was appointed as a magistrate judge in the Middle District. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), cited Sneed’s “deep ties to the Florida legal community, combined with her courtroom experience on and off the bench.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on Feb. 28 confirmed, by a 77-20 vote, the nomination of Melissa Damian to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Damian became a magistrate judge on the district court in 2021; previously, she was a federal prosecutor in the district and a private practice lawyer in Florida.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Government Lawyers
The Senate on Feb. 27, by a vote of 49-47, confirmed the nomination of Hampton Dellinger to be special counsel for the Office of Special Counsel for a five-year term. Dellinger was a senior attorney in North Carolina’s government until 2021, when he became an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department. A supporter, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), said Dellinger “has demonstrated the utmost integrity throughout his career. He is willing to take on powerful interests for the public good and will lead OSC in an independent, nonpartisan way.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on Feb. 29, by a 56-41 vote, confirmed the nomination of Marjorie Rollinson to be the chief counsel of the IRS. Rollinson worked for Ernst & Young as a tax lawyer for most of the time from 1987 to 2023; from 2013 to 2019, she was an official at the Office of Chief Counsel at the IRS. A supporter, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), cited her “decades of tax and management experience in both the private sector and the public sector.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Electric Vehicle Chargers
The Senate failed on Feb. 29, by a 50-47 vote, to override President Biden’s veto of a resolution (S.J. Res. 38), sponsored by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), that would have disapproved of and voided a 2023 Federal Highway Administration rule temporarily waiving Buy America requirements for materials used in electric vehicle chargers. An opponent, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), said voiding the rule “would result in more EV charging projects being built overseas, not less. It would undermine American workers and our nation’s ability to be global leaders in electric vehicles.” A no vote was to sustain the veto, which required a two-thirds majority to override.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Military Sales to Turkey
The Senate on Feb. 29, by a 79-13 vote, rejected a motion to discharge from committee a resolution (S.J. Res. 60), sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), that would have disapproved of the planned $23 billion sale to Turkey of F-16 military fighter airplanes. Paul cited various examples of Turkey violating its citizens’ rights and said the U.S. “cannot proudly proclaim human rights to be at the center of our foreign policy while it arms a country that commits gross violations of human rights.” A resolution opponent, Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), cited an agreement with Turkey that it would be supplied with the F-16s if it supported Sweden and Finland joining NATO, and said “it is imperative to the United States, when we give our word on something, that we keep our word.” A no vote was in support of the sale.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Continuing Appropriations
The Senate, by a vote of 77-13, on Feb. 29 passed the Extension of Continuing Appropriations and Other Matters Act (H.R. 7463), sponsored by Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) to provide funding, through March 8, for one group of federal agencies, including agriculture, energy, and military construction; and funding through March 22 for most other federal agencies. A supporter, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), said the bill “would keep the lights on while appropriators complete their work and put annual appropriations bills on a glide path to becoming law.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Along with roll call votes this week, the Senate passed these measures: the Justice for Murder Victims Act (S. 3859), 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; and the Victims’ VOICES Act (S. 3706), to clarify that restitution includes necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by a person who has assumed the victim’s rights.
