Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative weeks ending May 24, 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.
Police Fatalities
The House on May 17, by a 337-61 vote, passed a resolution (H. Res. 1213), sponsored by Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), to condemn calls to defund the police and resulting increases in violence against law enforcement officers. Stauber said: “The honorable men and women in law enforcement in America deserve better treatment.” An opponent, Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), said the resolution was disrespectful to federal law enforcement officers in agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, because it did not mention such officers.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Taxes and Disaster Aid
The House on May 21, by a 382-7 vote, passed the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act (H.R. 5863), sponsored by Rep. Gregory Steube (R-Fla.). The bill would exempt money that has been received as compensation for losses resulting from wildfire disasters or the February 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, from being counted as gross income for income tax purposes. Steube said: “This bill helps everyday Americans and provides them the ability to deduct their expenses from a natural disaster from their taxes.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Oversight of Federal Prisons
The House on May 21, by a 392-2 vote, passed the Federal Prison Oversight Act (H.R. 3019), sponsored by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), to adopt an oversight and prison inspections program at the federal Bureau of Prisons, including establishing a Justice Department ombudsman who will receive complaints and investigate complaints of wrongdoing at the prisons. McBath said the bill was a response to “alarming corruption, misconduct, and a lack of oversight in this country’s prison systems that has led to tragedy and loss for far too many families across this nation.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Regulating Commodities
The House on May 22, by a 225-191 vote, passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), to the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 4763). The amendment would state Congress’s intent that the bill not be used to authorize regulation of any non-digital commodities. Perry said of regulators such as the CFTC: “We cannot allow these agencies to take more and more power in the absence of express Congressional approval.” An opponent, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), claimed it would allow financial firms trading traditional physical commodities to evade regulation by linking them to digital commodities.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Regulating Digital Currencies
The House on May 22, by a 279-136 vote, passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 4763), sponsored by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.). The bill would direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to regulate as a commodity any digital asset that uses a decentralized blockchain ledger. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would regulate digital assets with centralized blockchain ledgers. Thompson said the bill sought “to provide clear guidelines and robust protections, fostering a future where innovation can thrive responsibly within our borders.” An opponent, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), said the bill’s weakened regulatory regime for digital assets would mean fewer protections for investors and less ability for government to punish fraud and other malfeasance.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Central Bank Digital Currency
The House on May 23, by a 216-192 vote, passed the CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act (H.R. 5403), sponsored by Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), to bar U.S. Federal Reserve banks from issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) or selling products or services to individuals. Emmer cited the example of China using such a currency to surveil its citizens, and said a similar currency in the U.S. “could give the federal government the ability to surveil and restrict Americans’ transactions and monitor every aspect of their daily lives.” An opponent, Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), said such surveillance concerns did not apply to the U.S., and a digital dollar currency could yield “benefits including instant payment settlement, provide a medium for cross-border transactions, and for greater financial inclusion.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
D.C. Voter Eligibility
The House on May 23, by a 262-143 vote, passed a bill (H.R. 192), sponsored by Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), to repeal a 2023 Washington, D.C., law that allowed non-U.S. citizens living in the District to vote in D.C. elections. Pfluger said: “Noncitizen voting, whether it is one vote or a million votes, dilutes the voting power of the citizen.” A bill opponent, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), said the District’s lawmakers merely “want people who are living there indefinitely to be engaged in local government” by voting in its elections.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
SENATE
Federal Judges
The Senate on May 20, by a 49-40 vote, confirmed the nomination of Seth Aframe to be a judge on the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals: the First Circuit includes several New England states. Aframe is a federal prosecutor in New Hampshire, a role he has had since 2007.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on May 21, by a 66-26 vote, confirmed the nomination of Krissa Lanham to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for Arizona. Lanham has been a lawyer in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Arizona since 2010, most recently as its appellate chief.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on May 22, by a 66-28 vote, confirmed the nomination of Angela Martinez to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for Arizona. Martinez has been a magistrate judge for the court for 1 year; she was previously an assistant U.S. attorney in the Arizona district.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate on May 22, by a 50-44 vote, confirmed the nomination of Dena Coggins to be a judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California. Coggins has variously been a private practice lawyer, administrative law judge for California, aide to the state’s governor, county superior court judge, and member of the California Victim Compensation Board over the past two decades.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Regulating Home Heating Furnaces
The Senate on May 21, by a 50-45 vote, passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 58), sponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), to disapprove of and void an Energy Department rule from December 2023 setting energy efficiency standards for consumer furnaces. Cruz said the rule was an effective ban on affordable natural gas furnaces, and blocking it was necessary “to help alleviate the unending assault on American families from President Biden and the Democrats’ radical energy agenda.” An opponent, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), said: “A vote for this resolution is a vote for higher costs for American families, a vote for higher temperatures for future generations, and a vote for scaremongering over science.”
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted no
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted no
Air Force Official
The Senate on May 23, by a 56-39 vote, confirmed the nomination of Melissa Dalton to be the Air Force’s undersecretary. Dalton, the Defense Department’s assistant secretary for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs, was formerly a staffer at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
I love this recurring column: It educates the public for intelligent electing of representatives. This is taking your job seriously, Highlands Current. Congratulations and thank you.