Here is how our House members and New York’s two senators voted on select issues during the legislative week ending July 26, 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.
Copyright and Legal Technical Standards
The House on July 22, by a 248-127 vote, rejected the Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act (H.R. 1631), sponsored by Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), which required a two-thirds majority vote for approval. The bill would have established that technical standards developed by a private group or business and incorporated in legal codes, such as automotive regulations, retain copyright protections. Issa said it “maintains the balance that for more than 100 years has allowed people to have access to the right material necessary to understand the complex laws of the building code, the fire code, automotive standards and the like.” An opponent, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), said it “threatens public access to the law and undermines due process by keeping essential legal standards hidden behind restrictive barriers” that use copyright to limit access to the standards.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Managing Water Resources
The House on July 22, by a 359-13 vote, passed the Water Resources Development Act (H.R. 8812), sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), to authorize and make various changes to water infrastructure construction and management efforts at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Graves said the bill “makes policy and programmatic reforms to streamline processes, reduce cumbersome red tape, and get projects done much faster.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Crime Restitution
The House on July 23, by a 408-2 vote, passed the Victims’ Voices Outside and Inside the Courtroom Effectiveness Act (S. 3706), sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). The bill would add several types of expenses to the list of costs that a court can order a convicted criminal to pay restitution to a victim, or a person who has assumed the rights of a victim. A supporter, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), said that without the bill, “parents, who lovingly cared for their child who was the victim of a crime, may not receive compensation for taking time off work to help their child heal. Family members whose loved ones did not survive a brutal attack may not receive restitution.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Climate Corps
The House on July 23, by a 199-197 vote, passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Andrew Ogles (R-Tenn.) to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 8997), that would bar funding for the American Climate Corps. Ogles said: “We have got to stop pushing the progressive Democrat agenda, which is pulling us away from the very thing that is part of our national security, which is fossil fuels.” An opponent, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), said the Corps “will give a new generation of Americans the skills necessary to access good-paying jobs.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) did not vote
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Grid Transformers
The House on July 23, by a 214-203 vote, passed an amendment sponsored by Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 8997), that would transfer $10 million from renewable energy programs to programs for improving electrical transformer security against physical and cyberattacks. Van Drew cited an increase in attacks on transformers in recent years and said “it is far past time our federal government got involved, ensuring that these critical pieces of infrastructure are secured from all types of threats.” An amendment opponent, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), said: “I cannot support the source of the funds for the amendment, the energy and efficiency and renewable energy accounts, which have already been cut by 43 percent” in the underlying bill.
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Job Requirements for Government Contractors
The House on July 23, by a 234-178 vote, rejected the Allowing Contractors to Choose Employees for Select Skills Act (H.R. 7887) sponsored by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). The bill would have barred federal government agencies from including minimum work experience or educational qualification requirements in solicitations for contractor awards unless the requirements have a specific justification. Mace said: “The federal government cannot afford to erect unnecessary hurdles that prohibit those with the necessary technical skills and desire from doing such work simply because they lack a traditional degree.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted no
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
DEI Offices
The House on July 24, by a 211-202 vote, approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) to the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 8998), that would bar funding for any diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measure. Brecheen said: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion is anti-merit. It is designed to exclude people from opportunities they might otherwise receive through merit.” An opponent, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) said “having a diverse and inclusive culture in the workplace is critical to performance.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
Trump Assassination Attempt Probe
The House on July 24, by a 416-0 vote, passed a resolution (H. Res. 1367), sponsored by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) to establish a House task force to investigate the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump. Kelly said the task force will seek “to thoroughly analyze the circumstances surrounding the assassination attempt and ensure that these failures that occurred that day never happen again.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted yes
Environmental Justice Spending
The House on July 24, by a 210-204 vote, has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 8998), that would bar funding for environmental justice actions. Perry said: “Environmental justice is nothing more than the synthesis of divisive racial ideology and radical environmentalism in the same package.” An amendment opponent, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), said: “Environmental justice ensures that all Americans receive the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
2025 Interior, EPA Spending
The House on July 24, by a 210-205 vote, passed the Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 8998), sponsored by Rep. Michael Simpson (R-Idaho). The bill would provide $38.4 billion of fiscal 2025 funding for the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency and other federal environmental and natural resources, and cultural, agencies. Simpson said: “This bill permanently fixes wildland firefighter pay, helps manage our public lands wisely, upholds our commitments to Indian Country, and restores the fiscal responsibility necessary to get our country back on track.” An opponent, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), said it “debilitates America’s ability to address the climate crisis, and it hobbles the agencies within its jurisdiction.”
Michael Lawler (R-17, including Philipstown) voted yes
Pat Ryan (D-18, including Beacon) voted no
VP Harris and Border Security
The House on July 25, by a 220-196 vote, passed a resolution (H. Res. 1371), sponsored by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), to condemn the Biden administration and Vice President Kamala Harris as its border czar for failing to secure the border with Mexico.
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 these measures:
■ The Royalty Resiliency Act (H.R. 7377), to improve the management of royalties from oil and gas leases;
■ The Financial Technology Protection Act (H.R. 2969), to establish an Independent Financial Technology Working Group to Combat Terrorism and Illicit Financing;
■ The HUD Transparency Act (H.R. 7280), to require the inspector general of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to testify before Congress annually;
■ The All-American Flag Act (S. 1973), to require the purchase of domestically made U.S. flags for use by the federal government; and
■ The Billion Dollar Boondoggle Act (S. 1258), to require the director of the Office of Management and Budget to submit to Congress an annual report on projects that are over budget and behind schedule.
SENATE
Government Labor Relations
The Senate on July 23, by an 82-6 vote, confirmed the nomination of Colleen Duffy Kiko to be a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority for a five-year term ending in mid-2027. Kiko, an agency member since late 2017, including three years as its chair, has also been its general counsel and a staff attorney in various federal roles.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Tax Court Judge
The Senate on July 25, by a 79-16 vote, confirmed the nomination of Kashi Way to be a judge on the U.S. Tax Court for a 15-year term. Way has been a lawyer on Congress’s Joint Committee on Taxation since 2005; he was a clerk on the Tax Court, and a private practice lawyer, before joining the taxation committee.
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) voted yes
Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted yes
The Senate also passed:
■ The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (S. 3696), to improve rights to relief for individuals affected by non-consensual activities involving intimate digital forgeries; and
■ The Preventing the Financing of Illegal Synthetic Drugs Act (H.R. 1076), to require the U.S. Comptroller General to carry out a study on the trafficking of synthetic drugs.
Do you care about clean water for you and your family? Our congressman, Mike Lawler, doesn’t. He voted for an appropriations bill for fiscal 2025 that cut 25 percent funding to the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds, the main source of federal funding for our drinking water and wastewater systems.
These cuts cripple efforts to address our critical water and wastewater needs, including issues that are of specific concern to Putnam County residents: removing toxic PFAS from drinking water, and preventing beach closures. According to surveys by the Environmental Protection Agency, New York water and sewer systems need around $90 billion over the next 20 years just to comply with existing federal water quality standards; its wastewater and stormwater systems need $54 billion alone – almost $2,700 per person. The House GOP spending bill cut funding for safe and clean water assistance by 25 percent, from $2.8 billion to $2.1 billion -– the lowest levels in more than 15 years.
Lawler was among the votes to slash clean water programs, endangering our right to safe, affordable water. His vote threatens to saddle New Yorkers with unsafe water, worsen our water affordability crisis and pile onto the already skyrocketing costs for essential services burdening our communities. As much as he tries to portray himself as bipartisan, with everyone’s best interest –- like clean water! — at heart, when it comes to voting, Lawler votes with the MAGA base and against the people of his district.