How They Voted: Illinois Representatives’ Votes in Congress

Chronicle Media

United States House of Representatives

five-month patchFive-Month Patch Of Highway Fund: Voting 312 for and 119 against, the House on July 15 passed a bill (HR 3038) that would add $8 billion to the Highway Trust Fund to keep it solvent through December 18. The fund is expected to run dry on July 31, shutting down road, bridge, tunnel and mass-transit construction projects nationwide. This bill would pay for itself by making accounting changes in several federal programs.

The trust fund historically has been financed by federal fuel taxes of 18.4 cents-per-gallon for gasoline and 24.4 cents for diesel. But with fuel-efficiency on the rise, motorists driving fewer miles, construction costs increasing and GOP leaders in Congress unwilling to raise rates, fuel taxes alone no longer can meet the cost of maintaining an Interstate Highway System that dates to 1956.

Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said that for Republicans, “our aspiration and our goal” is to pass a multiyear transportation bill. But stopgap funding is needed because “we are not going to write that bill” before the July 31 deadline.

Calling for multiyear funding, Richard Neal, D-Mass., said: “The European Union has a highway system that…is the envy of the world; the Chinese are developing high-speed rail that is the envy of the world, and we are doing the 35th short-term extension on a highway bill.”

A yes vote was to extend the Highway Trust Fund for five months.

 

highway billDemocrats’ Six-Year Highway Bill: Voting 185 for and 244 against, the House on July 15 defeated a Democratic bid to establish a $40-billion, six-year highway and mass-transit construction program in HR 3038 (above). The program would be paid for by a crackdown on businesses that reincorporate overseas to avoid U.S. taxes in a strategy known as “tax inversion.” The practice involves U.S. corporations merging with smaller competitors abroad in order to move their tax domicile to a lower-tax country while keeping their management, workers and facilities in the U.S.

Steve Israel, D-N.Y., said Americans “can feel their tires hitting the potholes. They are told we can’t afford to fix those potholes because we don’t have the money” while “corporations rush to the Caribbean to avoid paying their fair share of taxes to fix the potholes.”

Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said: “If you want to stop inversions, you have got to do tax reforms. Adding more obstacles to U.S. companies doesn’t stop U.S. companies from moving. It simply says that they are more ripe for takeovers by foreign companies.”

A yes vote was backed a six-year infrastructure plan offered by Democrats.

 

california waterCalifornia Water Dispute: Voting 245 for and 176 against, the House on July 16 passed a GOP-drafted bill (HR 2898) that would override or weaken existing California and federal laws and compacts for allocating San Joaquin River water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Central Valley. The bill directs more water to agricultural users in the valley and less to the benefit of farming in the delta and fishing, environmental and recreational interests in other parts of California and in Oregon. The bill undercuts a San Joaquin River pact between environmentalists and farmers aimed at boosting salmon populations in California and Oregon, advances planning for several water storage projects and steps up irrigation deliveries in the San Joaquin Valley.

Tom McClintock, R-Calif., said the bill is needed because “even before the drought, leftist policies created severe water shortages in (the) Central Valley, devastating the economy and creating the spectacle of food lines in one of the most fertile agricultural regions of our nation.”

Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., said: “Californians will have to make some tough choices in this drought, but they do not need to choose to exterminate fish and wildlife resources that belong to the American people. Congress should not choose to do so either.

A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.

 

water for drinkingWater For Drinking, Wildfires: Voting 183 for and 239 against, the House on July 16 defeated a bid by Democrats to prevent HR 2898 (above) from taking effect if it would reallocate water in California in a way that imperils drinking-water safety or diminishes supplies needed for fighting wildfires.

Scott Peters, D-Calif., said the motion would “ensure there is enough water in reservoirs, lakes and community supplies to make sure that wildfires can be fought when they occur….”

Rob Bishop, R-Utah, said the “entire purpose of (the underlying bill) is to emphasize the fact that, in this drought, we are trying to help people. The goal is to get water to people so they can work.”

A yes vote backed the Democratic motion, which, had it prevailed, would have immediately amended the bill.

 

United States Senate

Elementary and ssecondaryElementary And Secondary Education: Voting 81 for and 17 against, the Senate on July 16 passed a bill (S 1177) that would extend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as No Child Left Behind) while giving states and localities more leeway in their spending of federal K-12 school funds. The bill authorizes $24 billion annually through fiscal 2020, about $14.5 billion of which is Title I funding to provide impoverished districts and disadvantaged students with equal educational opportunities. Overall, the bill accounts for about 4 percent of total spending for public-school education in the U.S.

The bill continues the mandatory testing begun by No Child Left Behind, but allows local authorities to develop their own measures for improving the performance of schools, teachers and students. In addition, the bill makes adherence to Common Core academic standards optional; expands access to early childhood education; boosts the number of charter schools beyond the 6,700 now in operation and provides special aid to help states fix their lowest performing schools.

Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said: “States are better prepared today to set higher standards, to evaluate teachers, to develop good assessments and to develop good accountability systems” than when No Child Left Behind” was enacted.

Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said many in Congress seek “to reduce the federal burdens on states, on teachers, on education. Yet at the end of the day, this bill still mandates specific testing requirements.”

A yes vote was to pass the bill, which now must be combined with a less restrictive House-passed measure.

 

Title 1 FundingPortability Of Title I Funding: Voting 45 for and 51 against, the Senate on July 14 defeated an amendment to S 1177 (above) that sought to allow Title I funding under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to move with students when they transfer from impoverished districts to better-funded public schools. This would redefine the purpose of Title I funding, which since its inception in 1965 has been to close the achievement gap between the nation’s poorest schools and those in affluent neighborhoods.

Tim Scott, R-S.C., said “providing more educational options is the right path forward for us to make sure every child everywhere experiences their full potential….Instead of forcing funds through red tape and bureaucracy, let’s have it directly follow our students.”

Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Title I is designed “to help level the playing field for students growing up in poverty. Efforts to backtrack on our country’s commitment to target funds to the highest-needs schools and instead give funding away to our more affluent schools is a nonstarter.”

A yes vote was to add portability to Title I funding.

 

— How They Voted: Illinois Representatives’ Votes in Congress —