Eyes on Washington: How the Texas congressional delegation voted

How the Texas congressional delegation voted on major issues last week:

Senate:

Amy Coney Barrett, Federal Appeals Judge

Confirmed: 55-43

The Senate confirmed University of Notre Dame law professor Amy Coney Barrett, 45, for a judgeship on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Republicans praised Barrett as a distinguished professor whose rulings will stay within the bounds of settled law. Democrats said she is an academic without judicial experience and criticized her conservative views on LGBT and women’s reproductive rights.

A yes vote was to confirm the nominee.

Yes: Cornyn, Cruz

House:

Medicare Cost Controls

Passed: 307-111

The House voted on a bill that would abolish a panel of health experts from outside the government that was created by the Affordable Care Act to help control Medicare costs. The GOP-drafted bill (HR 849) would eliminate the 15-member Independent Payment Advisory Board, which is not yet in operation. The IPAB is empowered to propose cuts in payments to Medicare providers if they are needed to keep per-capita Medicare costs from exceeding projections. Congress would need supermajority votes by both chambers to override the panel’s recommendations. The board is barred from actions that would ration care, change Medicare co-payment or deductible levels or raise premiums levels.

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

Yes: Barton, Granger, Marchant, Williams, Burgess, Veasey

Probe of Russian Election Meddling

Defeated: 230-193

The House voted to block a Democratic attempt to force floor debate on a bill (HR 356) now in committee that would establish an independent commission for investigating what U.S. intelligence agencies and the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller say was Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Had Democrats prevailed on this vote during debate on H Res 600, they would have had an opportunity to bring the bill to the floor.

A yes vote opposed floor debate on the Democratic-sponsored bill.

Yes: Barton, Granger, Marchant, Williams, Burgess

No: Veasey

Forest Management on Federal Land

Passed: 232-188

The House passed a bill (HR 2936) that would ease environmental laws to allow commercial logging to be used more extensively to prevent wildfires on Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land. Backers said that by waiving the National Environmental Policy Act and Endangered Species Act, the bill would enable timber companies to clear wider expanses of fire-damaged trees and diseased and combustible undergrowth. Foes of the bill said congressional budget cuts have depleted agency budgets for preventing and suppressing wildfires on federal land.

The bill also would exempt lawsuits challenging federal forest-management actions from the Equal Access to Justice Act. Under that law, the government is required to pay the attorneys’ fees and expenses of plaintiffs with relatively low net worth who prevail in litigation against U.S. agencies. The law has proved especially beneficial to environmental groups that successfully sue agencies over their land-management policies.

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

Yes: Barton, Granger, Marchant, Williams, Burgess

No: Veasey

Mandatory Arbitration v. Access to Courts

Defeated: 189-232

The House voted to strip HR 2936 (above) of a pilot program under which lawsuits filed against U.S. Forest Service policies would be resolved by mandatory arbitration rather than judicial proceedings in federal court. Arbitration typically is conducted by mediators under rules that limit discovery and prohibit meaningful appeals of the final ruling, which is binding on both sides.

A yes vote was to remove mandatory arbitration from the bill.

Yes: Veasey

No: Barton, Granger, Marchant, Williams, Burgess

Renewal of Children’s Health Insurance

Passed: 242-174

The House voted on a GOP-drafted bill (HR 3922) that would extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through fiscal 2022 and other health programs including Community Health Centers through fiscal 2019. The bill’s 10-year, $18 billion cost would be paid for by offsets including cuts in Affordable Care Act preventive-care outlays and increases in Medicare premiums for the top 1 percent of taxpayers. Democrats said it was wrong for the bill to weaken the ACA and Medicare in order to finance health insurance for underprivileged children.

Now providing care to 9 million children, CHIP is a federally funded, state-run discretionary spending program designed mainly for families that are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid, but which cannot afford adequate private health insurance for their children.

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

Yes: Barton, Granger, Marchant, Burgess

No: Veasey

Not voting: Williams