Big Pants

Congress.org presents MEGAVOTE for February 8, 2017 and Georgia's 13th Congressional District.

Recent Congressional Votes

• Senate: Confirmation of Elaine Chao to be Secretary of Transportation
• Senate: Confirmation of Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State
• Senate: Disapprove Stream Buffer Rule
• Senate: Disapprove Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers Rule
• Senate: Confirmation of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education
• House: Disapprove Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers Rule
• House: Disapprove Stream Buffer Rule
• House: Disapprove Labor Law Rule
• House: Disapprove Instant Criminal Background Check Rule
• House: Disapprove BLM Methane Rule

Upcoming Congressional Bills

• Senate: Nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions to be U.S. Attorney General
• Senate: Nomination of Rep. Tom Price to be Secretary of Health and Human Services
• Senate: Nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be Secretary of the Treasury
• House: Disapprove BLM Land Use Planning Rule
• House: Disapprove Teacher Education Program Rule
• House: Disapprove State Education Accountability Rule

Recent Senate Votes:
Confirmation of Elaine Chao to be Secretary of Transportation Vote Confirmed (93-6, 1 Present)
The Senate voted to confirm Elaine Chao to be secretary of Transportation.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Mitch McConnell's wife, yuck. Caio baby!

Confirmation of Rex Tillerson to be Secretary of State Vote Confirmed (56-43, 1 Not Voting)
The Senate voted to confirm Rex Tillerson to be secretary of State.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Tillerson, from my perspective is a choice that reflects the need to change foreign policy dynamics. Undoubtedly, the bureaucrats at state are going to passively resist change, t they always have. Descriptions of this institutional inertia are explained in The Best and the Brightest and the John Bolton book that I am about half the way through. This explains why countries like Iran and North Korea are consistently allowed to extort position acceptance in Europe and the United States. In the case of both of these countries, aggressive postures have nuclear standing that is difficult to unseat.  If a new tact works, great, the businessman Trump knows not to repeat policies that are not effective.

Disapprove Stream Buffer Rule Vote Passed (54-45, 1 Not Voting)
The bill would disapprove the Interior Department's Stream Buffer Rule requiring that surface coal mining operations be designed to minimize the amount of waste placed outside the mined-out area, thus minimizing the amount of land disturbed.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES

The jargon of the bill description belies the position of the author. For myself, poisonous water contamination should be prohibited in all forms, where the border for containment is should be the property lines.  If aquifer contamination is a risk then proper precautions should be employed.

Disapprove Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers Rule Vote Passed (52-47, 1 Not Voting)
The measure would disapprove of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule issued in July 2016 that requires resource extraction issuers (companies that extract oil, natural gas or minerals) that are registered in the United States to provide detailed, public reporting of certain payments to governments that equal or exceed $100,000 per project annually.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES

A department imposing rules on its governing body, do I read that correctly. Someones pants have gotten a little big.

Confirmation of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education Vote Confirmed (51-50)
The Senate voted to confirm Betsy DeVos to be secretary of Education. The tie-breaking yes vote was cast by Vice President Mike Pence.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Pence.........scores!

Recent House Votes:
Disapprove Disclosure of Payments by Resource Extraction Issuers Rule Vote Passed (235-187, 10 Not Voting)
The measure would disapprove of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule issued in July 2016 that requires resource extraction issuers (companies that extract oil, natural gas or minerals) that are registered in the United States to provide detailed, public reporting of certain payments to governments that equal or exceed $100,000 per project annually.
Rep. David Scott voted NO

See above comments.

Disapprove Stream Buffer Rule Vote Passed (228-194, 10 Not Voting)
The bill would disapprove the Interior Department's Stream Buffer Rule requiring that surface coal mining operations be designed to minimize the amount of waste placed outside the mined-out area, thus minimizing the amount of land disturbed.
Rep. David Scott voted NO

See above, not sure how I feel about the vote.

Disapprove Labor Law Rule Vote Passed (236-187, 9 Not Voting)
The bill would disapprove a Defense Department, General Services Administration and NASA rule that requires federal contractors to self-certify violations of 14 specified federal labor laws and equivalent state laws. The laws include the Fair Labor Standards Act, Occupational Safety and Health Act, National Labor Relations Act, Davis-Bacon Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act, among others.
Rep. David Scott voted NO

Absolutely right, self-certification is costly and ridden with temptation to cheat.

Disapprove Instant Criminal Background Check Rule Vote Passed (235-180, 17 Not Voting)
The bill would disapprove, under terms of the Congressional Review Act, a December 2016 Social Security Administration rule that could make it easier for certain mentally challenged individuals to be placed on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
Rep. David Scott voted NO

Throwing traction on a slippery slope.

Disapprove BLM Methane Rule Vote Passed (221-191, 20 Not Voting)
The bill would disapprove, under terms of the Congressional Review Act, a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule issued last November that requires oil and gas producers to implement measures that reduce natural gas waste.
Rep. David Scott voted NO

The Bureau has been overstepping for years, it is time to have their balls cut off.

Upcoming Votes:
Nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions to be U.S. Attorney General - PN30 The Senate is expected to take up the nomination of Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions to be U.S. Attorney General.

He made it, now all the talk about rescuing himself from votes is moot. Watch Elizabeth Warren, aka Fauxahontas, get her ass sat down was worth delay, the only thing in the last 6 years that McConnell has done worth complimenting.

Nomination of Rep. Tom Price to be Secretary of Health and Human Services - PN33 The Senate is expected to take up the nomination of Georgia Republican Rep. Tom Price to be secretary of Health and Human Services.

After a lot of haranguing, Tom Price was voted into the post. Looking into the details of the stock buying issue was Democratic hyperbole.

Nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be Secretary of the Treasury - PN26 The Senate is expected to take up the nomination of Steven Mnuchin to be secretary of the Treasury.

Late is this post is, here is the news, he was accepted. Steven Mnuchin is a Yale man and basically an investment banker. The Democrats continue to be a pack of bitchy obstructionists, voting as a group against everyone.  

Disapprove BLM Land Use Planning Rule - HJRes44 The joint resolution would disapprove the rule issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Dec. 12, 2016, which modified the process under which BLM develops plans for the use of the public lands it manages, including by considering a wider variety of issues and possible impacts.

Anything that fucks with the BLM, I am for.

Disapprove Teacher Education Program Rule - HJRes58 The joint resolution would disapprove the rule issued by the Education Department on Oct. 31, 2016, relating to teacher preparation programs that require states to annually evaluate the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs at institutions of higher education and to publicly report this information, including the job placement and retention rates of graduates.

What goes for the BLM goes goes double for the DOE.

Disapprove State Education Accountability Rule - HJRes57 The joint resolution would disapprove the rule issued by the Education Department on Nov. 29, 2016, which addresses implementation of a state's accountability systems when receiving federal education funding under the Elementary and Secondary School Act (ESEA). Among other things, the rule requires states to identify low-performing schools for comprehensive or targeted support and improvement, and requires that each state's statewide plan use multiple indicators of student success that are the same for all public schools (including charter schools).

Government control of education is the problem. Americans spend more money per student than any other country in industrial world, and the returns are diminishing. The answer is not money, more programs or more administration. When something is out of control, simplify by removing complicating factors. The corrective path should be reduce the number Federal rules, if not all, allow local school boards to shape curricula appropriate to local needs, then focus as much money as possible on teaching.

Congress could be helpful by figuring out how to restrict the courts from imposing policies that are unimaginably inefficient.  

MegaVote is powered by the CQ-Roll Call Group
http://corporate.cqrollcall.com
Copyright (c) 2017.