Catfish Hunter

Was the best of many great Oakland Athletics pitchers in the 1970's. Jim Hunter was the best of the bunch. Seeing two votes catfish legislation made me think of him and my mother-in-law's Ford Taurus. I just learned that Mr. Hunter was, like my brother Bruce, a victim of ALS.

Congress.org presents MEGAVOTE for May 31, 2016 and Georgia's 13th Congressional District.

Recent Congressional Votes

• Senate: Congressional Disapproval of Labor Department Rule on the Term "Fiduciary" – Passage
• Senate: Congressional Disapproval of Agriculture Department Rule on Catfish – Passage
• Senate: Fiscal 2017 Defense Authorization – Cloture on the Motion to Proceed
• House: Zika Vector Control – Passage
• House: Clarifying Congressional Intent in Providing for District of Columbia Home Rule – Passage
• House: Energy Policy Overhaul – Passage
• House: Fiscal 2017 Energy-Water Appropriations – Federal Contractors and Sexual Orientation Discrimination
• House: Fiscal 2017 Energy-Water Appropriations – Passage

The Senate and House are not in session this week.
That will give Senator McConnell more time to criticize politicians that have more balls than all of he and forbears have had combined.

Recent Senate Votes:
Congressional Disapproval of Labor Department Rule on the Term "Fiduciary" – Passage
Vote Passed (56-41, 3 Not Voting)
The resolution of disapproval nullifies an Agriculture Department inspection program of domestic and foreign catfish. The joint resolution targets a rule that took effect March 1, 2016, and completed the shifting of responsibility for catfish inspections from the Food and Drug Administration to the Agriculture Department.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Congressional Disapproval of Agriculture Department Rule on Catfish – Passage
Vote Passed (55-43, 2 Not Voting)
The resolution of disapproval nullifies an Agriculture Department inspection program of domestic and foreign catfish. The joint resolution targets a rule that took effect March 1, 2016, and completed the shifting of responsibility for catfish inspections from the Food and Drug Administration to the Agriculture Department.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted NO
I do not know about you, but this looks like the same bill that was approved by a different vote count above.

Fiscal 2017 Defense Authorization – Cloture on the Motion to Proceed Vote Agreed to (98-0, 2 Not Voting)
The bill authorizes $602.2 billion for discretionary defense spending in fiscal 2017, including $59 billion for operations overseas.  It allows the Defense Department to plan and design a stateside facility to one day house the detainees currently held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. However, it keeps existing prohibitions on Guantanamo’s closure, including blocking any funds authorized in the bill to be used for actually constructing a stateside replacement. The bill requires women to register for the draft, starting Jan. 1, 2018, and creates a commission to examine whether the Selective Service is still needed.
Sen. Johnny Isakson voted YES
Sen. David Perdue voted YES
So happy that both of my Georgia boys are part of the "in-crowd". Is it not interesting that all of the Democrats that voted agreed to block the closure of and replacement of Guantanamo? For all of the liberal's demagoguery, even cynical damned Senators can be pragmatic about defense.

Recent House Votes:
Zika Vector Control – Passage Vote Passed (258-156, 19 Not Voting)
The bill temporarily modifies the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) to prohibit the EPA or a state government from requiring a permit for the use of registered pesticides near navigable waters. It also temporarily alters the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the EPA and states from requiring permits for the point source use of a pesticide, or the residue resulting from the use of a pesticide, that is registered under FIFRA.
Rep. David Scott voted YES
Thank you Mr. Scott, being in the glide path for these little mosquitoes may have been your motivation. A statement of the times that the Congress has to pass a bill to tell an agency to be pragmatic.

Clarifying Congressional Intent in Providing for District of Columbia Home Rule – PassageVote Passed (240-179, 14 Not Voting)
The measure repeals the District of Columbia law that modified D.C.'s home rule charter to allow locally generated funds to be spent without congressional approval, and it modifies the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act to further specify that all city funding is subject to Congress' annually appropriations process. It also alters the 1973 law to specify that the District has no authority to change the District's budget process as it relates to congressional review and approval.
Rep. David Scott voted NO
When you get down to it, governing the city of Washington DC is a pain in the ass. All the political juice lives in the suburbs and leaves the city government in position only slightly more autonomous than the city of Detroit. They shouldn't be their own state, I guess they are doomed to a future of sucking the Federal teat. My guy voted no, but that is not unexpected, Democrats run the city government, therefore anything that might restrict the rights of that government must be protected. 

Energy Policy Overhaul – PassageVote Passed (241-178, 14 Not Voting)
The bill includes all or parts of 37 House-passed measures including legislation that promote the accelerated development and construction of natural gas pipelines and hydropower projects by increasing the authority of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, require the agency to set hard deadlines for environmental reviews and permitting, and require the designation of at least 10 corridors across federal lands in the Eastern U.S. where pipelines could be built.
Rep. David Scott voted NO
Democrats resist industrial growth unless it is in China or Mexico. 

Fiscal 2017 Energy-Water Appropriations – Federal Contractors and Sexual Orientation Discrimination Vote Agreed to (223-195, 15 Not Voting)
The amendment bars federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation. However, the amendment could not violate certain portions of the Constitution.
Rep. David Scott voted YES
Did you see that, an appropriations bill takes a left into sexual orientation. Shifty little buggers.

Fiscal 2017 Energy-Water Appropriations – Passage Vote Failed (112-305, 16 Not Voting)
The bill provides a total of $37.4 billion in funding subject to discretionary caps for fiscal 2017 for the Energy Department and federal water projects. The bill appropriates $6.1 billion in new funding for civil projects of the Army Corps of Engineers. It provides $12.9 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration and almost $6.2 billion for environmental management activities. It also bars the use of funds in the bill to close the Yucca Mountain license application, or to irrevocably remove Yucca Mountain as an option for repository.
Rep. David Scott voted NO
And I thought they were going to pass everything this week.

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