Where's Johnny

Congress.org presents MEGAVOTE for March 14, 2017 and Georgia's 13th Congressional District

Recent Congressional Votes

• Senate: Confirmation of Ryan Zinke to be Secretary of the Interior
• Senate: Confirmation of Ben Carson to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• Senate: Confirmation of Rick Perry to be Secretary of Energy
• Senate: Disapprove Labor Law Rule
• Senate: Disapprove BLM Land Use Planning Rule
• Senate: Disapprove Teacher Education Program Rule
• Senate: Disapprove State Education Accountability Rule
• Senate: Confirmation of Seema Verma to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• House: Review Federal Regulations for Repeal
• House: OMB Regulatory Oversight
• House: Disapprove OSHA Record-Keeping Rule
• House: Disclose Agency Rule-Making Communications
• House: Fiscal 2017 Defense Appropriations
• House: Class Action Litigation
• House: Civil Litigation Jurisdiction
• House: Penalties for Frivolous Lawsuits

Upcoming Congressional Bills

• Senate: Nomination of Dan Coats to be the Director of National Intelligence
• Senate: Nomination of Herbert R. McMaster Jr. to be a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army
• House: Mentally Disabled Veterans and Guns
• House: VA Personnel Accountability
• House: VA Medical Professional Staffing

Recent Senate Votes:

Confirmation of Ryan Zinke to be Secretary of the Interior Vote Confirmed (68-31, 1 Not Voting)

The Senate confirmed Montana Republican Rep. Ryan Zinke to be secretary of the Interior.

Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting

Sen. David Perdue voted YES

I was happy to see this man get confirmed, if only because he was representative of a big F-Y to the environmental crowd. The man is pragmatic and that is not acceptable to folks that basically believe in the undoing of industrialization of the United States.

Confirmation of Ben Carson to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Vote Confirmed (58-41, 1 Not Voting)

The Senate confirmed Ben Carson to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting

Sen. David Perdue voted YES

That Ben Carson received less votes than Ryan Zinke to confirm is interesting. This is a man who undoubtedly follows his conscience, is sympathetic to the unfortunate, and more like a Democrat that any other person in the cabinet, except maybe Ivanka. And the Democrats, for the most part reject the nomination. For appropriateness to the job, who knows the department is largely a vehicle for delivering welfare.

Confirmation of Rick Perry to be Secretary of Energy Vote Confirmed (62-37, 1 Not Voting)

The Senate confirmed Rick Perry to be secretary of Energy.

Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting

Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Have to admit that I am not a big Rick Perry fan, he has always struck me as a pretty boy and completely ineffective. Now I hear that he is part of the NSC.

Disapprove Labor Law Rule Vote Passed (49-48, 3 Not Voting)

The joint resolution would disapprove, under the Congressional Review Act, 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.

Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting

Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Hell yes! The Democrats had gone to far in placing restrictions on companies, here they continue to prove the point, that they don not give a crap about business in the United States. I am glad the vote was close and I am glad the Democrats have to suck it.

Disapprove BLM Land Use Planning Rule Vote Passed (51-48, 1 Not Voting)

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.

Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting

Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Hell yes, 10X! The BLM needs the house cleaned out, they have been consistently overstepping the rights of private land owners for the last decade.

Disapprove Teacher Education Program Rule Vote Passed (59-40, 1 Not Voting)

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.

Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting

Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Frankly, I am not sure what is going on here. The description suggests that schools should be responsible for tracking the effectiveness of its graduates in the work force. For myself I see that as a useful tool for children to apply when they are selecting schools. But, as we know too many children do not select schools based on a career and lifestyle expectations. As I think this out, I like the idea, and schools that are well integrated with  their alumni should have an interests in the graduates success, but this should not be something that the Federal government dictates to states and how they run their own schools.

Disapprove State Education Accountability Rule Vote Passed (50-49, 1 Not Voting)

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).

Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting

Sen. David Perdue voted YES

After the reasoning above, I think the Federal government should stay out of the state business. For the last 50 years the Feds have been increasing their control and spending per student is very high when compared internationally. The effectiveness has been poor, the control and goal of national educational uniformity has failed.

Confirmation of Seema Verma to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Vote Confirmed (55-43, 2 Not Voting)

The Senate confirmed Seema Verma to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Sen. Johnny Isakson voted Not Voting

Sen. David Perdue voted YES

Who cares, frankly, on these smaller positions, the President should have the power to simply appoint whomever he wishes.

To follow up on the title, was Johnny Isakson sick, or on vacation or something. Some of these votes were pretty close. 

Recent House Votes:

Review Federal Regulations for Repeal Vote Passed (240-185, 4 Not Voting)

The measure would establish a commission to review existing federal regulations and identify those that should be repealed in order to reduce costs on the U.S. economy -- including those that should be repealed immediately and those that should be repealed over time through a new regulatory "cut-go" system under which agencies could not issue new rules unless the cost of a new rule was offset by repealing existing rules identified by the commission.

Rep. David Scott voted Not Voting

Fine David, vote or don't vote. CUT-GO sounds less than optimal, CUT-CUT sounds and philosophically is better. 

OMB Regulatory Oversight Vote Passed (241-184, 4 Not Voting)

The bill would require proposed rules by federal departments and agencies, including independent agencies, to be reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), and it would direct OIRA to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of significant regulatory actions and to ensure that proposed rules are consistent with applicable law and that regulations do not conflict.

Rep. David Scott voted NO

The Republicans are making waves and furtive moves to deregulation.  In the end we will have more rules and regulations, because politicians have an insatiable need to show that they are being proactive, regardless of the impact.

Disapprove OSHA Record-Keeping Rule Vote Passed (231-191, 7 Not Voting)

The joint resolution would disapprove the rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Dec. 19, 2016, that extends to five years the period for which OSHA can cite an employer for failing to officially record a workplace injury or illness.

Rep. David Scott voted NO

More of the same.

Disclose Agency Rule-Making Communications Vote Passed (246-176, 7 Not Voting)

The bill would require each federal agency to maintain an online searchable list of its regulatory actions and all public communications it makes regarding those regulatory actions. It also would prohibit agencies from soliciting support for, or promoting, its regulatory actions.

Rep. David Scott voted NO

I really like this idea. As to the self restriction, this is a canard, no agency will EVER resist pitching for support and expansion.

Fiscal 2017 Defense Appropriations Vote Passed (371-48, 10 Not Voting)

The legislation would provide full-year appropriations for Defense Department programs and activities for fiscal 2017, providing $577.9 billion in discretionary spending, $5.2 billion more than fiscal 2016. It would include $516.1 billion subject to spending caps for fiscal 2017 and $61.8 billion in uncapped Overseas Contingency Operations war and anti-terror funding.

Rep. David Scott voted YES

Generally David Scott votes with the pack when it comes to Defense Appropriations.

Class Action Litigation Vote Passed (220-201, 1 Present, 7 Not Voting)

The bill would prohibit federal courts from certifying proposed classes of individuals for a class-action lawsuit unless each member of the class has suffered the same type and degree of injury, and it would require quarterly reports by asbestos trusts of claims made against the trusts and any payouts made by the trusts for asbestos-related injuries.

Rep. David Scott voted NO

I have really mixed feelings about class action lawsuits. Often, and consistent with asbestos, an industry has developed for suing businesses that were ignorant of the medical risk as the time of application, yet the companies are held liable for what they could not know. At the same time people have been hurt and some incurring enormous expense in the process.  Awards are gigantic and disproportionate to the expected earning and expenses of the victims, why are the punitive values so large when the real problem was ignorance? I don;t know.

Civil Litigation Jurisdiction Vote Passed (224-194, 11 Not Voting)

The bill would establish national standards under which federal courts, when considering whether to remand back to state court a lawsuit against an out-of-state entity, must deny that motion and have the case decided in federal court because it determines that an in-state co-defendant should not have been joined to the case.

Rep. David Scott voted NO

Who cares? Federal courts seem to do whatever the fuck they want to anyway, Do you think some law is going to stop them?

Penalties for Frivolous Lawsuits Vote Passed (230-188, 11 Not Voting)

The bill would modify federal rules governing civil lawsuits to require federal courts to impose sanctions on parties that violate the existing prohibition on the filing of frivolous lawsuits, with such sanctions to include monetary penalties to cover the other party's attorneys' fees and other costs.

Rep. David Scott voted NO

This is a real thing and there should be some fear of repercussion.

Upcoming Votes:

Nomination of Dan Coats to be the Director of National Intelligence - PN41 The Senate will take up the nomination of Dan Coats to be the director of National Intelligence.

Don't know Dan.

Nomination of Herbert R. McMaster Jr. to be a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army - PN87 The Senate will take up the nomination of Herbert R. McMaster Jr. to be a lieutenant general in the U.S. Army.

Don't know Herbie.

Mentally Disabled Veterans and Guns - HR1181 The bill would clarify the conditions under which individuals who receive federal benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) may be declared mentally incompetent for purposes of being added to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) and thereby prevented from purchasing guns or ammunition — requiring that an affirmative declaration be made by a judge that the person is dangerous.

Clarity is good, a politician claiming clarity is a lie.

VA Personnel Accountability - HR1259

The bill would provide the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) with additional tools to fire or demote VA employees based on performance or misconduct, and would modify the appeals process to provide for the appeals of decisions by administrative law judges. It also would include provisions to protect VA whistleblowers against retaliation by supervisors, authorize the department to recoup employee bonuses and relocation expenses, and allow the pensions of VA employees to be reduced if convicted of certain felonies.

People that took bonuses by falsifying records stole from the government and should be in jail. Overall, another tough topic, the government needs to control costs where it can and no amount of money is ever enough. Motivating employees to accomplish goals that the resources are not available for is the wrong carrot. 

VA Medical Professional Staffing - HR1367 The measure would establish new staffing, recruitment and retention programs at the Veterans Affairs Department (VA) to enable the VA to help recruit and retain a strong medical professional workforce. It would create a recruiting database to make high-quality potential employees aware of positions at the VA, provide for additional opportunities for career training and advancement for current VA employees through fellowship positions and establish a promotional track for technical experts. It also would require the department to train human resources employees in recruitment and retention methods.

Another tough problem because of limited financial resources, the VA is often picking from the bottom of the barrel. Want it to get better, make the home VA hospitals be the primary care giver for each Federal politician.

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