The Past Two Weeks, Told by House Roll Call Votes, vol. 1, ed. 2

Author's Note: While thinking of ideas for this blog post, I considered re-visiting content from old posts and/or the ideas from those posts. That got me thinking back to "The Past Two Weeks, Told by House Roll Call Votes" post from last month, which I eventually decided to not just repeat, but make into a new recurring series on this blog. Note that I won't change the name of the original post to reflect the numbering scheme, as it will change the original URL. Future "The Past Two Weeks" posts covering the current (117th) Congress will be Volume 1, the 118th Congress will comprise Volume 2, and so on. 

I don't have a set schedule for when future editions of "The Last Two Weeks" will come out, but generally, I'm thinking of creating at least one per month. Unlike the original post, I plan for each edition's content to highlight 8-10 House votes related to this blog's content (i.e. Electoral Politics, Social Policy, Economic Policy, Budget/Fiscal Policy), with 1 or maybe 2 (depending on how significant they are) pertaining to other policy topics. 

The Past Two Weeks, Told by House Roll Call Votes, vol. 1, ed. 2

Table 1: Simplified Chosen House Roll Call Statistics from Apr. 10-Apr. 23

Notes: Under the vote totals by party, the listed numbers are in this order: Yay/Yes-Nay/No-Present-Not Voting. Types of votes are listed in column three, and are abbreviated as follows: 

Source: "U.S. House of Representatives Roll Call." 

Summaries of Noteworthy Legislation Voted On:

• April 13: 
• To prevent across-the-board direct spending cuts, and for other purposes (H.R. 1868): Originally voted on by the House in March, H.R. 1868 contains provisions to delay scheduled Medicare sequestration cuts, which are automatic declines in spending that occur when budget resources are cancelled to achieve specific budget goals ("H.R. 1868"). After crossing Capitol Hill, the Senate passed their own version that reinstated "Pay-as-You-Go" (PAYGO) sequestration cuts within the 2021 stimulus package (Ryan). This version was subsequently re-passed by the House on April 13. President Biden signed it into law the next day ("Bill Signing"). 
• April 15: 
• Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 7): The Paycheck Fairness Act seeks to address the "gender pay gap" facing women, especially those from minority groups. If enacted, the bill would make it easier for employed women to hold employers accountable for not paying a fair wage, require employers to post salary data per gender, and protect workers against retaliation if they inform others of their pay. Previous versions of this act were introduced and/or passed by the House in previous Congresses, but were not enacted. Aside from correcting macro-level differences in pay along gender and racial lines, proponents see the bill's provisions as critical because of the pandemic's effects on female workers. Opponents of the bill argue that it would make negotiating pay more difficult for workers and could lead to increased litigation against employers (Connley). 
• Fraud and Scam Reduction Act (H.R. 1215): If enacted, the Fraud and Scam Reduction Act would compel the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a new office to monitor and investigate scams targeting older Americans, educate older Americans about potential scams, and work with industry institutions on identifying and reporting scams and fraud schemes targeting elderly Americans ("AARP"). 
• Microloan Improvement Act (H.R. 1502): Passed with a large bipartisan majority, the Microloan Improvement Act expands the number of community-level lending institutions eligible to receive low-interest microloans from the Small Business Administration (SBA). In turn, the measure is meant to help small businesses gain access to new forms of credit and assistance to weather the ongoing pandemic and its economic effects (Milenkovic). 
• Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act (H.R. 1487): Passed alongside H.R. 1502, the Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act would distribute grants to institutions providing microloans to small businesses, especially those in rural areas. The bill would also mandate the SBA to provide Congress with yearly Risk Analysis reports related to its microloan program (Milenkovic). 
• April 19: 
• SAFE Banking Act (H.R. 1996): Originally introduced in 2017, and reintroduced multiple times since, H.R. 1996 would create regulations on financial institutions regarding their business activities with cannabis-related institutions. In particular, the bill would make it easier for financial institutions in states that have legalized cannabis to provide financial services to cannabis businesses through prohibiting Federal sanctions on said financial institutions. Note that at the time of this bill being introduced, some states have legalized cannabis, while the Federal government has not, which creates a difficult situation for financial institutions to give loans or non-cash services to cannabis businesses. The 2021 version that was passed by the House expands these protections to hemp businesses (Reiff). 
• April 21: 
• NO BAN Act (H.R. 1333): As a response to ex-President Donald Trump (R)'s controversial "Muslim ban", the NO BAN Act restricts the power of POTUS to enact similar executive orders prohibiting immigration based on religion. Opposition on the bill focused on concerns that it would hamper the president's ability to deal with security threats and actions against the U.S. by other countries. Along with this bill, the House passed the Access to Counsel Act, which would allow citizens and permanent residents the right to legal assistance and advice if they are detained for at least one hour by Customs and Border Protection (Uria). 
• April 22:
• Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51): Perhaps the most contentious and controversial bill featured on this edition of "The Past Two Weeks," H.R. 51 would grant the citizens of the District of Columbia voting representation in the House and Senate through statehood (Behrmann). Currently, the 23rd Amendment allows residents of the District to vote in Presidential elections, with the district having its own electoral votes, although a separate (failed) amendment was introduced in the 1970s that would give full voting rights to the district (Baker and Francois). The passage of this bill is the first time a bill related to D.C. statehood has passed either chamber of Congress, and falls several months after the 1/6 attack on the Capitol, when Mayor of Washington, D.C. Muriel Bowser was unable to command the District's National Guard to handle the situation (the President has control over it). House and D.C. Democrats largely support the statehood movement, noting that residents of the District contribute to the country and their government without receiving benefits (such as Federal representation) that come with it. Much of the controversy over the bill stems from the electoral effects the bill would have, as the territory (which would be called "Douglas Commonwealth" after abolitionist Frederick Douglass) would almost certainly elect two Democratic Senators, as the district is overwhelmingly composed of Democrats. Furthermore, those in opposition to statehood also question the Constitution's original intended role for the capitol district, arguing that it was never meant to be a state. As an alternative, Sen. Mitt Romney (R) introduced a proposal to have the District merge with Maryland that would provide them representation without tipping the Senate politically (Behrmann). 

Works Cited: 

"AARP Fraud and Scam Reduction Act of 2-4-2021." American Association of Retired Persons, 24 Feb. 2021, www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/politics/advocacy/2021/02/aarp-fraud-and-scam-reduction-act-2-24-21.pdf. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

Baker, John S., and Aderson Bellegarde Francois." The Constitution Center, constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/amendment-xxiii/interps/155. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

Behrmann, Savannah. "DC statehood bill passes House for second time, legislation moves to split Senate." USA Today, 22 Apr. 2021, www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/04/22/dc-statehood-bill-passes-house-second-time-heads-senate/7291924002/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

"Bill Signing: H.R. 1868." The White House, 14 Apr. 2021, www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/legislation/2021/04/14/bill-signing-h-r-1868/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

Connley, Courtney. "President Biden says closing gender pay gap is ‘a moral imperative’ as House passes Paycheck Fairness Act." CNBC News, 16 Apr. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/04/16/what-the-paycheck-fairness-act-could-mean-for-women-and-the-pay-gap.html. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

"H.R.1868 - To prevent across-the-board direct spending cuts, and for other purposes." United States House of Representatives, www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1868. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

Milenkovic, Milja. "SBA Loans More Attainable After House Passes Microloan Improvement Act." Smallbizgenius, 23 Apr. 2021, www.smallbizgenius.net/news/sba-loans-attainable-microloan-improvement-act/#gref. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

Reiff, Nathan. "SAFE Banking Act." Investopedia, 20 Apr. 2021, www.investopedia.com/safe-banking-act-4587773. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

Ryan, Sheri. "U.S. Senate Passes Substitute Version of H.R. 1868." Alaska Chiropractic Society, 26 Mar. 2021, www.alaskachiropracticsociety.com/news/558267/U.S.-Senate-Passes-Substitute-Version-of-H.R.-1868.htm. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

Uria, Daniel. "House passes two bills in response to Trump 2017 travel ban." United Press International, 21 Apr. 2021, www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2021/04/21/House-passes-NO-BAN-Act-Access-to-Counsel-Act/5911619047239/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2021. 

"U.S. House of Representatives Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 1st Session (2021)." Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, clerk.house.gov/evs/2021/ROLL_000.asp. Accessed 24 Apr. 2021.

     Nathan Parmeter

     Author and Host, The Parmeter Politics and Policy Record