HOW DID YOUR SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVE VOTE LAST WEEK?

July 20, 2015 In this MegaVote for Alabama's 5th Congressional District: Recent Congressional Votes Senate: No Child Left Behind Overhaul - Passage House: Veterans Loans - Passage House: Transportation Funding and California Drought – Passage House: California Drought – Passage Upcoming Congressional Bills Senate: Hire More Heroes Act House: Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act House: Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act

Recent Senate Votes

No Child Left Behind Overhaul - Passage - Vote Passed (81-17, 2 Not Voting) The Senate passed a bill that would reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the law that authorizes federal spending on kindergarten through high school. It would let states decide how to judge schools' success and wouldn't require any type of teacher evaluation. It would require states to continue testing students annually, but would leave it up to states to decide what weight those scores have when rating schools. Sen. Richard Shelby voted NO Sen. Jeff Sessions voted YES

Recent House Votes

Veterans Loans - Passage - Vote Passed (410-1, 22 Not Voting) The House agreed to a motion to suspend the rules and pass a bill that would permanently waive the guarantee fee for veterans and their spouses applying for Small Business Administration (SBA) express loans, beginning Oct. 1, 2015. The bill defines eligibility for the waiver based on the veteran status of the loan applicant, rather than whether the business is considered a veteran-owned small business. Rep. Mo Brooks voted YES Transportation Funding and California Drought – Passage - Vote Passed (312-119, 2 Not Voting) The House passed a bill that would reauthorize federal-aid highway and transit programs through Dec. 18, 2015 and would transfer $8.1 billion in funding from the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund to cover projected trust fund shortfalls over that time. The measure completely offsets the cost of the proposed funding transfer by extending for two years the current budgetary treatment of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) fees as mandatory savings and through several tax compliance provisions. Rep. Mo Brooks voted NO California Drought – Passage - Vote Passed (245-176, 12 Not Voting) The House passed a bill that would require that more water from Northern California be pumped south for agricultural uses in the Central Valley in times of drought, and would require the Interior and Commerce departments to approve any emergency projects or operations that would quickly provide additional water to those users. The bill would also implement a coordinated environmental review process to expedite the environmental review of certain water projects, such as dams and water storage facilities. Rep. Mo Brooks voted YES

Upcoming Votes

Hire More Heroes Act - H.R.22 The bill would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exempt employees with health coverage under TRICARE or the Veterans Administration from being taken into account for purposes of determining the employers to which the employer mandate applies under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act - H.R.1557 The bill would amend the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act of 2002 to strengthen Federal antidiscrimination laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and expand accountability within the Federal government, and for other purposes. Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act - H.R.1599 The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to food produced from, containing, or consisting of a bioengineered organism, the labeling of natural foods, and for other purposes.