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Indy Congressional Tracker: Federal government shuts down as Senate fails to pass stopgap spending bill

Megan Messerly
Megan Messerly
Jackie Valley
Jackie Valley
Congress
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The federal government has officially shut down.

In a late-night vote, the Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution that would have kept the government open for another month and also provided a six-year extension of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The measure received only 50 votes in favor — with five Democrats voting in favor and five Republicans voting against — falling 10 votes shy of the 60-vote threshold needed for it to pass.

The measure had cleared the House just a day earlier with 230 in support and 197 voting against. All the Democratic members of Nevada’s congressional delegation — Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Reps. Dina Titus, Ruben Kihuen and Jacky Rosen — voted against the measure while the Republicans, Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Mark Amodei, supported it.

Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell proposed a separate measure that would keep the government open for just three weeks early Saturday morning. The Senate is expected to come back into session on Saturday.

The Senate took few other votes this week, including a motion to concur on a House amendment to a bill to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which Cortez Masto supported and Heller opposed. The legislation renews a National Security Agency program that gathers information from foreigners overseas but does not impose extra provisions to ensure Americans' emails and other personal communications are not caught up in the program, as some lawmakers had advocated for.

The House, by contrast, took 18 roll call votes and passed several bills, including the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which amends the federal criminal code to require health-care professionals present when a child is born following an abortion or attempted abortion to exercise the same degree of care for that child as they would any other and ensure the child is immediately admitted to a hospital. Amodei voted for the bill, while Nevada’s three Democratic House members voted against it.

Rosen joined Amodei in supporting the World Bank Accountability Act, which authorizes the U.S.’s participation in the International Development Association, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, through the appropriate of almost $3.3 billion. Titus and Kihuen opposed it.

Members of Nevada’s congressional delegation also sponsored several pieces of legislation this week. Titus is backing a House resolution recognizing magic as a rare and valuable art form. (It’s not the first time she has sponsored such a resolution.)

Rosen sponsored a bill along with Republican Congressman Walter B. Jones from North Carolina titled the “Pulled Pork Act,” which would prohibit Congress from reinstating earmarks, or provisions in bills that direct funds to a particular recipient. Lawmakers held hearings this week on the Republican-led earmark ban that went into effect in 2011.

“Congress made the right decision when it ended the practice of earmarks,” said Congresswoman Rosen. “Earmarks represent a return to political favoritism, unethical practices and wasteful government spending.”

For a more comprehensive look at what Nevada’s delegates did or did not support this week, check out The Nevada Independent’s congressional vote tracker and round-up of sponsored legislation below:



SEN. DEAN HELLER

Co-sponsored legislation:

  • S. 2311 - A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to protect pain-capable unborn children, and for other purposes.
  • S. 2323 - A bill making continuing appropriations for veterans benefits and services in the event of a Government shutdown, and for other purposes.
  • S. 2324 - A bill to amend the Investment Company Act of 1940 to change certain requirements relating to the capital structure of business development companies, to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise certain rules relating to business development companies, and for other purposes.
  • S.Res. 367 - A resolution condemning the Government of Iran for its violence against demonstrators and calling for peaceful resolution to the concerns of the citizens of Iran.

SEN. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO

Co-sponsored legislation:

  • S. 2121 - Ensuring Access to Air Ambulance Services Act of 2017
  • S. 514 - No Hero Left Untreated Act
  • S. 2274 - Federal Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2017
  • S. 915 - Social Security Fairness Act of 2017
  • S. 1676 - B-CROP Act
  • S. 2328 - A bill making continuing appropriations for military pay and death benefits in the event of a Government shutdown.

REP. DINA TITUS

Sponsored legislation:

  • H.Res. 698 - Recognizing magic as a rare and valuable art form.

Co-sponsored legislation:

  • H.R. 1841 - Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act
  • H.Res. 700 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding President Donald J. Trump's remarks about Haiti, El Salvador, and African Nations.
  • H.Res. 644 - Strongly condemning the slave auctions of migrants and refugees in Libya, and for other purposes.

REP. JACKY ROSEN

Sponsored legislation:

  • H.R. 4818 - To prohibit the use of Federal funds made available in the form of an earmark, and for other purposes.

Co-sponsored legislation:

  • H.R. 4796 - To provide relief from removal and adjustment of status of certain individuals who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States before reaching the age of 18, improve border security, foster United States engagement in Central America, and for other purposes.
  • H.R. 881 - AMP Act
  • H.R. 4444 - Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act
  • H.R. 4820 - To extend funding for certain public health programs, and for other purposes.
  • H.R. 4843 - To modify the presumption of service connection for veterans who were exposed to herbicide agents while serving in the Armed Forces in Thailand during the Vietnam era, and for other purposes.
  • H.Res. 700 - Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding President Donald J. Trump's remarks about Haiti, El Salvador, and African Nations.
  • H.R. 1789 - No Government No Pay Act of 2017

REP. MARK AMODEI

Co-sponsored legislation:

  • H.R. 788 - Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act
  • H.R. 4796 - To provide relief from removal and adjustment of status of certain individuals who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States before reaching the age of 18, improve border security, foster United States engagement in Central America, and for other purposes.
  • H.R. 4855 - To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide an incentive for households participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program to purchase certain nutritious fruits and vegetables that are beneficial to good health.

REP. RUBEN KIHUEN

Co-sponsored legislation:

  • H.R. 807 - Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2017
  • H.R. 4444 - Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act
  • H.R. 1536 - SHIELD Act of 2017
  • H.R. 4820 - To extend funding for certain public health programs, and for other purposes.

Updated 1-22-17 at 10:24 a.m. to clarify that the amendment that the Senate voted to concur on from the House was related to extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

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