How SC members of Congress voted, week ending Sept. 18
Here’s how South Carolina members of Congress voted on major issues in the week ending Sept. 18. HOUSEDISPUTE OVER `FRIVOLOUS’ LAWSUITS: Voting 241 for and 185 against, the House on Sept. 17 passed a GOP-drafted bill (HR 758) requiring federal courts to impose financial penalties on plaintiffs who file lawsuits seen by the presiding judge as frivolous. The bill would require offending parties to pay compensation such as attorneys’ fees to those on the receiving end of frivolous suits. At present, judges can levy such penalties at their discretion.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
SOUTH CAROLINA Voting yes: Republicans Mark Sanford, Joe Wilson, Jeff Duncan, Trey Gowdy, Mick Mulvaney and Tom Rice
Voting no: Democrat James Clyburn
Not voting: None
EXEMPTION FOR WAGE-BIAS SUITS: Voting 179 for and 239 against, the House on Sept. 17 defeated a motion by Democrats to exempt from HR 758 (above) lawsuits filed in federal court under employment-discrimination laws, including actions to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work.
A yes vote was to add a wage-bias exemption to the bill.
Voting yes: Clyburn
Voting no: Sanford, Wilson, Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Rice
Export-Import Bank: The House on Sept. 17 blocked, 238-179, a bid by Democrats to force a vote on a bill restoring the Export-Import Bank’s authority to
ROW OVER EXPORT-IMPORT BANK: Voting 238 for and 179 against, the House on Sept. 17 blocked a procedural bid by Democrats (H Res 420) to force a vote on a bill reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. After losing its congressional charter June 30, the bank, a U.S. taxpayer-backed lender to foreign customers, can no longer provide new financing of U.S. companies’ sales abroad. Democrats turned to this procedural tactic after the House GOP leadership refused to bring to the floor a bill with more than 190 sponsors to revive the 81-year-old agency. The vote occurred two days after General Electric announced it would move 500 jobs abroad in response to the bank’s demise.
Supporters extol the bank as a job-creator, while critics say it distorts free markets by practicing “corporate welfare” and “crony capitalism.” Fewer than 2 percent of the bank’s transactions have defaulted in recent years, and the it usually returns a profit to the Treasury even with an exposure of $100 billion-plus in taxpayer liability.
A yes vote was to block a move for floor debate on a bill to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.
Voting yes: Sanford, Wilson, Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Rice
Voting no: Clyburn
REDUCED FUNDING OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Voting 241 for and 187 against, the House on Sept. 18 passed a GOP-drafted bill (HR 3134) to slash but not eliminate federal funding of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a nonprofit that provides its 2.6 million annual patients at 700 clinics nationwide with health services such as reproductive care, sex-education counseling and screening to detect cervical and breast cancer. Planned Parenthood says abortions account for about 3 percent of its services, while the news watchdog PolitiFact estimates the level at 12 percent. The bill follows the release of videos, secretly recorded by anti-abortion activists, in which Planned Parenthood officials discuss, in starkly graphic terms, certain abortion procedures and the provision of fetal tissue to medical researchers.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects the bill would impose a net cut in Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood of $235 million, or 60 percent, in fiscal 2016. In addition to Medicaid funding, Planned Parenthood receives $60 million annually in family-planning grants under Title X of the Public Health Service Act, said the CBO. Grants such as those would be transferred under this bill to other health clinics or medical practitioners, according to the CBO.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
Voting yes: Sanford, Wilson, Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Rice
Voting no: Clyburn
PREVENTIVE CARE FOR WOMEN: Voting 183 for and 245 against, the House on Sept. 18 defeated a Democratic motion to HR 3134 (above) to ensure that preventive healthcare services for women, whether offered by Planned Parenthood or other publicly funded medical providers, will be fully funded in the fiscal 2016 appropriations eventually approved by Congress. That budget year begins Oct. 1.
A yes vote backed the motion, which, had it prevailed, would have immediately amended the bill.
Voting yes: Clyburn
Voting no: Sanford, Wilson, Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Rice
CARE FOR INFANTS BORN IN FAILED ABORTIONS: Voting 248 for and 177 against, the House on Sept. 18 passed a GOP-drafted bill (HR 3504) intended to tighten protections for infants born as a result of failed late-term abortions. Healthcare providers could face up to five years in prison if they failed to immediately transport to a hospital an infant with certain signs of life after an abortion attempt. The infant would have to receive the same level of medical care that would be provided for “any other child born alive at the same gestational age.” The bill would also require medical practitioners or employees of hospitals, clinics or physician’s offices to report to law enforcement agencies any violation they witnessed.
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate.
Voting yes: Sanford, Wilson, Duncan, Gowdy, Mulvaney, Rice
Voting no: Clyburn
SENATEIRANIAN RECOGNITION OF ISRAEL: Voting 53 for and 45 against, the Senate on Sept. 17 failed to reach 60 votes needed to advance a GOP-sponsored amendment that would prohibit the administration from lifting economic sanctions on Iran as part of a six-nation nuclear deal until such time as Iran formally recognizes Israel and releases four American prisoners it now holds. The vote occurred during debate on HJ Res 61 (below).
A yes vote was to advance the Republican amendment.
South Carolina Voting yes: Republicans Lindsey Graham, Tim Scott
Not voting: None
GO-AHEAD FOR NUCLEAR DEAL: Voting 56 for and 42 against, the Senate on Sept. 17 failed to reach 60 votes needed to advance a Republican resolution (HJ Res 61) disapproving of a nuclear deal signed by Iran, the United States, Great Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany. Because it upheld a Democratic filibuster against the resolution, this vote effectively removed the last congressional hurdle to the agreement taking effect. It was the third and final failed attempt by GOP leaders over seven days to advance their resolution
The agreement requires Iran to immediately dismantle, and then suppress for at least 10-to-15 years, a nuclear-weapons program thought by experts to be within a year of going operational. In return, Iran would gain access to approximately $100 billion of its assets that have been frozen abroad by U.S. and international economic sanctions. These sanctions, as well as ones on Iran’s energy sector, would be lifted as soon as inspectors certify Iran’s compliance with the dismantling stages of the deal. The agreement allows international sanctions to immediately “snap back” if Iran is found to be cheating on the deal.
The agreement would diminish Iran’s nuclear capability to where it would need several months to a year, or longer, to be restored. The U.S. and other countries say this “breakout” period gives them ample time to mount military strikes against any revived nuclear-weapons program.
A yes vote backed a resolution that would kill the nuclear deal.
Voting yes: Graham, Scott
The (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal