The second session of the 115th Congress began Wednesday. Along with its one confirmation vote, the Senate also passed the VETS Act (S. 925), to improve the ability of health care professionals to treat veterans through the use of telemedicine.

There were no key votes in the House this week.

SENATE VOTES

DEFENSE POLICY UNDER SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of John C. Rood to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Rood, current Lockheed Martin’s vice president of government affairs, had spent 20 years in various government roles at the CIA, State Department, and other agencies. An opponent, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said that if confirmed, Rood would have the authority to help set U.S. military policy and benefit Lockheed Martin by promoting foreign military sales of the company’s products. The vote, on Jan. 3, was 81 yeas to 7 nays.

YEAS: Susan Collins, R-Maine; Angus King, I-Maine


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