HOUSE VOTES

BREAST MILK AT WORK: The House has passed the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (H.R. 3110), sponsored by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., to extend requirements for an employer to accommodate women to pump their breast milk at work. Maloney said it “would ensure that working moms who want to breastfeed can continue to do so and prevent nursing mothers from being singled out, ridiculed, or fired.” An opponent, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., said the bill “falsely victimizes employees and is truly just another payout for trial lawyers” filing unwarranted lawsuits against employers. The vote, on Oct. 22, was 276 yeas to 149 nays.

YEAS: Chellie Pingree, D-1st District; Jared Golden, D-2nd District

GUIDANCE ON SOVEREIGN DEBT: The House has passed the Sovereign Debt Contract Capacity Act (H.R. 4111), sponsored by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. The bill would require the U.S. representative at the International Monetary Fund to urge the Fund to help member countries evaluate the terms of their sovereign debt contracts. Waters said that with China using secretive sovereign debt contracts to exert power over vulnerable countries, training would help those countries improve transparency and reduce corruption by political leaders. The vote, on Oct. 25, was 391 yeas to 29 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden

FINANCIAL DATA: The House has passed the Financial Transparency Act (H.R. 2989), sponsored by Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., to establish transparency standards for data submitted to federal financial regulators. Maloney said the bill would produce “more transparent and open data sources and data that is readily comparable across businesses and sectors.” The vote, on Oct. 25, was 400 yeas to 19 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: The House has passed the Family Violence Prevention and Services Improvement Act (H.R. 2119), sponsored by Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., to reauthorize through fiscal 2026 and modify the Family Violence and Prevention Services program for victims of domestic violence, including emergency shelters for abuse victims. McBath said: “We must make sure that our children and their families have the resources they need to prevent domestic violence and abuse.” An opponent, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., said the bill “tramples the rights of faith-based providers by forcing organizations to abandon their sincerely held religious beliefs or give up helping victims through these programs.” The vote, on Oct. 26, was 228 yeas to 200 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden

FIRST RESPONDER DISABILITIES: The House has passed the Protecting America’s First Responders Act (S. 1511), sponsored by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to provide payments, under the Justice Department’s Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program, to police officers and other first responder workers who have been permanently disabled by job-related injuries. The vote, on Oct. 27, was 420 yeas to 3 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden

SURFACE TRANSPORT PROGRAMS: The House has passed the Further Surface Transportation Extension Act (H.R. 5763), sponsored by Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, D-Ore., to extend through Dec. 3 statutory authority for federal highway, transit, and other transportation programs. DeFazio said “we need to act immediately to be certain we don’t have a lapse in authorization” while the House and Senate negotiate their versions of a bill for a five-year authorization for the programs. The vote, on Oct. 28, was 358 yeas to 59 nays.

YEAS: Pingree, Golden

SENATE VOTES

WORKER SAFETY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Douglas L. Parker to serve as the Labor Department’s assistant secretary for occupational safety and health. Parker has headed California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health since September 2019. A supporter, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said: “At every step in his career, Mr. Parker has been a dogged advocate for worker safety. I have no doubt he will continue when he is confirmed to lead OSHA.” The vote, on Oct. 25, was 50 yeas to 41 nays.

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

APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Myrna Perez to serve as a judge on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Since 2006, Perez has been the director of the voting rights and elections program at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Perez was “really competent and experienced. She has been handling complex civil litigation and will be ready to serve on the Second Circuit on day one.” The vote, on Oct. 25, was 48 yeas to 43 nays.

NAYS: Collins

YEAS: King

D.C. DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jia M. Cobb to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Washington, D.C. Cobb has been a private practice lawyer at a D.C. law firm since 2010. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Cobb “understands the distinction between being an advocate and a judge. As a judge on the District of D.C., she has promised to rule based on the law and facts of the cases before her.” The vote, on Oct. 26, was 52 yeas to 45 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

NEW JERSEY DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Karen McGlashan Williams to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for New Jersey. Williams, a federal magistrate judge in the state since 2009, was previously a private practice lawyer in Atlantic City. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Williams’s unanimous well qualified rating from the American Bar Association was “a testament to her integrity, temperament, and experience.” The vote, on Oct. 26, was 56 yeas to 38 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

VIRGINIA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Patricia Giles to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the eastern district of Virginia. Giles has been a prosecutor in the U.S. AttorneyâEUR(tm)s Office for the district for 18 years. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Giles “has a deep understanding of the district which she has been nominated to serve.” The vote, on Oct. 26, was 68 yeas to 27 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

SECOND VIRGINIA DISTRICT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michel Nachmanoff to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for the eastern district of Virginia. Nachmanoff has been a magistrate judge in the district since 2014, and previously was a public defender in the district. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Nachmanoff has “received praise from prosecutors and defense attorneys alike. It is a testament to his integrity and evenhandedness.” The vote, on Oct. 27, was 52 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

CONNECTICUT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Sarala Nagala to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Connecticut. For the past nine years, Nagala has been an assistant U.S. attorney in the state. The vote, on Oct. 27, was 52 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

SECOND CONNECTICUT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Omar Williams to serve as a judge on the U.S. district court for Connecticut. Since 2002, Williams has been first an assistant public defender and then a superior court judge in Connecticut. The vote, on Oct. 28, was 52 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

NATIONAL SECURITY LAW: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Matthew Olsen to serve as an assistant attorney general for national security at the Justice Department. Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center for three years of the Obama administration and a longtime Justice Department official, was most recently a law professor at the University of Virginia. The vote, on Oct. 28, was 53 yeas to 45 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

LEGAL COUNSEL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Christopher Schroeder to serve as an assistant attorney general serving as head of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department. Schroeder was a senior Justice Department official in the Clinton and Obama administrations. The vote, on Oct. 28, was 56 yeas to 41 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

LEGAL POLICY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Hampton Dellinger to serve as an assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy. Until last year, Dellinger was a partner at the Boies Schiller Flexner law firm in Washington, D.C. The vote, on Oct. 28, was 53 yeas to 37 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

SOLICITOR GENERAL: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Elizabeth Prelogar to serve as U.S. Solicitor General. Prelogar had been the acting solicitor general before her nomination, and was an assistant to the solicitor general from 2014 to 2019. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Prelogar has “argued nine cases before the Supreme Court and filed hundreds of amicus briefs and other petitions. She knows this job, and she knows it well.” The vote, on Oct. 28, was 53 yeas to 36 nays.

YEAS: Collins, King

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