WASHINGTON, D.C. (TNS) — Here’s a look at how area members of Congress voted over the previous week, March 21-27.

Along with roll call votes, this week the House also passed these measures: the Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act (H.R. 730), to coordinate federal research and development efforts focused on modernizing mathematics in STEM education through mathematical and statistical modeling; the Commercial Remote Sensing Amendment Act (H.R. 1325), to provide for transparent licensing of commercial remote sensing systems; and the DOE and NASA Interagency Research Coordination Act (H.R. 1368), to provide for Department of Energy and National Aeronautics and Space Administration research and development coordination.

HOUSE VOTES:

House Vote 1:

ENERGY, AGRICULTURE RESEARCH: The House has passed the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act (H.R. 1326), sponsored by Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., to require the Energy and Agriculture Departments to collaborate on research and development efforts. Lucas said the bill “will help us address cross-cutting research challenges that will advance crop science, maximize carbon storage, enhance precision agriculture technologies, and much more.” The vote, on March 24, was 372 yeas to 35 nays.

YEAS: Davids (KS) D-KS (3rd), Estes R-KS (4th), Schmidt R-KS (2nd), Mann R-KS (1st)

House Vote 2:

INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS AND EMISSIONS: The House has passed the Innovative Mitigation Partnerships for Asphalt and Concrete Technologies Act (H.R. 1534), sponsored by Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, to require the Energy Department to develop a seven-year program for promoting the manufacture of low-emissions cement, concrete, and asphalt products. Miller said that with the program, the federal government would “advance tangible environmental goals for construction material production without sacrificing material performance or, more importantly, economic growth.” The vote, on March 25, was 350 yeas to 73 nays.

YEAS: Davids (KS) D-KS (3rd), Schmidt R-KS (2nd), Mann R-KS (1st)

NAYS: Estes R-KS (4th)

House Vote 3:

WALK-IN FREEZERS: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 24), sponsored by Rep. Stephanie I. Bice, R-Okla., to disapprove of and void an Energy Department rule, issued last December, establishing efficiency standards for walk-in coolers and freezers. Bice said the rule “will impose significant financial burdens on small businesses, which will have to absorb major upgrade costs to meet these new aggressive standards.” A resolution opponent, Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-Calif., said: “Economists predict these standards would save American taxpayers billions of dollars.” The vote, on March 27, was 203 yeas to 182 nays.

NAYS: Davids (KS) D-KS (3rd)

YEAS: Estes R-KS (4th), Schmidt R-KS (2nd), Mann R-KS (1st)

House Vote 4:

REGULATING COMMERCIAL REFRIGERATORS: The House has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 75), sponsored by Rep. Craig Goldman, R-Texas, that would nullify and void an Energy Department rule issued this January that set out energy efficiency standards for commercial refrigeration products. Goldman cited an estimated $8 billion cost for complying with the rule, which he said could threaten food safety by failing to account for how food providers actually use their refrigerators. A bill opponent, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., said the rule “would save businesses $4.6 billion over 30 years,” and voiding it would strip businesses of options to reduce their energy costs. The vote, on March 27, was 214 yeas to 193 nays.

NAYS: Davids (KS) D-KS (3rd)

YEAS: Estes R-KS (4th), Schmidt R-KS (2nd), Mann R-KS (1st)

House Vote 5:

AMENDING COLLEGE SECURITY BILL: The House has rejected a substitute amendment sponsored by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., to the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions Act (H.R. 1048). The amendment would have modified the bill’s reporting requirements and penalties for not complying with its provisions, and mandated a negotiated rulemaking process for implementation. Scott said the amendment would support the goal of protecting against foreign influence “while supporting international partnerships that enhance groundbreaking scientific research, build relationships across cultures, and increase our national competitiveness.” An opponent, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., cited the amendment’s “terrible carve-outs that provide gaping loopholes for cunning adversaries” and a lack of financial penalties for non-compliance. The vote, on March 27, was 199 yeas to 214 nays.

YEAS: Davids (KS) D-KS (3rd)

NAYS: Estes R-KS (4th), Schmidt R-KS (2nd), Mann R-KS (1st)

House Vote 6:

COLLEGES AND FOREIGN THREATS: The House has passed the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions Act (H.R. 1048), sponsored by Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Wash., to bar colleges and universities from making contracts or receiving gifts from China, Russia, and other countries, or foreign groups, labeled as being national security concerns for the U.S. Baumgartner said of the need for the bill: “Every dollar from an adversarial nation comes with strings attached, expectations about what gets taught, which research gets funded, and who gets hired or silenced.” An opponent, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., said it “would burden our higher education institutions and federal agencies with massive amounts of reporting of a gift of any value from foreign countries and will cast a chilling effect disproportionately on the Asian-American academic community.” The vote, on March 27, was 241 yeas to 169 nays.

NAYS: Davids (KS) D-KS (3rd)

YEAS: Estes R-KS (4th), Schmidt R-KS (2nd), Mann R-KS (1st)

SENATE VOTES:

Senate Vote 1:

NAVY SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of John Phelan to be Navy Secretary. Phelan founded and then chaired the Rugger Management investment business, and has spent a career in various investment and financial roles. The vote, on March 24, was 62 yeas to 30 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 2:

STATE DEPARTMENT: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Christopher Landau to be Deputy Secretary of State. Landau was ambassador to Mexico for the last 18 months of the first Trump administration; previously, he was a lawyer, specializing in appeals, at two different law firms starting in 1993. The vote, on March 24, was 60 yeas to 31 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 3:

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michael Kratsios to direct the Office of Science and Technology Policy. Kratsios was the first Trump administration’s chief technology officer, and previously was an executive at the Thiel Capital investment firm. The vote, on March 25, was 74 yeas to 25 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 4:

NIH DIRECTOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jay Bhattacharya to be Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Bhattacharya has been a professor of economics and health policy at Stanford University since 2001, and has been a study reviewer for various NIH panels as well. The vote, on March 25, was 53 yeas to 47 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 5:

FDA COMMISSIONER: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Marty Makary to be Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner. Makary is a gastrointestinal surgeon and health policy professor at Johns Hopkins, and a researcher and book author. The vote, on March 25, was 56 yeas to 44 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 6:

MANAGING FEDERAL BUDGET: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Dan Bishop to be Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Bishop was a House member, representing a North Carolina district, from fall 2019 to the start of 2025. He had been a lawyer and local and state-level politician in the state for several decades previously. An opponent, Sen. Gary C. Peters, D-Mich., cited Bishop’s “willingness to break the law, especially when it comes to Congress’s power of the purse. He supports the administration’s efforts to illegally withhold funding that Congress has passed into law.” The vote, on March 26, was 53 yeas to 45 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 7:

LEGAL POLICY HEAD: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Aaron Reitz to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. Reitz was chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, for the past two years, and previously was in the Texas Attorney General’s office and a private practice lawyer in Austin. Cruz said Reitz “possesses the vision, the experience, and the leadership needed to excel in this role, and I have no doubt that he will lead the office with the same dedication he has shown throughout his career.” The vote, on March 26, was 52 yeas to 46 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 8:

TREASURY DEPUTY SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michael Faulkender to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Faulkender, most recently a finance professor at the University of Maryland, was a policy official at the Treasury Department in 2019 and 2020. A supporter, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said Faulkender’s “depth of experience in the public and private sector, in addition to his academic credentials, makes him a highly qualified choice.” An opponent, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said that during consideration of his nomination, Faulkender had been “dodging nearly all the tough questions and misrepresenting his role in what is going on in the Trump administration” and what Wyden claimed was a plan to kick “tens of millions of Americans off their health insurance.” The vote, on March 26, was 53 yeas to 43 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 9:

REGULATING DECENTRALIZED FINANCE: The Senate has passed a resolution (H.J. Res. 25), sponsored by Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, to disapprove of and void an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule regulating the computer infrastructure that enables decentralized finance systems, including cryptocurrencies. The vote, on March 26, was 70 yeas to 28 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 10:

BANK OVERDRAFT CHARGES: The Senate has passed a resolution (S.J. Res. 18), sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., to disapprove of and void a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule issued last December that regulated account overdraft charges levied on customers by very large banks. Scott said some people who have minimal savings accept such overdraft charges, instead of payday loans or credit card charges, when paying bills, and capping overdraft charges means “eliminating the possibility of people working paycheck to paycheck to make the decision to continue to use their resources in the most effective way.” The vote, on March 27, was 52 yeas to 48 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS

Senate Vote 11:

VA DEPUTY SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Paul Lawrence to be Deputy Secretary at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Department. Lawrence was the VA’s Under Secretary for Benefits for the last three years of the first Trump administration, following three decades as a business consultant and executive, and two and a half years as an Army captain in the early 1980s. The vote, on March 27, was 51 yeas to 45 nays.

YEAS: Moran R-KS, Marshall R-KS