Here’s how members of the U.S. Congress voted on major issues during the legislative week of Nov. 28, 2022 – Dec. 2, 2022.
House
INTERVENTION TO PREVENT RAIL STRIKE
Voting 290 for and 137 against, the House on Nov. 30, 2022, passed legislation (HJ Res 100) to avert a nationwide rail strike that would begin Dec. 9 in the absence of congressional intervention. The measure would force unions and management to accept a pending collective-bargaining agreement rejected by four of the 12 unions whose unanimous ratification is necessary for it to take effect. In part, the proposed contract grants a 24% pay raise over five years with 14% taking effect immediately, a $5,000 worker bonus paid in five annual installments and one day of personal leave. Employee health-insurance premiums are capped at 15% of the cost of the policy. The agreement drew union opposition partly on grounds that it fails to provide adequate sick leave. The House later passed a measure (H Con Res 119, below) granting seven days’ paid sick leave.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said: “A shutdown would grind our economy to a halt and every family would feel the strain. As many as 765,000 workers, including many union members, would lose their jobs in just the first two weeks, [costing] the economy up to $2 billion a day and [raising] prices on consumers’ products. Families wouldn’t be able to buy groceries or lifesaving medications…and perishable goods would spoil before reaching shelves….”
Another supporter, Rick Crawford, R-Ark., said: “What a colossal failure on the part of the president and [Pelosi] that we have to be here…wasting valuable time [when] we could be doing so many more important things…than having to deal with this hostage situation at a time when our economy cannot sustain it. A $2 billion a day hit….”
No opponent spoke against the measure.
A yes vote was to send the resolution to the Senate.
SEVEN DAYS’ PAID SICK LEAVE
Voting 221 for and 207 against, the House on Nov. 30, 2022,S adopted a measure (H Con Res 119) that would add seven days’ paid sick leave to a pending collective-bargaining agreement that Congress is attempting to impose on railroad companies and unions to avert a nationwide rail strike on Dec. 9.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Supporter Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said that given their high profits in recent years, “railroads cannot claim that they are unable to financially afford seven days of paid time off annually for [the] employees who enable the companies to be so profitable. Their miserly objections should not be taken seriously.”
Opponent Sam Graves, R-Mo., said the measure “is blatant political pandering. It must be rejected, and we should instead focus on solutions that end the threat of a rail strike and restore confidence in our supply chain. This is just a gimmick.”
A yes vote was to send the resolution to the Senate.
MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN FEDERAL LAW
Voting 61 for and 36 against, the Senate on Nov. 29, 2022, passed a bill (HR 8404) that would establish as federal law the right to same-sex marriage that the Supreme Court affirmed in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015. The bill also would enshrine in federal law the court’s 1967 Loving v. Virginia ruling that interracial marriage is protected by the equal protection and due protection clauses of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. In addition, the bill would exempt individuals and groups from providing services for a wedding ceremony or celebration if doing so would violate their religious beliefs.
The bill would require states to honor valid out-of-state marriage licenses regardless of the couple’s sex, race, ethnicity or national origin. In addition, it would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman and prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Although invalidated by the Supreme Court, DOMA remains on the books.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Supporter Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., said: “The Supreme Court should not be in a position to undermine the stability of families with the stroke of a pen. So now Congress must act….By passing this bill, we are guaranteeing same-sex and interracial couples, regardless of where they live, that their marriage is legal and that they will continue to enjoy the rights and responsibilities that all other marriages are afforded.”
Opponent Mike Lee, R-Utah, said: “The proponents of this bill falsely claim that same-sex marriage is under attack because Justice Thomas suggested in a concurring opinion in Dobbs that the Supreme Court should take a closer look at all of its substantive due process jurisprudence; not necessarily to strike down those rulings, but often to consider whether they should be premised on a different constitutional hook.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the House, where a final vote was expected soon.
Senate
SENDING RAILROAD BILL TO PRESIDENT BIDEN
Voting 80 for and 15 against, the Senate on Dec. 1, 2022, sent to President Biden a House-passed measure (HJ Res 100, above) that would avert a nationwide rail strike scheduled to begin Dec. 9 without congressional intervention. Biden then signed the bill into law.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a supporter, said “time is of the essence. A rail shutdown is set to begin December 9, but the truth is, we need to resolve this impasse well in advance of that date.”
Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska called instead for delay — “a 60-day cooling-off period so the sides can get back to the bargaining table, so the president of the United States and the secretary of labor….can get involved and do their jobs.”
A yes vote was to pass the bill.
SEVEN DAYS’ PAID SICK LEAVE
Voting 52 for and 43 against, the Senate on Dec. 1, 2022, failed to reach 60 votes required to adopt a House-passed measure (H Con Res 119, above) that would grant seven days’ paid sick to railroad workers as part of a five-year contract between labor and management in the rail industry. This would be their first paid sick leave. Under authority granted by the interstate commerce clause of the Constitution, Congress then passed HJ Res 100 to put the long-stalled agreement into effect.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Supporter Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., said: “The American people are increasingly disgusted at the level of corporate greed….And there is no clearer example of corporate greed than what we see in the rail industry today. In the last year, that industry earned $21 billion in profits….And yet, today, in that industry, workers who do difficult and dangerous work have zero paid sick days. Zero. You get sick, you get a mark against you; couple of marks, you get fired. This cannot and must not happen in America in 2022.”
No senator spoke against the legislation.
A yes vote was to add paid sick leave to the rail contract.