Here’s how members of Congress from all 50 states voted on major issues during the legislative week of April 17-21.
House
TRANSGENDER WOMEN IN SCHOOL SPORTS
Voting 219 for and 203 against, the House on April 20, 2023, passed a Republican-sponsored bill (HR 734) that would amend federal education and civil rights law to prohibit persons whose biological sex at birth was male, and who then changed their gender to female, from taking part in school sports designated for women and girls whose sex at birth was female. When Title IX was added in 1972 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it opened sports participation in high school and in college to females on an equal basis with males, with schools facing a loss of federal funding if they failed to comply. The current bill would redefine discrimination under Title IX in a way that protects biologically female student athletes against having to compete in school sports with those who have changed their sex to female because that is the gender they identify with.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Greg Steube, R-Fla., said: “For thousands of years in human history, we have recognized as a species that there are women and there are men, who are obviously biologically different, dare I say even scientifically different….Yet, over the last several years, there has been a perversion in our culture by the enemy, and the left has completely embraced the lie to erase the lines of gender and to convince you there isn’t really gender and that gender is fluid and can be whatever you want, whenever you want-again, more lies.”
Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., said: “Trans rights are human rights. Denying trans students the opportunity to play on sports teams that are consistent with their gender identity sends a clear message to those students that they don’t matter. If my Republican colleagues are interested in protecting women and girls, I have a long list of priorities that I am eager to work on. Let’s pass commonsense gun violence prevention legislation. Let’s pass legislation protecting reproductive freedom. Let’s pass paid family leave and medical leave and close the gender pay gap.”
A yes vote was to send the bill to the Senate, where it was destined to fail.
FEMALE ATHLETES’ RIGHT TO PRIVACY
Voting 204 for and 218 against, the House on April 20, 2023, defeated a Democratic motion that sought to prevent school officials from invading the privacy of female athletes while enforcing provisions of HR 724 (above). The motion sought to ensure the privacy of personal reproductive or sexual health information during inquiries to determine whether a female athlete is transgender. The motion also would expand the legal liability of officials who engage in sex-based harassment of school athletes identifying as female.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Sponsor Becca Balint, D-Vt., said the House “is one of the most powerful bodies in our nation. We should be using our influence and our power for good. We should be alleviating the suffering of our constituents and not fanning the flames of fear and enabling discrimination. What upsets me the most about [the underlying] bill is that it is devoid of compassion for the kids who just want to live their lives.”
Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., did not speak specifically on the Democratic motion, but asked earlier in debate: “What has gone so horribly wrong in our society where those of us who are not okay with our daughters and granddaughters sharing a locker room or a bathroom with boys are the ones that are considered to be crazy by the liberal elites, sports leagues and woke corporations?”
A yes vote was to adopt the motion.
POLICE CONDUCT IN D.C.
The House on April 19, 2023, voted to repeal a District of Columbia law enacted in 2022 to curb officer misconduct and prevent the use of excessive force by the city’s Metropolitan Police Department. The Republican-sponsored resolution of disapproval (HJ Res 42) was adopted by a tally of 229 for and 189 against. Under the 1973 District of Columbia Home Rule Act, the federal territory has limited authority to run its own affairs but must receive congressional approval of laws such as this one passed by the city council.
In part, the new policing law bans the use of extreme neck restraints including chokeholds, requires body-camera footage to be released to the public and prohibits the hiring of officers convicted of crimes or found to have engaged in official misconduct in other employment. The law empowers the police chief to discipline or remove officers found guilty of misconduct on the job or breaking laws while off duty, taking that authority away from more lenient arbitration panels established by collective bargaining with the police union.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Sponsor Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said repeal was “essential to both increase public safety and combat rising crime in our nation’s capital city. For far too long, Washington, D.C., which is supposed to represent a beacon of freedom, patriotism and prosperity for all America, has been overrun by violent criminals. As millions of people visit D.C. every year, it is imperative that [the city] is safe for all residents and visitors. Unfortunately, this simply is not the case.”
Opponent Jamie Raskin, D-Md., responded to Clyde by saying “the only time I have seen an institution overrun by violent criminals was here in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, an event that [Clyde] described as a tourist visit and has consistently likened to a tourist visit. I don’t know that he is going to be the best and most reliable witness for determining when an institution is being overrun by violent criminals.”
A yes vote was to send the resolution of disapproval to the Senate, where its prospects were uncertain. President Biden said he will veto the measure if it reaches his desk.
Senate
VETERANS’ ACCESS TO ABORTION
Voting 48 for and 51 against, the Senate on April 19, 2023, defeated a Republican-sponsored measure (SJ Res 10) that sought to prevent the Department of Veterans Affairs from offering limited abortion services to veterans in states that have sharply restricted reproductive rights since the Supreme Court ruled that abortion access is not constitutionally guaranteed but the prerogative of each state to grant or deny. In the wake of that ruling in June 2022, the Veterans Health Administration has provided abortions to veterans or their family members in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest or endangers the woman’s life or health.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Supporter Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said: “If Democrats want taxpayer-funded abortions within the VA healthcare system, let’s vote on it. That is what we are elected to do, not lean on a president and the White House to say this is what we are going to do….If we are going to do it that way, let’s lock the door and go home and save the taxpayers a lot of money.”
Tina Smith, D-Minn., said “this resolution is extreme. And everyone who votes for it is saying that when it comes to our nation’s veterans who get their health care through the VA, that there should be no exceptions for abortion, even if that veteran has been the victim of rape or incest, even when continuing the pregnancy would endanger the veteran’s life or health. That is not just extreme — that is cruel.”
A yes vote was to cancel the Department of Veterans Affairs abortion policy.
VACCINE MANDATES FOR LOCAL FIREFIGHTERS
Voting 45 for and 54 against, the Senate on April 19, 2023, defeated a Republican-sponsored bid to deny federal grants to fire departments that have dismissed and declined to rehire firefighters who refuse Covid-19 vaccinations. The amendment was offered to a bill (S 870), later passed, that authorizes $2.3 billion annually in federal aid to local departments throughout the United States, with the proviso that they require their firefighters and medics to be vaccinated against Covid, among other conditions.
Floor Debate, Pro & Con:
Amendment sponsor Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the bill wrongly rewards “local governments that chose to trample on the freedom of firefighters and medics to speak their own minds and make their own medical decisions….Over the last few years, even as these grants were awarded, firefighters around the country found themselves with a choice — submit to Covid vaccine mandates or lose your livelihood.”
Opponent Gary Peters, D-Mich., said: “Firefighters are on the front lines of safeguarding our communities, often providing emergency care and interacting with high-risk populations. Firefighters themselves may also be at risk of Covid-19 infections. Vaccines are the safest and most effective way to make sure an individual doesn’t get severely ill or spread Covid-19 to others.”
A yes vote was to adopt the amendment.