Area congressional members’ votes on keeping government open, disaster relief

Dec. 23--WASHINGTON -- How St. Louis-area members of Congress voted in the week of Dec. 18-22.

House

$81 Billion for Hurricane, Wildfire Relief --Voting 251-169, the House on Dec. 22 passed a bill (HR 4667) that would appropriate $81 billion to fund recovery from hurricanes Maria, Harvey and Irma and this year's wildfires in California. A yes vote was to send the Senate a bill providing $28 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster-relief fund; $26 billion in grants to communities, $12 billion for infrastructure projects and hundreds of millions for loan programs and wildfire recovery.

Yes --Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth; Ann Wagner, R-Ballwin; Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro; Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville; John Shimkus, R-Collinsville.

No --William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis; Jason Smith, R-Salem.

Four Weeks' Stopgap Funding --Voting 231-188, the House on Dec. 22 adopted a bill (HR 1370) that would fund the government on a stopgap basis through Jan. 19, giving lawmakers more time to negotiate issues such as renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for "dreamers." A yes vote was to pass a bill that also would temporarily extend the Children's Health Insurance Program and fund community health centers.

Yes --Bost, Shimkus, Davis, Wagner, Smith, Luetkemeyer.

No --Clay

Senate

Four Weeks' Stopgap Funding --Voting 66-32, the Senate on Dec. 22 joined the House (above) in passing a bill (HR 1370) that would temporarily fund the government through Jan. 19, averting a partial government shutdown slated to occur at midnight. A yes vote was to send the bill to President Trump for his signature.

Yes --Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.; Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

No --Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.

KEY VOTES AHEAD

The House and Senate have adjourned until the opening of the Second Session of the 115th Congress on Jan. 3.

The votes and descriptions are compiled by "Voterama in Congress" a legislative tracking organization.

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