Hawaii Congressional Delegation--How they Voted December 21, 2024

H.R. 10545: American Relief Act, 2025

Dec 20, 2024 5:59 p.m. — Vote

Passed 366/34

Rep. Case [D-HI1]: Yea

Rep. Tokuda [D-HI2]: Yea

Dec 20, 2024 6:10 p.m. — Vote

On the Nomination PN2245: Serena Raquel Murillo, of California, to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California

Nomination Confirmed 49/47

S.Amdt. 3346 (Paul) to H.R. 82: To adjust the normal and early retirement ages for Social Security benefits and increase the maximum age for delayed retirement credits.

Dec 20, 2024 10:27 p.m. — Vote

Amendment Rejected 3/93

S.Amdt. 3352 (Paul) to H.R. 82: To provide for automatic continuing resolutions.

Dec 20, 2024 11:13 p.m. — Vote

Amendment Rejected 28/67

S.Amdt. 3360 (Cruz) to H.R. 82: In the nature of a substitute.

Dec 20, 2024 11:28 p.m. — Vote

Amendment Rejected 32/64

S.Amdt. 3331 (Crapo) to H.R. 82: To delay the repeal of the Government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions until additional changes are made to offset any negative impacts on the actuarial balance of the Social Security Trust Funds.

Dec 20, 2024 11:39 p.m. — Vote

Amendment Rejected 34/62

On the Motion (Motion to Waive All Applicable Budgetary Discipline Re: H.R. 82)

Dec 20, 2024 11:52 p.m. — Vote

Motion Agreed to 66/30

H.R. 8909: To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 82-6110 Mamalahoa Highway in Captain Cook, Hawaii, as the “Army 1st Lt. John Kuulei Kauhaihao Post Office Building”.

Dec 21, 2024 — Bill Text

This bill’s text for status Passed Congress (Dec 21, 2024) is now available.

Rep. Jill Tokuda [D-HI2] is the sponsor of this bill.

Dec 21, 2024 12:04 a.m. — Vote

H.R. 82: Social Security Fairness Act of 2023

Bill Passed 76/20

H.R. 10545: American Relief Act, 2025

Dec 21, 2024 12:23 a.m. — Vote

Bill Passed 85/11

H.R. 5009: Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 passed 281-140.

* * * * *

A Sort of Progress (Dec 13, 2024)

by Amy West, GovTrack.us

While Congress still hasn't passed a continuing resolution to keep the government open past Dec. 20 (aka next Friday), they did pass some bills this week with at least one becoming law.

Old Business: Tax Relief becomes law

H.R. 5863: Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 As noted by Craig Caplan on X, this bill which passed the House in May, passed the Senate by voice vote last week. Yesterday, Dec. 12, President Biden signed it.

CBO Report Updates

H.R. 9716: Increasing Baseline Updates Act passed 407-0. Each year, the Congressional Budget Office provides to Congress what is called a "baseline". As described in this letter in support of the bill by the R Street Institute,

CBO’s annual baseline, a ten-year projection of the budget and economy based largely on current law, is generally published in January or February. It serves as a fundamental benchmark for evaluating the fiscal impact of legislative proposals, with updates released in the spring and late summer to reflect changes in enacted laws and economic conditions.

R Street further writes that

This legislation would enhance the ability of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to produce and update its annual budget baseline by mandating that the executive branch provide critical data to CBO by February 1. H.R. 9716 also requires CBO to produce at least two updates to its baseline each year.

The bill still has to pass the Senate.

Federal Building Security

S. 3613: Improving Federal Building Security Act of 2024 passed 410-6. According to the Congressional Budget Office:

S. 3613 would require the facility security committee of each federal building to respond to security recommendations from the Federal Protective Service (FPS) within 90 days. ... S. 3613 would require the FPS to monitor its recommendations and the responses it receives and annually report that information to the Congress. The bill also would require the FPS to report to the Congress within 180 days of enactment on the surveillance technology it recommends be used at federal facilities. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office would need to report to the Congress within five years of enactment on the effectiveness of the bill. The bill’s requirements would sunset five years after enactment.

It goes to the President next for signing.

General Security Legislation Against China

H.R. 9668: SHIELD Against CCP Act passed 409-4. The bill would, according to its sponsor, "establish in the Department of Homeland Security a working group relating to countering terrorist, cybersecurity, border and port security, and transportation security threats posed to the United States by the Chinese Communist Party."

Water Resources Development Act

S. 4367: Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 passed 399-18. This bill covers everything related to rivers and harbors in the United States and typically more. This year's bill includes a section on federal buildings and another on regional commissions. It's too huge to usefully summarize, so we recommend you check out the table of contents at the very least.

Because the House made changes, the Senate will have to vote on it again next week. According to Craig Caplan on X, "Senate reached agreement before adjourning for tonight and the week to vote on the House-passed WRDA bill next week with 60 votes needed vote passage."

National Defense Authorization Act Eliminates Care for Trans Minors

You may notice that the description under the title on this bill page has nothing to do with defense. That's because the text of another bill midway through the legislative process was replaced in full with the text relating to national defense.

This bill took a tremendous amount of negotiation to get to a votable state. At the last minute, as reported by the Washington Post, Speaker Johnson added a provision banning medical care for trans minors.

As reported by the Washington Post, no one knows exactly how many service members' families will be affected, nor is it clear which kinds of care are excluded since the provision bans care that "leads to sterilization" and there's no consensus that any care for trans minors leads to sterilization. Estimates suggest this is a small group of people. Given its small size, eliminating care is not about cost savings.

While many Democrats said they were opposed to the provision banning care for trans minors, many still voted for the bill. Among other things, it includes a 14% pay raise for service members.

The bill goes to the Senate next week. According to Craig Caplan on X, there will be a vote to end debate (and therefore move to a vote on the bill itself) on Monday. Further, Majority Leader Schumer set up a structure that prevents amendments to the bill. For anyone with strong feelings on this topic, now is your last chance to contact your Senators before the vote. The bill will most likely pass as enough Democrats may decide that eliminating care for trans minors doesn't outweigh the bill's many other provisions.

Adding Judges

S. 4199: JUDGES Act of 2024 passed 236-173. This bill, as reported by NBC News

was specifically designed to be nonpartisan and would be the first major expansion of judgeships since 1990.

While it would allow President-elect Trump to add 25 new judges, the remaining 41 judges would added by subsequent presidents. Democrats, including President Biden, became opposed to the bill after this past election. President Biden currently says he'll veto it. Whether its support is strong enough to override the veto in the remaining weeks of this Congress is unclear. However, veto overrides almost always fail, so probably not.

If it is vetoed, it can always be re-introduced in the 119th Congress.

See you all next week when, hopefully, we'll be recapping the passage of a government funding bill.

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Hawaii Congressional Delegation

Dec 5, 2024 — Bill Text

This bill’s text for status Referred to Senate Committee (Dec 5, 2024) is now available.

Rep. Jill Tokuda [D-HI2] is the sponsor of this bill.

Dec 9, 2024 5:22 p.m. — Vote

On the Nomination PN2016: Tiffany Rene Johnson, of Georgia, to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia

Nomination Confirmed 48/44

S. 5469: A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a National Climate Adaptation Science Center and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers to respond to the effects of extreme weather events and climate trends, and for other purpos

Dec 10, 2024 — Introduced

Sponsor: Sen. Mazie Hirono [D-HI]

This bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works which will consider it before sending it to the Senate floor for consideration.

2 cosponsors are on that committee.

Dec 10, 2024 11:30 a.m. — Vote

On the Nomination PN2017: Keli Marie Neary, of Pennsylvania, to be United States District Judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

Nomination Confirmed 49/48