May 14, 2012 In this MegaVote for Hawaii's 1st & 2nd Congressional Districts: Recent Congressional Votes Senate: Judicial Confirmation Senate: Cloture Motion: Student Loan Interest Rates House: Suspension Vote: Export-Import Bank Reauthorization House: Suspension Vote: U.S.-Israel Cooperation House: Sequester Replacement House: Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations, FY 2013 Upcoming Congressional Bills Senate: Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 Senate: Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012 House: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 House: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013

Recent Senate Votes

Judicial Confirmation - Vote Confirmed (91-3, 6 Not Voting) The Senate confirmed the nomination of Jacqueline H. Nguyen of California to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Sen. Daniel Inouye voted Not Voting......send e-mail or see bio Sen. Daniel Akaka voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Cloture Motion: Student Loan Interest Rates - Vote Rejected (52-45, 1 Present, 2 Not Voting) This bill would extend the current 3.4 percent interest rate on federally-subsidized Stafford loans to undergraduate students for one year. This extension would be paid for by eliminating a tax preference for certain shareholders of S-Corporations. The Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to invoke cloture, and thereby end debate, on the motion to proceed to the bill. It is possible the Senate will hold another cloture vote on this bill. The House passed a competing version (H.R.4628) on April 27. Sen. Daniel Inouye voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Sen. Daniel Akaka voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

Suspension Vote: Export-Import Bank Reauthorization - Vote Passed (330-93, 8 Not Voting) This bill would extend the charter of the Export-Import Bank of the United States through FY 2014. It would allow the bank's lending limit to rise incrementally to $140 billion (from $100 billion currently). HR 2072 passed under suspension of the rules, meaning the support of at least two thirds of all Members voting (in this case 282) is required for passage. The Senate will take up H.R.2072 on Monday, May 14, with a cloture vote scheduled. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Rep. Mazie Hirono voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Suspension Vote: U.S.-Israel Cooperation - Vote Passed (411-2, 9 Present, 9 Not Voting) This bill states that it shall be U.S. policy to deepen cooperation with Israel in a wide variety of areas, particularly regarding Israel’s "qualitative military edge" over regional rivals; to veto anti-Israel resolutions at the United Nations; and to assist Israel in ongoing negotiations on a two-state solution. The bill also extends U.S.-government-backed loan guarantees to Israel through FY 2015. HR 4133 passed under suspension of the rules, meaning the support of at least two thirds of all Members voting (in this case 276) is required for passage. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Rep. Mazie Hirono voted YES......send e-mail or see bio Sequester Replacement - Vote Passed (218-199, 1 Present, 13 Not Voting) This bill cancels the automatic discretionary spending cuts instituted by last year's debt-ceiling agreement and replaces those cuts with a different set of reductions to a variety of mandatory spending programs, as well as a reduction on the overall spending limit for all FY 2013 appropriations bills. The bill separately eliminates the cap on defense spending instituted by the debt-limit agreement to accommodate a higher level of spending in that area. The Senate is unlikely to take up this bill. The President has issued a veto threat. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa voted NO......send e-mail or see bio Rep. Mazie Hirono voted NO......send e-mail or see bio Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations, FY 2013 - Vote Passed (247-163, 21 Not Voting) This appropriations bill provides $51.1 billion dollars in funding in FY 2013 for the departments of Commerce and Justice and other agencies such as NASA and the National Science Foundation. This funding level would be $1.8 billion less than in FY 2012 and $731 million less than the president requested for the upcoming fiscal year. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the bill on April 19, but floor time has not been scheduled. The President has threatened a veto on the House version. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa voted NO......send e-mail or see bio Rep. Mazie Hirono voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

Upcoming Votes

Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012- H.R.2072 The Senate is scheduled to hold a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to this House-passed bill. Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012- S.2343 The Senate will likely continue consideration of this bill, with another cloture vote possible. Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012- H.R.4970 The House will take up a reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which aims to foster cooperation among law enforcement, public health and other organizations in combating domestic violence and other crimes against women. The Senate passed its version on April 26. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013- H.R.4310 The House aims to pass its version of the annual defense policy bill.