Votes

The House late Wednesday quickly passed two suspension bills by voice vote — one dealing with education, and the other dealing with the reliability of electricity generators around the country.

Members first passed H.R. 1949, the Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act. This bill would require the Department of Education to assess how best to present information about college costs to parents and students trying to decide where to attend.

In a 241-175 vote, the House approved a bill that would take the decision of building Keystone out of Obama's hands.

The Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would criminalize making fraudulent claims about receiving military metals.

Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) introduced the Stolen Valor Act, which passed in the House on a 390-3 vote earlier this week. Heck served in the military prior to running for office.

The Senate rejected a farm bill amendment that would have reformed the U.S. sugar program.

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced an amendment that would have reformed the subsidies and import restrictions on sugar within the United States. The amendment failed on a 45-54 vote Wednesday.

The Senate voted 99-0 on Wednesday on a resolution that calls for strengthening U.S. and international sanctions against Iran.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced the resolution, which would reaffirm the United States’ support for Israel and recognizes the threat a nuclear Iran would pose to the West. 

The House on Wednesday approved a rule governing floor consideration of a bill that would approve the construction of the northern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline, setting up a Thursday vote to pass the bill.

Members approved the rule for H.R. 3, the Northern Route Approval Act, in a 228-185 vote. Nine Democrats supported the rule, a sign that several will support the final bill on Thursday.

The Senate rejected a farm bill amendment that would have turned food stamps into a state block grant program.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced the amendment, which he said would have saved $300 billion over 10 years. The amendment failed on a 36-60 vote on Wednesday.

The Senate rejected two amendments to the farm bill Tuesday that would have changed the $4 billion-worth of cuts to food stamps.

Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) introduced an amendment that would have cut at least an additional $12 billion for the supplemental food assistance program (SNAP), also known as food stamps. His amendment failed on a 40-58 vote.

“My goal is simple to restore integrity to the supplemental food assistance program,” Roberts said ahead of the vote.

In the run-up to the Memorial Day weekend, the House has approved legislation aimed at boosting jobs training programs for veterans, and a separate bill meant to ease airport screenings for injured or disabled veterans.

In a 416-0 vote, members passed H.R. 1412, the Improving Job Opportunities for Veterans Act. This bill would make it easier for companies to bear the costs of hiring veterans as part of a federal job training program.

Members of the House on Tuesday afternoon approved a veterans bill, and a bill aimed at ensuring the federal government cannot block fishing rights in Tennessee and Kentucky.

By unanimous consent, the House approved H.R. 570, the American Heroes COLA Act, which would make permanent annual increases in cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for disabled veterans. These adjustments are now made every year by Congress, but members noted that they often occurred late, and members easily agreed to approve the concept of making these automatic.