Votes

The Senate voted 97-0 to confirm the judicial nomination of Nelson Roman.

Roman was confirmed Thursday to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York.

The legislation allows government to borrow money to fulfill bondholders and Social Security payments. 

The Senate passed a bill to expedite the process of releasing generic drugs for animals.

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced the Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Reauthorization Act in March.

The Senate agreed to five more amendments to the water infrastructure bill by unanimous consent on Wednesday evening.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) introduced one of the amendments, which would give communities with populations smaller than 25,000 people additional help in developing rural water infrastructure projects.

The House on Wednesday took a step toward passing a bill that would let the government borrow money above and beyond the debt ceiling to pay interest on the debt and for the Social Security Trust Fund.

Members approved a rule for the Full Faith and Credit Act, H.R. 807, in a party-line 226-199 vote. The rule calls for an hour of debate and consideration of one amendment — the House is expected to approve it later in the week.

The Senate approved a bipartisan amendment to the water infrastructure bill that would combat the spread of Asian carp into U.S. waters.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) introduced the amendment along with Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.). The amendment was approved on a 95-0 vote on Wednesday.

The workplace bill gives private workers the option of using overtime for paid time off instead of taking extra pay.

The first GOP amendment voted on for the Senate’s water infrastructure bill was about gun rights.

The Senate is considering the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA), which would authorize projects related to flood and storm risk reduction, coast and inland navigation, and ecosystem restoration.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced an amendment to the bill dealing with gun use on Army Corp of Engineer’s land.

Coburn’s amendment failed on a 56-43 vote Wednesday — 60 votes were needed for passage. It would have allowed individuals to carry guns at water resources development projects administered by the Secretary of the Army.

The Senate approved a bill, which allows the Mint to move forward with creating a commemorative baseball coin.

On Tuesday, the Senate approved the bill by unanimous consent. Last month, the House approved the same measure by voice-vote, meaning the bill now heads to President Obama’s desk for his signature.

The House on Tuesday afternoon took a step toward passing a bill that would let private sector workers use overtime for time off instead of taking overtime pay.

Members approved a rule governing debate on the bill in a party-line 228-199 vote, which sets up more debate and passage of the bill on Wednesday.