| Date | Subject | Result | Conserv. Position | Garcia Voted | |
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| 2020-05-28 | Advancing Warrantless Surveillance of Americans via FISA Reauthorization without Conservative Reforms [HR6172] | Agreed To (284-122) |
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| This procedural motion is designed to
advance the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act without conservative reforms, such as those advocated by President Trump or implemented under the amendment offered by Sen. Lee (R-UT) and Sen. Leahy (D-VT). Specifically, the measure reauthorizes through 2023 three Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) authorities that had expired under the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001. The FISA courts are designed to surveil foreign threats to U.S. national security and operate largely independently from the U.S. justice system with judges picked solely by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. By reauthorizing without reforms, FISA courts would be able to continue to deviate from their foreign assignments and instead circumvent the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution
and infringe the privacy rights of millions of American citizens. ACU recognizes that the nation witnessed demonstrable evidence of the need for reform, given that the Obama FBI was caught red-handed exploiting FISA courts to spy on the 2016 Trump campaign. ACU supports the founders' belief in the Fourth Amendment and supports significant reforms to the Patriot Act and FISA to help protect Americans from unlawful search and seizure. The House passed a motion to disagree with the Senate amendments and send the bill to conference. (Following this vote, the bill was formally withdrawn from consideration.) |
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| 2020-06-25 | Advancing the Left's All-Out Attack on the Police [HR7120] | Passed (236-181) |
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| The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, sponsored by Rep. Bass (D-CA), serves as an all-out attack on law enforcement and would have tremendous negative consequences on local communities and public safety. Unlike the meaningful reforms laid out in the JUSTICE Act sponsored by Sen. Scott (R-SC), this bill contains numerous provisions that would expose officers to such great criminal and legal liabilities that they would be unable to properly carry out their duties as public servants. The bill also contains provisions that would essentially federalize local police departments, while doing nothing to address collective bargaining agreements which protect bad cops by making it nearly impossible to fire them. ACU supports improving government accountability and increasing transparency through measures such as the JUSTICE Act and believes all police misconduct should be investigated and penalized according to the law. However ACU opposes the promotion of lawlessness through the leftist notion of "defunding the police" and opposes this measure which harms public safety. | |||||
| 2020-06-26 | Repealing Safeguards on Taxpayer Student Loan Forgiveness Implemented by the Trump Administration [HJRES76] | Veto Sustained (238-173) |
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| This resolution, sponsored by Rep. Lee (D-CA), would invoke the Congressional Review Act (CRA) in an attempt to repeal the strong policies of the Trump administration relating to student loans. The CRA properly allows Congress to repeal rules and regulations of the executive branch. However, this resolution would improperly allow thousands of ineligible individuals to abuse a government program which socializes the cost of select individuals' student debt. The Trump administration's reform is expected to reduce abuse of the program by clarifying definitions such as "financial harm" and "misrepresentation." The Trump administration's reform is expected to save taxpayers over $11 billion over the next 10 years. ACU supports the Trump administration's effort to combat abuse of government programs and opposes the left's quest to socialize all student loan debt. | |||||
| 2020-06-26 | Expanding Democratic Political Power through DC Statehood [HR51] | Passed (232-180) |
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| The Washington DC Admission Act, sponsored by Rep. Norton (D-DC), is designed to expand the power of the Democrat Party by making the District of Columbia the 51st state. Under the bill, the heavily Democratic-leaning district would be apportioned two senators in the U.S. Senate and one representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. The federal district would be reduced to a small strip of land that would include the U.S. Capitol Building, the White House and the National Mall. ACU recognizes this is purely a political measure to shift the balance of power in Congress by granting a heavily liberal region three new members. ACU further recognizes that if politicians truly cared about representation, they would ask Maryland to follow Virginia's lead in absorbing its portion of the district that was previously included in the state's borders. | |||||
| 2020-06-29 | Repealing Conservative Reforms in the Banking Industry Implemented by the Trump Administration [HJRES90] | Agreed To (230-179) |
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| This resolution, sponsored by Rep. Waters (D-CA), would invoke the Congressional Review Act to repeal conservative reforms to the Community Reinvestment Act implemented by the Trump administration. The Congressional Review Act properly allows Congress to repeal rules and regulations of the executive branch. However, the Community Reinvestment Act is a tool for extortion against bankers by preventing banks from expanding or merging unless they pay off various radical-left activists through certain banking decisions mandated by government. The reforms made by the Trump administration provided greater regulatory clarity and certainty, and ultimately helped make it easier for banks to comply with the Community Reinvestment Act. ACU supported the Trump administration's efforts to reduce regulatory barriers, thus lowering lending costs and expanding investment. | |||||
| 2020-07-01 | Reducing Taxpayer Costs by Eliminating Prevailing Wage Mandates on Federal Highway and Public Transportation Projects [HR2] | Rejected (147-274) |
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| Foxx (R-NC) amendment to the Moving Forward Act, sponsored by Rep. DeFazio (D-OR), would reduce taxpayer costs by eliminating federal prevailing wage mandates on federal-aid highway and public transportation projects. The prevailing wage originated under the Davis-Bacon Act, a Depression-era policy which forces companies contracting with the government to pay their employees above-market wages. ACU recognizes that research by Suffolk University found that Davis-Bacon requirements cost taxpayers an additional $8.6 billion annually and add 9.9% to construction costs. | |||||
| 2020-07-21 | Undermining the Trump Administration's Afghanistan Withdrawal Strategy [HR6395] | Rejected (129-284) |
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| Omar (D-MN) amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 which would undermine the Trump administration's strategy to completely withdraw American troops from Afghanistan. In February of 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo negotiated a historic agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban to withdraw all American troops from Afghanistan by May of 2021. The withdrawal was conditioned on the Taliban breaking all ties with international terrorist organizations, including al-Qaeda, among other commitments. This amendment would hamstring the Trump administration's efforts to achieve that historic
peace agreement by mandating the complete withdrawal of troops by April 29, 2021 -- regardless of the Taliban's compliance with the agreement -- unless continued presence is authorized by a separate vote of Congress. At the time of this vote, the U.S. troop level in Afghanistan had been reduced to roughly 8,500, down from the 13,000 at the signing of the agreement, and far below the peak levels of 100,000 in 2011. ACU recognizes President Trump has a stellar -- if not unmatched -- track record in avoiding conflict and bringing peace across the global stage. ACU opposes this amendment's reckless stunt which jeopardizes national security, stability in the Middle East and conclusion of the conflict by greenlighting the Taliban to renege on its promises. |
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| 2020-07-22 | Fueling Government Land-Grabbing through Mandatory Spending for the Land and Water Conservation Fund [HR1957] | Agreed To (310-107) |
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| This bill, known as the Great American Outdoors Act, further expands the federal government's enormous land holdings. Most concerningly, the bill makes the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) a mandatory spending program (as opposed to discretionary) thus guaranteeing $900 million a year in spending even during economic downturns. The LWCF is used to expand federal land holdings, which produces perverse results that harm private property rights through voracious landgrabs and restrictions on the extraction of mineral rights. ACU believes spending should always be discretionary and not mandatory because the people should always have a say in how their money will be spent; scarce taxpayer resources should be reserved for essential government functions and not for further expanding federal land control -- especially considering the federal government already controls an astonishing and unsustainable 28% of the country's total land. | |||||
| 2020-07-23 | Reining in Out-of-Control Foreign Aid Spending through a 5% Reduction [HR7608] | Rejected (88-329) |
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| Allen (R-GA) amendment to the first minibus appropriations bill covering the Departments of State, Agriculture, Interior and Veterans Affairs, which would provide relief from a deluge of wasteful spending under the bill through a decrease in spending on foreign aid. Within the underlying bill, foreign aid spending is set at $65.87 billion, which represents an increase of nearly 15% ($8.5 billion) over the previous fiscal year. The Allen amendment would minimize the increase by cutting the foreign aid within the bill by 5% ($3.3 billion), which would still result in a roughly 10% increase in spending compared to last year. The bill overspends on foreign aid by nearly $22 billion compared to the budget requested by the Trump administration ($44.1 billion). ACU believes it is appalling that Congress continues to resort to reckless deficit spending and believes it is imperative that much larger spending cuts are implemented to combat the nation's $27 trillion national debt, but supported this amendment as a step in the right direction. | |||||
| 2020-07-30 | Blocking the Department of Justice from Working to Overturn Obamacare [HR7617] | Agreed To (234-181) |
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| Underwood (D-IL) amendment to the second minibus appropriations bill covering the Departments of Defense, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Labor, Health and Human Services, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, which would block President Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) from continuing its ongoing fight to overturn Obamacare. The amendment is in response to pending litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court, in which the DOJ, along with eighteen state Attorneys General, argue Obamacare is unconstitutional because Congress reduced the law's individual mandate penalty to zero in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. The left is also using this measure as part of their unmerited political attack on Judge Amy Coney Barret, whom President Trump nominated to the Supreme Court and is expected to hear the case. ACU has long opposed Obamacare and its heavy-handed mandates which have led to skyrocketing health care costs, and supports providing consumers with more affordable health care by permitting them to select the health plans that best suit their needs. | |||||
| 2020-09-17 | Expanding Lawsuit Abuse by Imposing Excessive Labor Mandates on Private Businesses [HR2694] | Passed (329-73) |
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| The so-called Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, sponsored by Rep. Nadler (D-NY), would subject businesses to lawsuit abuse by imposing a series of excessive workplace mandates on employers. Under the bill, employers with 15 or more employees would be forced to alter operations in order to afford pregnant women a series of expanded benefits including modified work schedules, job restructuring, the acquisition or modification of equipment, and various other requested accommodations. Additionally, employers would be prohibited from placing pregnant employees on leave if there is another "reasonable accommodation" available. ACU recognizes the challenges of choosing life and raising a child, but believes this measure will merely empower plaintiffs' attorneys to pursue frivolous litigation against employers. | |||||
| 2020-09-24 | Advancing Countless Costly "Green" Energy Development and Energy Efficiency Initiatives [HR4447] | Passed (220-185) |
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| The Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, sponsored by Rep. O'Halleran (D-AZ), packages together countless leftist initiatives relating to "green" energy development and energy efficiency. The bill would authorize the appropriation of over $125 billion over the next five years to fund the expansion of wind, solar, hydro, nuclear and geothermal power, as well as numerous energy efficiency programs and electric vehicle deployment and infrastructure. The bill also creates numerous "environmental justice" programs and directs taxpayer funds and benefits to unions, "disadvantaged" individuals and other government-favored entities and portions of the population. ACU supports all sources of energy and does not believe government should favor one source of energy over another. ACU opposes this Trojan-horse Green New Deal which would choke economic growth, drive up consumer costs and proliferate cronyism. Members who voted against the bill but expressed opposition on the grounds the provisions were not leftist enough were recorded as opposing the ACU position. | |||||
| 2020-12-03 | Reducing Competition through Excessive Restrictions on "Big Cat" Ownership [HR1380] | Agreed To (272-114) |
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| The Big Cat Public Safety Act, sponsored by Rep. Quigley (D-IL), would place excessive new restrictions on the ownership of big cats (i.e., lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars) in order to restrict the ability of small, community and family-owned zoos to compete with the big zoo industry. The bill would establish a new licensing regime that significantly restricts who may own big cats, and would prohibit exhibitors from providing public access to them, including a ban on "cub petting." ACU recognizes this bill as a prime example of profit-motivated business competitors petitioning government to quash competition. The bill was lobbied by Carole Baskin, whose tax-exempt Big Cat Rescue "sanctuary" would be exempt from restrictions in the bill while her competitors would be stifled. ACU recognizes that big cat ownership is regulated at the state level and opposes this crony measure designed to restrict competition and enrich special interests. | |||||
| 2020-12-10 | Attempting to Restore Election Integrity | |
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| In the 2020 presidential election, Americans witnessed the intentional undermining of our election integrity systems. Using the Chinese coronavirus (COVID-19) as cover, scores of states implemented universal "mail-in ballot" schemes and other policies that weakened ballot integrity and produced widespread irregularities. In response, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against
four states (Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin) due to the actions of their government officials. The Attorneys General of 17 additional states filed a joint brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, et al., and 126 members of the House of Representatives filed an amicus brief in support of the suit. ACUF's Center to Protect Elections is a leader in rebuilding the safeguards of our election systems and ensuring that every legal vote counts. If our election system does not respect that
principle, then American democracy will cease to exist. ACU applauds the 126 lawmakers who stood up to defend the integrity of our election system that is inherent to our democracy and recorded them as supporting the ACU position. The 309 members who remained silent or actively obstructed the resolution were recorded as opposing the ACU position. The Texas amicus brief was submitted on December 10, 2020. The Supreme Court dismissed the case "on standing" without examining the evidence through litigation on December 11, 2020. |
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| 2020-12-21 | Advancing Cronyism and Out-of-Control Spending through a $2.3 Trillion Spending Package [HR133] | Agreed To (359-53) |
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| This spending package epitomizes the worst of the D.C. establishment's spending habits. This bill was sold as a COVID-19 response package but actually includes $1.4 trillion in budgetary spending unrelated to the pandemic. The remaining $900 billion was supposedly directed to government responses to the Chinese coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Negotiated in secret, without the opportunity for elected officials to offer amendments, this 5,593-page omnibus is the longest bill ever passed by Congress and comes just months after the passage of the CARES Act, another $2.2 trillion spending package. The bill contains carve-outs for every imaginable special interest group in the "swamp", from tax breaks for racehorse owners to $10 million in funding for "gender programs" in Pakistan. While the bill provides $600 direct payments to children and adults earning up to $75,000 a year, the bill represents a cost of $6,925 (plus interest) per every American. ACU believes it is appalling that Congress continues to pass reckless deficit spending while providing lawmakers and the public mere hours to even read the proposals. The spending package was passed via two roll call votes in the House, with the first vote pertaining in part to defense and national security, and the second vote (which is scored here) covering the remaining spending. | |||||
| 2020-12-28 | Expanding Wealth Redistribution by Hiking Stimulus Check Payouts from $600 to $2,000 [HR9051] | Agreed To (275-134) |
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| The Caring for Americans with Supplemental Help Act, sponsored by Rep. Neal (D-MA), would expand wealth redistribution by increasing stimulus check payouts (the $2.3 trillion spending package) from $600 to $2,000. As a result, every individual and each of their dependents earning up to $75,000 ($150,000 per couple) would be provided $2,000. Even individuals earning up to $87,000 ($174,000 per couple) would receive cash welfare, albeit in smaller checks. ACU supports the right of Americans to manage their own risks related to illnesses and believes many of government's reactions to COVID-19 have done more harm than good. ACU opposes utilizing the pandemic as an excuse to grow government and redistribute wealth via "stimulus" which will only further grow the nation's $27 trillion national debt. | |||||
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Represents a "Yes" vote.
Represents a "No" vote.
Indicates that this member voted against the conservative position on a particular vote.
"No vote" means that this member did not cast a vote (or voted 'Present' instead of Yes or No). |