| Date | Subject | Result | Conserv. Position | Ratcliffe Voted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-01-10 | Blocking Excessive Regulations within the Chemical Industry [HR535] | Rejected (161-243) |
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| Burgess (R-TX) amendment to the PFAS Action Act which would protect consumers from draconian product bans related to certain chemical compounds that have been approved for thousands of market applications by the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for nearly 40 years. Specifically, the amendment would eliminate the bill's draconian regulations on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) which are used in countless products, including cookware, food packaging and firefighting. The amendment would eliminate the bill's mandate that the federal Environmental Protection Agency designate two PFAS compounds (PFOA and PFOS) as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (commonly referred to as the Superfund). Additionally, the amendment would block the potential "hazardous" designation of approximately 7,800 additional PFAS compounds. The amendment would better align legislative directives with the findings of the FDA which held at the time of this vote that the science surrounding potential health effects is "developing" and that numerous federal agencies had yet to make conclusive findings. ACU recognizes that government has a role in protecting the public against the harm of dangerous chemicals. However, ACU believes government action should be based on sound scientific data that demonstrate a legitimate risk to public health and safety and therefore opposes this bill's hasty and heavy-handed regulations that ultimately enrich plaintiffs' attorneys and harm consumers. |
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| 2020-01-15 | Appointing Impeachment Managers for the Trial of President Donald J. Trump [HRES798] | Agreed To (228-193) |
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| In a purely partisan effort, Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) and Democratic Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY) launched a coup attempt against the President of the United States via this resolution that appoints seven members of the House of Representatives to serve as managers. These seven members, who all have abysmal ACUF Lifetime Ratings, are: Reps. Schiff (D-CA), Nadler (D-NY), Lofgren (D-CA), Jeffries (D-NY), Demings (D-FL), Crow (D-CO), and Garcia (D-TX). ACU recognizes the Constitution permits impeachment only in cases of "treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors" and that the framers explicitly rejected the parliamentary system wherein a legislative body may remove an executive merely because legislators dislike the President. ACU opposes this motion to advance a coup against a President who has courageously fought for and advanced countless conservative principles and policies. | |||||
| 2020-02-05 | Increasing Unfunded Liabilities by Removing a Fiscal Safeguard at the U.S. Postal Service [HR2382] | Agreed To (309-106) |
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| The USPS Fairness Act, sponsored by Rep. DeFazio (D-OR), would impose enormous additional unfunded liabilities on taxpayers by removing a critical fiscal safeguard at the United States Postal Service (USPS). Specifically, the bill would repeal a provision of the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act which requires USPS to prepay the future retirement benefits of its employees. As a result, taxpayers would be exposed to even greater unfunded liabilities. Encouraging the USPS to further deviate from wise fiscal management is especially reckless considering the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund has an abysmal funding ratio of merely 41%. ACU has long-opposed Congress' nasty habit of "kicking the can down the road" and supports reining in and reforming the USPS rather than recklessly driving up taxpayer burdens. | |||||
| 2020-02-06 | Protecting the Right-to-Work without Mandatory Union Dues Collections [HR2474] | Rejected (186-235) |
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| Meadows (R-NC) amendment to the Protecting the Right to Organize Act which would protect employees' right to work without being forced to pay dues to a labor union or employee organization. Specifically, the amendment would strike a union "fair share agreement" provision in the bill, thereby preserving the Right-to-Work laws of 27 states that the bill aims to nullify. ACU has long supported the right to work without joining a union or paying dues, as well as expanding employee freedom and economic growth. | |||||
| 2020-02-07 | Channeling Billions of Additional Funds to Puerto Rico under the Guise of "Disaster Relief" [HR5687] | Passed (237-161) |
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| The Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief and Puerto Rico Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2020, sponsored by Rep. Lowey (D-NY), would grow the U.S. budget deficit (already over $1 trillion annually) by an additional $20 billion over the next decade to primarily expand welfare programs and enrich government-favored developers in Puerto Rico. The bill would appropriate $4.67 billion in disaster aid for Puerto Rico, despite the fact Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) disaster relief fund had a balance of $34.84 billion at the time of this vote. Additionally, the bill would expand numerous individual and corporate welfare programs without any evidence of their effectiveness. ACU believes it insulting to taxpayers to provide even more disaster funding to a territory embattled in corruption, and finds this spending reckless considering that just last year FEMA fired several employees who were convicted of $1.8 billion in fraud involving government contractors. | |||||
| 2020-02-13 | Violating the Constitutional Amendment Process in Order to Advance the Long-Expired Equal Rights Amendment [HJRES79] | Agreed To (232-183) |
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| This resolution, sponsored by Rep. Speier (D-CA), seeks to ratify the left's Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution by eliminating the 1979 ratification deadline. The ERA has nothing to do with treating individuals equally, but instead is a tool that was introduced by the left in 1972 to provide judges carte blanche authority to abuse the legal system, including attacking the private sector and providing "rights" to abortions. Proponents of the ERA failed to meet the congressionally established deadline (1979) for ratification by 37 states. In response, this unconstitutional resolution seeks to provide a retroactive 41-year extension. | |||||
| 2020-02-28 | Infringing Individual Liberties by Imposing Draconian Restrictions on the Nicotine Industry [HR2339] | Passed (213-195) |
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| The Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020, sponsored by Rep. Pallone (D-NJ), would infringe individual liberties by imposing a series of draconian restrictions on tobacco and nicotine products. Most concerningly, the bill would ban all flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, and would apply the flavor ban to all electronic nicotine delivery systems, including "vaping" devices. Additionally, the bill would end the sale of nearly all online tobacco products and force the federal Food and Drug Administration to implement "track and trace" technology on all tobacco products. Furthermore, the bill would impose new fees and taxes on nicotine products and their manufacturers, enact additional labeling and marketing mandates and increase civil penalties for violations. ACU believes the usage of tobacco and e-cigarettes is a personal liberty issue, and believes government regulations on products are only appropriate when their usage substantially impacts others. | |||||
| 2020-03-14 | Imposing Costly New Mandates on Businesses Battling COVID-19 and Advancing Billions in New Spending with No Offsets [HR6201] | Agreed To (363-40) |
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No Vote | |
| The so-called Families First Coronavirus Response Act imposes serious threats to small businesses amid the disastrous economic shutdowns imposed in reaction to the Chinese coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Specifically, the bill increases spending by $300 billion despite massive revenue shortfalls and imposes costly paid leave mandates. Under the bill,
other public and private paid-leave policies are duplicated by forcing businesses with fewer than 500 workers to provide employees with 10 weeks' pay at two-thirds of normal pay if they are attending to a family member due to the outbreak. An additional two weeks' leave must be provided for "self-quarantining," attending to an individual who is isolated, or attending to a child whose school or childcare provider has been closed. While employers are eventually reimbursed these costs, the bill's
refundable payroll tax credit approach does not provide timely relief to cash-strapped businesses. Furthermore, the bill includes no offsets to account for the massive new spending, which includes increases for unemployment, Medicaid and other government welfare programs. ACU recognizes that while certain improvements were made to the bill prior to passage, such as softening the impact on businesses with fewer than 50 workers, lawmakers failed to pass provisions similar to the Sen. Johnson (R-WI) amendment which would have included critical reforms and removed the paid leave mandates. ACU encourages private employers to be sensitive to their employees' needs, but we oppose government imposing new burdens on employers that may destroy some businesses and end employment for those most in need. |
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| 2020-05-15 | Fueling Pelosi's Quest for Power by Authorizing Proxy Voting [HRES965] | Agreed To (217-189) |
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No Vote | |
| This resolution, sponsored by Rep. McGovern (D-MA), enables Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) to further her quest for power by permitting proxy voting, or the assignment of one member's vote to another, for the first time in the 231-year history of the U.S. House of Representatives. The resolution also permits remote committee proceedings and authorizes both of these schemes to take place for 45 days during the Chinese coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Of course, once achieving this "temporary" power, Speaker Pelosi extended the scheme through the 2021 session. ACU recognizes proxy voting directly violates the U.S. Constitution's quorum and "yeas and nays" requirements that serve as a safeguard against replacing the votes of lawmakers elected by the People with the votes of lawmakers favored by political leadership. ACU opposes these schemes that are designed to silence the American people's voices during a crisis in order to advance the authoritarian aspirations of Speaker Pelosi. | |||||
| 2020-05-15 | Advancing an Endless List of Leftist Initiatives through the $3.4 Trillion HEROES Act [HR6800] | Passed (208-199) |
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No Vote | |
| The so-called Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, sponsored by Rep. Lowey (D-NY), represents the largest spending bill in our nation's history. The 1,800-page bill, supposedly in response to the Chinese coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, would provide $3.4 billion for countless leftist initiatives and would eliminate numerous safeguards of election integrity ahead of the 2020 presidential election. For example, the bill would provide $915 billion in bailouts to state and local governments, a bailout of the US Postal Service, another round of $1,200 stimulus checks (including to illegal immigrants), tens of millions in "environmental justice" grants and up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness. Additionally, the bill would force all states to conduct mail in voting and would forbid them from enacting any type of identification requirement, such as voter ID. Furthermore, the bill would empower fraudulent ballot harvesting schemes by allowing ballots to be returned by individuals other than the voter. Finally, the bill extends the weekly $600 federal unemployment benefit through January 2021, which disincentivizes work due to
some employees earning more on unemployment than on the job. ACU finds it unfathomable that Congress would consider a $3.4 trillion spending package just two months after enacting a $2.2 trillion package and recognizes that this enormous spending amounts to $16,850 (plus interest) per every American. ACU opposes this irresponsible liberal wish list constructed by Speaker Pelosi (D-CA). |
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| 2020-12-10 | Attempting to Restore Election Integrity | |
No Vote | ||
| 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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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). |