[Congressional biography]
Born: April 12, 1981 in Leloaloa, American Samoa
Military Service:
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Elected Office:
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Date | Subject | Result | Conserv. Position | Gabbard Voted | |
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2018-01-19 | Protecting Children who Survive Abortion [HR4712] | Passed (241-183) |
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This bill, known as the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, requires all health practitioners to immediately admit to a hospital any child who is born alive after an abortion is attempted and failed. Additionally, practitioners will face criminal penalties if they do not provide the same degree of care to children who survive abortion as they would any other child. | |||||
2018-02-15 | Reforming the Americans with Disabilities Act to Reduce Frivolous Litigation [HR620] | Passed (225-192) |
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This bill helps reduce frivolous litigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by providing businesses with an opportunity to fix a violation before a lawsuit may be brought against them for ADA noncompliance. Furthermore, the bill directs the Judicial Conference of the United States to develop an alternative mediation mechanism that promotes quicker resolutions of ADA disputes without costly litigation. ACU supports this measure to promote faster compliance to better meet the needs of people with disabilities while also reducing costly litigation, which enriches lawyers at the expense of both businesses and consumers. | |||||
2018-03-08 | Ending the War on Coal through Regulatory Reform [HR1119] | Passed (215-189) |
No Vote | ||
This bill eases emissions regulations on power plants that generate electricity through the burning of coal refuse (a byproduct of coal). Under the bill, a coal refuse plant is only required to meet certain standards relating to hydrogen chloride or sulfur dioxide, as opposed to both. ACU supports all sources of energy and this approach to regulatory reform, which allows the nation's 18 coal refuse plants to remain operational. | |||||
2018-03-21 | Providing Terminally Ill Patients the Right to Try Investigational Drugs [HR5247] | Passed (267-149) |
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This bill provides terminally ill patients the right to try certain investigational drugs that have not yet fully completed all the clinical trials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or been approved by the FDA for sale. ACU believes it is absurd to deny terminally ill patients the right to try potentially lifesaving drugs. | |||||
2018-04-26 | Eliminating the Prevailing Wage Requirement on Federal Aviation Projects [HR4] | Rejected (172-243) |
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King (R-IA) amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act eliminates the prevailing wage rate on FAA-contracted projects, as established under the Davis-Bacon Act. ACU supports the full repeal of the Davis-Bacon Act, a Depression-era price control that drives up taxpayer costs by mandating that employees of government contractors be paid artificially high wages. | |||||
2018-04-27 | Eliminating Rural Air Service Subsidies [HR4] | Rejected (113-293) |
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McClintock (R-CA) amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act, which eliminates the Essential Air Service Program. This program subsidizes airline flights from small airports to regional hubs. These flights are largely empty and cover distances quickly managed by car. ACU opposes the continued wasteful spending on a "temporary" program that was originally established 40 years ago to help the airline industry adjust to deregulation. | |||||
2018-05-08 | Repealing an Obama-Era Rule that Harms Indirect Auto Lending [SJRES57] | Agreed To (234-175) |
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This resolution invokes the Congressional Review Act to overturn an overreaching Obama administration rule that limited the ability of auto dealers to offer discounted-rate auto loans to customers. Specifically, the rule related to indirect auto lending and compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. ACU supports overturning this Obama-era regulation that has stifled the free market and increased the cost of auto loans. | |||||
2018-05-17 | Reforming the U.S. Sugar Program to Expand Competition and Reduce Consumer Costs [HR2] | Rejected (137-278) |
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Foxx (R-NC) amendment to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (i.e., farm bill) makes modest reforms to the U.S. Sugar Program, a Depression-era policy which is designed to enrich sugar producers through subsidies and reduced foreign competition, and results in artificially high sugar prices. Specifically, the bill favors the free market by eliminating the feedstock flexibility program for bioenergy producers and reforming the administration of tariff-rate quotas and program loan rates. ACU supports free trade and free markets and opposes the U.S. Sugar Program, which harms taxpayers and consumers and places U.S. sugar processing companies at a competitive disadvantage in the global market, and supported this amendment as a step in the right direction. (The final farm bill failed to include any conservative reforms and was signed into law December 20, 2018). | |||||
2018-05-17 | Reducing Fraud and Strengthening Work Requirements to Receive Government Assistance [HR2] | Rejected (83-330) |
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McClintock (R-CA) amendment to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (i.e., farm bill) encourages self-sufficiency by requiring participation in work and job training programs for roughly 70 percent of work-ready adults in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This amendment changes the bill's previous requirement that only 20 percent of work-ready SNAP recipients to participate. In addition to various other reforms, the amendment requires SNAP recipients who also receive job training to be verified as lawful residents of the country via the E-Verify system to ensure taxpayer resources are prioritized to U.S. citizens. ACU supports work and job training requirements that encourage welfare recipients to become self-sufficient and reduce intergenerational poverty. (The final farm bill failed to include any conservative reforms and was signed into law December 20, 2018.) | |||||
2018-05-18 | Easing Restrictions on the Sale of Unpasteurized Milk [HR2] | Rejected (79-331) |
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Massie (R-KY) amendment to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (i.e., farm bill) prohibits federal interference with the interstate traffic of unpasteurized milk between states that allow its sale. ACU supports "food freedom" and expanding individual liberties, including the decision to consume unpasteurized milk. | |||||
2018-05-18 | Strengthening Property Rights by Repealing the "Waters of the United States" Rule [HR2] | Agreed To (238-173) |
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Banks (R-IN) amendment to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (i.e., farm bill) repeals the Obama-era "Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States," which provided unelected bureaucrats within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) carte blanche authority to interpret the definition of a "navigable waterway." As a result, the EPA had expanded its jurisdiction to regulate nearly any water source, including ponds, ditches and even puddles. The ACU Foundation's Center for 21st Century Property Rights is a leading voice on this issue and works to ensure the constitutional rights of all landowners are protected from government overreach. ACU opposes the unconstitutional action taken by the Obama administration and supports strengthening property rights. (The final farm bill failed to include any conservative reforms and was signed into law December 20, 2018). | |||||
2018-05-22 | Reforming Devastating Banking and Lending Regulations under Dodd-Frank [S2155] | Passed (258-159) |
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This bill modifies some of the devastating regulations imposed on the financial sector through an Obama-era bill known as Dodd-Frank, which resulted in 22,000 pages of new regulations. Some of the reforms under this bill include regulatory relief for both small and large banks, reduced red tape on mortgage lending and other revisions to encourage capital formation. ACU believes no business is "too big to fail," supports expanding consumer access to credit and eliminating regulations under Dodd-Frank that have shuttered numerous banks, especially small lenders and credit unions, and supported this bill as a step in the right direction. | |||||
2018-06-07 | Rescinding $15 Billion in Unspent Funds [HR3] | Passed (210-206) |
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This bill, known as the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act (i.e., the "Rescissions Package") rescinds roughly $15 billion in unspent funds that are sitting idle in various administration accounts. The rescinded funds include $4.1 billion for the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program, a subsidy to automobile manufacturers for the production of fuel-efficient vehicles. ACU supports this rare and modest attempt to reduce our out-of-control spending (Congress has not rescinded any spending in nearly two decades). | |||||
2018-06-07 | Reducing Non-Defense Discretionary Spending by 1 Percent [HR5895] | Rejected (155-262) |
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Blackburn (R-TN) amendment to the energy and water appropriations bill, calls for a 1 percent across-the-board cut in non-defense discretionary spending within the bill. ACU supports this modest spending cut, especially at a time the country's budget deficit is approaching $1 trillion per year and the national debt is topping $22 trillion. | |||||
2018-06-08 | Prohibiting Funding for the Justification of a Carbon Tax [HR5895] | Agreed To (212-201) |
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Gohmert (R-TX) amendment to the energy and water appropriations bill prevents any funds from being used to prepare, propose or promulgate any regulation or guidance related to the "social cost of carbon," or the unforeseen risks predicted by proponents of climate change, including rising health care costs, destruction of property and reduced tourism. ACU opposes the misuse of taxpayer funds to advance a politicized "global warming" agenda. | |||||
2018-06-08 | Requiring a Semi-Annual Financial Audit of the GAO and the Mueller Investigation [HR5895] | Agreed To (207-201) |
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Meadows (R-NC) amendment to the energy and water appropriations bill requires a semi-annual financial audit of the expenditures of the Government Accountability Office of Independent Counsels, including the expenditures of the Robert Mueller investigation. The department previously underwent financial audits but the provision of law requiring audits was repealed in 2010. ACU supports close oversight of the expenditure of all taxpayer funds and efforts to increase government accountability. | |||||
2018-06-21 | Enacting Comprehensive Immigration Reform [HR4760] | Defeated (193-231) |
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This bill includes many of the reforms to the nation's immigration system offered by President Trump. The bill provides increased funding for border security, including a wall or barrier on the U.S. border with Mexico, and restricts state and local governments from enacting "sanctuary" policies that prevent the enforcement of federal immigration law. Additionally, the bill implements programs and deterrents to reduce illegal immigration, including E-verify and DNA testing to establish family relationships. Finally, the bill expands employment-based immigration while eliminating the diversity visa lottery program and limiting chain migration. ACU supports the overhaul of our broken immigration system and the further expansion of employment-based immigration and supported this bill as a step in the right direction. | |||||
2018-07-18 | Prioritizing Government Land Maintenance instead of Land Acquisition [HR6147] | Rejected (172-237) |
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Biggs (R-AZ) amendment to a multi-agency appropriations bill transfers funds from the Bureau of Land Management land acquisition account to the National Park Service maintenance backlog account. The federal government owns roughly 28 percent of all the land in the United States and the National Park Service's deferred maintenance backlog currently tops $12 billion. ACU believes it is absurd for the federal government to continue to acquire land when it can't manage the enormous land holdings already under its control. | |||||
2018-07-18 | Reducing Unnecessary Spending -- National Endowment for the Arts [HR6147] | Rejected (114-297) |
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Grothman (R-WI) amendment to a multi-agency appropriations bill reduces the appropriation for the National Endowment for the Arts by 15 percent. ACU supports reducing non-essential government spending, especially at a time when the nation is $22 trillion in debt and the private sector already contributes billions of dollars to the arts. | |||||
2018-07-18 | Ensuring Proper Application of the Endangered Species Act [HR6147] | Agreed To (213-201) |
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Lamborn (R-CO) amendment to a multi-agency appropriations bill helps ensure the proper application of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by prohibiting the use of funds to enforce the provisions under the ESA for any species of plant or wildlife that has not undergone a five-year review of its protected status, as is required under the act. The amendment is intended to ensure that enforcement and taxpayer resources support only the protection of species truly endangered. ACU opposes using the ESA as a means for seizing private land rights and supports close oversight and a significant reduction in the scope of the ESA, which has reduced development and infringed on the property rights of millions of Americans. | |||||
2018-07-18 | Eliminating Unnecessary Spending -- "Environmental Justice" Grants [HR6147] | Rejected (174-240) |
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Hice (R-GA) amendment to a multi-agency appropriations bill eliminates funding for the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program of the Environmental Protection Agency. Funds for this program have often funded causes for political activism and purposes unrelated to the grant, including educational programs for "urban gardening" and the "negative consequences of automobile dependency." ACU believes the American people are smart enough to figure out how to plant seeds without federal money and opposes the use of taxpayer funds for political advocacy and supports meaningful cuts in government spending, especially at a time when the nation is $22 trillion in debt. | |||||
2018-07-18 | Protecting Residents from DC's Replacement of the Obamacare Individual Mandate [HR6147] | Agreed To (226-189) |
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Palmer (R-AL) amendment to a multi-agency appropriations bill prohibits any money appropriated to the District of Columbia from funding the District's health care individual mandate law. The amendment is in response to actions taken by the District to establish its own individual mandate after the Obamacare financial penalty for lacking insurance was zeroed out under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. ACU has long opposed Obamacare and its costly provisions, such as the individual mandate. | |||||
2018-07-18 | Prohibiting the Post Office from Competing with the Private Financial Sector through Expansion of Services [HR6147] | Rejected (201-212) |
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McHenry (R-NC) amendment to a multi-agency appropriations bill prohibits the United States Postal Service from using any funds to expand its offerings of financial services and banking products. ACU supports meaningful reforms to the postal service to place it on a sound financial footing and opposes expanding its duties and competing with the private sector, especially considering fulfillment of its constitutional purpose is often "returned to sender". | |||||
2018-12-20 | Reforming the Criminal Justice System -- "First Step Act" [S756] | Agreed To (358-36) |
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This bill, known as the First Step Act, makes numerous reforms to the criminal justice system to reduce costs, responsibly lower incarceration rates and improve public safety. The bill focuses on reforming sentencing, inmate rehabilitation and prison safety. | |||||
2018-12-21 | Extending the National Flood Insurance Program [S3628] | Agreed To (315-48) |
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This bill extends the National Flood Insurance Program through May 31, 2019. The program is over $20 billion in debt, and the extension lacks any reforms, including reforms to ensure flood maps are updated and that insurance premiums reflect actual risk. ACU believes flood insurance should be provided by the private sector and opposes this program, which discourages flood prevention measures and forces taxpayers to subsidize the risk of select property owners. |
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). |