[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 172 (Wednesday, October 25, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H8204-H8209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUNSHINE FOR REGULATIONS AND REGULATORY DECREES AND SETTLEMENTS ACT OF
2017
The Committee resumed its sitting.
Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. McEachin
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Mitchell). It is now in order to consider
amendment No. 4 printed in part A of House Report 115-363.
Mr. McEACHIN. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Page 3, line 17, strike ``; and'' and insert ``, other than
an excepted consent decree or settlement agreement;''.
Page 4, line 4, strike the period and insert ``; and''.
Page 4, insert after line 4 the following:
(6) the term ``excepted consent decree or settlement
agreement'' means a covered consent decree or covered
settlement agreement pertaining to the improvement or
maintenance of air or water quality.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 577, the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. McEachin) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
Mr. McEACHIN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment which seeks to reduce
H.R. 469's adverse effects on public health and environmental quality.
More specifically, my amendment would exempt from the terms of this
bill consent decrees and settlement agreements pertaining to the
maintenance or improvement of air and water quality.
Mr. Chairman, litigation empowers our constituents to hold Federal
agencies accountable when they fail to take required actions by
congressionally mandated deadlines. In many of these cases, agencies'
failures are not in serious dispute. A missed deadline is a missed
deadline. Litigants' goals are simply to ensure that the law is
followed quickly and in full.
In such cases, it is not unusual, and certainly not unreasonable, for
lawsuits to conclude with consent decrees or settlement agreements. As
reported, this bill would introduction duplicative requirements and
unnecessary barriers into the process by which the consent decrees and
settlement agreements are reached. As a result, both tools would be
used less often and less effectively.
Across the board, that change would be a mistake, but would generally
be disastrous with respect to pollution. Air and water quality are
matters of public health. When they fail to meet
[[Page H8205]]
certain levels, people get sick and potentially die. The World Health
Organization says that unhealthy environments kill more than 12 million
people annually. In the United States, multiple studies have shown that
tens of thousands of deaths every year are attributable to air
pollution alone. These figures, of course, do not begin to contemplate
nonlethal effects of health and quality of life.
We all know that justice delayed is justice denied--and that is
especially true when lives are at stake. When regulators fail to take
mandated actions to maintain or improve air or water quality, that is
an injustice. When they sincerely intend to take those actions, but
fail to do so in a timely way, that is also an injustice.
If we make it harder for citizens to hold regulators accountable, if
we take away tools that empower Americans to make their voices heard,
and hold agencies to account, we are compounding those injuries.
Let me be clear: consent decrees and settlement agreements do make a
real difference in people's lives. They do this not by changing the
substance of the agencies' actions as a formal rulemaking would do, but
by ensuring that the planned or required actions are actually taken.
I invite my colleagues to look at the Chesapeake Bay and the
settlement agreement in Fowler v. EPA. Back in 2010, the EPA was under
both congressional and executive mandates to improve water quality in
the bay, but the agency was not on track to implement necessary
standards within the required timeframe.
Citizens and public interest groups filed suit, and the case
concluded in a settlement agreement that established a concrete
deadline for actions that the agency was already working towards--
notably, the imposition of the total maximum daily load, a binding
limit on pollution in the watershed.
The result has been a small but very promising improvement in the
health of the bay. Were it not for the agreement, we might still be
waiting on the EPA to take the actions necessary.
{time} 1730
We would have lost a significant amount of time, and, instead of
improving conditions, conditions might have worsened, and the problem
we faced would have grown correspondingly greater.
So, again, Mr. Chairman, justice delayed is justice denied; and,
again, consent decrees and settlement agreements prevent avoidable,
unnecessary delay.
Contrary to what my friends on the other side of the aisle have said,
consent decrees and settlements do not and cannot take the place of
formal rulemaking. Existing Federal regulations prevent agencies from
using either tool to make commitments in excess of what relevant
statutes provide.
The GAO has explored whether deadline litigation affects the
substance of agencies' actions; overwhelmingly, they concluded it does
not.
So the only function of this bill would be to stymie citizens'--our
constituents'--efforts to ensure that our laws are faithfully executed
to protect our air and our water, and, therefore, our health, in court.
My amendment would fix that problem in at least one area, and I urge
its adoption.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman
bringing it forward. Again, we have never said that consent decrees
can't be used. The issue here is how they are used in transparency.
Justice delayed, as has been said, is not one that is denied, but also
transparency not used is also things that are done in the dark and away
from the public view which also can have issues that we go forward.
Very few of these cases are actually brought by Joe Private Citizen.
They are brought by groups with interest.
Even in the Chesapeake Bay, which has an $18 billion compliance tag,
the rushed timeframe did not allow others' input and buy-in from other
localities.
So, again, nowhere has abuse of sue and settle tactics been seen so
much as in the environmental regulation. In fact, the Judiciary
Committee's report on this bill highlights 10 environmental sue and
settle regulations from the Obama administration that equaled up to
$125 billion of cost.
Even the Environmental Council, as I stated earlier, in 2013, adopted
a resolution calling upon the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to
adopt reforms like the ones in this bill.
This amendment would deny reform to precisely the area of regulation
that needs it most and, thereby, substantially gut the bill. We can
have good environmental regulations without shady, backroom dealing of
sue and settle litigation skewing the results and excessively
heightening the burden.
I appreciate the gentleman bringing the amendment, but I would oppose
it, and I would ask my colleagues to oppose the amendment as well.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McEACHIN. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman's concerns,
but actually having been a trial lawyer and actually having practiced
law in the courts of the Commonwealth of Virginia and elsewhere, there
is no more transparent process than the litigation process.
I would submit that the notion that somehow these actions are brought
by someone other than our constituents, someone other than citizens of
the United States, is not well taken.
So, Mr. Chairman, I would conclude by simply asking that my
colleagues support this amendment, that we move forward in that regard,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McEachin).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the noes
appeared to have it.
Mr. McEACHIN. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia
will be postponed.
The Chair understands that amendment No. 5 will not be offered.
Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Cartwright
The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 6
printed in part A of House Report 115-363.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
Page 3, line 17, strike ``; and'' and insert ``, other than
an excepted consent decree or settlement agreement;''.
Page 4, line 4, strike the period and insert ``; and''.
Page 4, insert after line 4 the following:
(6) the term ``excepted consent decree or settlement
agreement'' means a covered consent decree or covered
settlement agreement entered into pursuant to sections 0.160
through 0.163 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations
(commonly referred to as the ``Meese Policy'').
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 577, the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright) and a Member opposed each will
control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment that
would create an exception in the legislation for consent decrees or
settlement agreements entered into pursuant to the Meese policy.
For those unfamiliar, the Meese policy prohibits the Department of
Justice from undertaking a regulatory action through a settlement. More
specifically, the Meese policy directs departments and agencies not to
enter into a consent decree if it would act as a so-called end run,
around the regular rulemaking process or constrain an agency head from
exercising its discretionary authority in the future.
Any departure from these rules must be approved by the Attorney
General, the Deputy Attorney General, or the Associate Attorney General
beforehand.
Edwin Meese, the former Attorney General for the Reagan
administration, wrote a memo articulating this policy in 1986, out of a
concern for the abuse of settlements by agencies. Now, the Department
of Justice later codified it in 1991, in the Code of Federal
Regulations.
[[Page H8206]]
Simply put, there is a law already on the books that prevents the
Department of Justice or other agencies from abusing consent decrees
and settlement agreements used by Federal agencies, and it is working.
In February of this year, the Government Accountability Office, the
GAO, determined that Department officials negotiating settlement terms
are covered by the Meese policy. The GAO's report noted that any
settlement would only include a commitment to perform an action already
mandated by law.
So if you are scoring along at home, what I am saying is this: there
is a needless overlap between this bill that we are considering, H.R.
469, and the Meese policy in regard to the scope of settlements. There
is also redundancy with existing laws in terms of protecting the
interests of third parties.
If I may be so bold, I would like to say that persons with only a
nodding acquaintance with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure already
know that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24 allows affected parties to
intervene in litigation if they feel their interests are not properly
represented in the case.
Moreover, even if a rule was promulgated by a settlement agreement,
the Administrative Procedure Act would still mandate notice-and-comment
procedures for the rule. Simply put, this is a bill that is a solution
in search of a problem, and my amendment underscores that fact.
If I may be so bold, I would like to say that here in America we have
actual real problems that merit our attention here in this House, such
as why we haven't had an infrastructure bill leading to high-paying
American jobs. We need actual solutions to actual problems, not
theoretical ones like in this bill. That is why I have offered this
amendment.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I do appreciate the gentleman
bringing in the Meese memo. We discussed this earlier that if we
actually went back to the actual intent of the Meese memo which said
the Attorney General would be the part, we could probably agree on
that. But let's get some things straight. There has been nothing
codified. This is a regulation. It has not been codified. Codification
would have to come from actual legislation passed by this body, and it
is not.
The amendment would seek to carve out of the bill consent decrees and
settlements entered into under Department of Justice regulations
ostensibly written to implement this Meese memo.
The Meese memo was a Reagan-era Department policy, issued by Attorney
General Meese, that prohibited the Department from entering into
specified categories of decrees or settlements--particularly those that
allowed the judiciary, through judicial orders, from invading the
constitutionally exclusive authority of the executive branch.
Current regulations, however, require less scrutiny by, and less
accountability for, such consent decrees on the part of the Attorney
General.
What we need is not less Department of Justice accountability for
backroom deals that trespass constitutional lines of authority, but
more accountability. The bill would restore full accountability
consistent with the letter and the spirit of the Meese memo itself.
Further, the amendment would carve out any and all decrees and
settlements entered by the approval of officials as low as the
Assistant Attorneys General--meaning most of the relevant decrees and
settlements entered into by the Department. As a result, the amendment
would gut the bill's consent decree and settlement reforms.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Chairman, to conclude, H.R. 469's proponents
offer no evidence that there actually is a sue and settle problem or
that agencies are not currently complying with the Meese memo. The GAO
has already said they are. My amendment simply makes clear that this
bill is unnecessary, and, as such, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this
amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the noes
appeared to have it.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania
will be postponed.
announcement by the acting chair
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, proceedings
will now resume on those amendments printed in part A of House Report
115-363 on which further proceedings were postponed, in the following
order:
Amendment No. 3 by Mr. Johnson of Georgia.
Amendment No. 4 by Mr. McEachin of Virginia.
Amendment No. 6 by Mr. Cartwright of Pennsylvania.
The Chair will reduce to 2 minutes the minimum time for any
electronic vote after the first vote in this series.
Amendment No. 3 Offered by Mr. Johnson of Georgia
The Acting CHAIR. The unfinished business is the demand for a
recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Georgia
(Mr. Johnson) on which further proceedings were postponed and on which
the noes prevailed by voice vote.
The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
The Clerk redesignated the amendment.
Recorded Vote
The Acting CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 185,
noes 231, not voting 16, as follows:
[Roll No. 585]
AYES--185
Adams
Aguilar
Barragan
Bass
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Capuano
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Crist
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Espaillat
Esty (CT)
Evans
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Gottheimer
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hastings
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Himes
Hoyer
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kihuen
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster (NH)
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowey
Lujan Grisham, M.
Lujan, Ben Ray
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Moulton
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nolan
Norcross
O'Halleran
O'Rourke
Pallone
Panetta
Pascrell
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Pingree
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Rosen
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Soto
Speier
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Tsongas
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Welch
Yarmuth
NOES--231
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Banks (IN)
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Bergman
Biggs
Bilirakis
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Blum
Bost
Brady (TX)
Brat
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burgess
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
[[Page H8207]]
Collins (NY)
Comer
Comstock
Conaway
Cook
Costello (PA)
Cramer
Crawford
Culberson
Curbelo (FL)
Davidson
Davis, Rodney
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donovan
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Dunn
Emmer
Estes (KS)
Farenthold
Faso
Ferguson
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gaetz
Gallagher
Garrett
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Grothman
Guthrie
Handel
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Hice, Jody B.
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Holding
Hollingsworth
Huizenga
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurd
Issa
Jenkins (KS)
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Jones
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Katko
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger
Knight
Kustoff (TN)
Labrador
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Latta
Lewis (MN)
LoBiondo
Long
Loudermilk
Love
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
MacArthur
Marchant
Marino
Marshall
Massie
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McSally
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Newhouse
Noem
Norman
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Pittenger
Poe (TX)
Poliquin
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Rice (SC)
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney, Francis
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Rouzer
Royce (CA)
Russell
Rutherford
Sanford
Scalise
Schrader
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smucker
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Trott
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Walters, Mimi
Weber (TX)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Zeldin
NOT VOTING--16
Bridenstine
Denham
Fortenberry
Hudson
Huffman
Jeffries
Johnson, Sam
Kaptur
Lowenthal
Lynch
Richmond
Rooney, Thomas J.
Smith (NE)
Thompson (CA)
Webster (FL)
Wilson (FL)
{time} 1805
Messrs. BACON, KELLY of Pennsylvania, and ALLEN changed their vote
from ``aye'' to ``no.''
Ms. SPEIER, Messrs. KIHUEN, and DOGGETT changed their vote from
``no'' to ``aye.''
So the amendment was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. McEachin
The Acting CHAIR. The unfinished business is the demand for a
recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia
(Mr. McEachin) on which further proceedings were postponed and on which
the noes prevailed by voice vote.
The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
The Clerk redesignated the amendment.
Recorded Vote
The Acting CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The Acting CHAIR. This will be a 2-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 187,
noes 226, not voting 19, as follows:
[Roll No. 586]
AYES--187
Adams
Aguilar
Barragan
Bass
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Capuano
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Crist
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Espaillat
Esty (CT)
Evans
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Gottheimer
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hastings
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Himes
Hoyer
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Jones
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kihuen
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster (NH)
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowey
Lujan Grisham, M.
Lujan, Ben Ray
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Moulton
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nolan
Norcross
O'Halleran
O'Rourke
Pallone
Panetta
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Pingree
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Rosen
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (NJ)
Smith (WA)
Soto
Speier
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Tsongas
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Welch
Yarmuth
NOES--226
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Banks (IN)
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Bergman
Biggs
Bilirakis
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Blum
Bost
Brady (TX)
Brat
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burgess
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Comstock
Conaway
Cook
Costello (PA)
Cramer
Crawford
Culberson
Curbelo (FL)
Davidson
Davis, Rodney
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donovan
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Dunn
Emmer
Estes (KS)
Farenthold
Faso
Ferguson
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gaetz
Gallagher
Garrett
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Grothman
Guthrie
Handel
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Hice, Jody B.
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Holding
Hollingsworth
Huizenga
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurd
Issa
Jenkins (KS)
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Katko
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger
Knight
Kustoff (TN)
Labrador
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Latta
Lewis (MN)
Long
Loudermilk
Love
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
MacArthur
Marchant
Marino
Marshall
Massie
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McSally
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Newhouse
Noem
Norman
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Pittenger
Poe (TX)
Poliquin
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Rice (SC)
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney, Francis
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Rouzer
Royce (CA)
Russell
Rutherford
Sanford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (TX)
Smucker
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Trott
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Walters, Mimi
Weber (TX)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Zeldin
NOT VOTING--19
Blumenauer
Bridenstine
Castro (TX)
Denham
Fortenberry
Hudson
Huffman
Jeffries
Johnson, Sam
Lowenthal
Lynch
Pascrell
Richmond
Rooney, Thomas J.
Smith (NE)
Thompson (CA)
Webster (FL)
Wilson (FL)
Yoho
Announcement by the Acting Chair
The Acting CHAIR (during the vote). There is 1 minute remaining.
{time} 1809
So the amendment was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Stated against:
Mr. YOHO. Mr. Chair, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present,
I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 586.
Peronal Explanation
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Chair, I was inadvertently delayed on rollcall numbers
585 and 586. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted ``yes'' on
rollcall No. 585 and ``yes'' on rollcall No. 586.
Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Cartwright
The Acting CHAIR. The unfinished business is the demand for a
recorded vote on the amendment offered by the
[[Page H8208]]
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright) on which further
proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice
vote.
The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
The Clerk redesignated the amendment.
Recorded Vote
The Acting CHAIR. A recorded vote has been demanded.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The Acting CHAIR. This will be a 2-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 186,
noes 232, not voting 14, as follows:
[Roll No. 587]
AYES--186
Adams
Aguilar
Barragan
Bass
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Capuano
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Crist
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Espaillat
Esty (CT)
Evans
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Gottheimer
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hastings
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Himes
Hoyer
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kihuen
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Krishnamoorthi
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowey
Lujan Grisham, M.
Lujan, Ben Ray
Lynch
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Moulton
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nolan
Norcross
O'Halleran
O'Rourke
Pallone
Panetta
Pascrell
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Pingree
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Rosen
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Soto
Speier
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Tsongas
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Welch
Yarmuth
NOES--232
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Banks (IN)
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Bergman
Biggs
Bilirakis
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Blum
Bost
Brady (TX)
Brat
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burgess
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Comstock
Conaway
Cook
Costello (PA)
Cramer
Crawford
Culberson
Curbelo (FL)
Davidson
Davis, Rodney
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donovan
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Dunn
Emmer
Estes (KS)
Farenthold
Faso
Ferguson
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gaetz
Gallagher
Garrett
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Grothman
Guthrie
Handel
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Hice, Jody B.
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Holding
Hollingsworth
Hudson
Huizenga
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurd
Issa
Jenkins (KS)
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Jones
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Katko
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger
Knight
Kustoff (TN)
Labrador
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Latta
Lewis (MN)
LoBiondo
Long
Loudermilk
Love
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
MacArthur
Marchant
Marino
Marshall
Massie
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McSally
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Newhouse
Noem
Norman
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Pittenger
Poe (TX)
Poliquin
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Rice (SC)
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney, Francis
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Rouzer
Royce (CA)
Russell
Rutherford
Sanford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smucker
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Trott
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Walters, Mimi
Weber (TX)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Zeldin
NOT VOTING--14
Bridenstine
Fortenberry
Huffman
Jeffries
Johnson, Sam
Kuster (NH)
Lowenthal
Richmond
Rooney, Thomas J.
Ryan (OH)
Smith (NE)
Thompson (CA)
Webster (FL)
Wilson (FL)
{time} 1814
Mr. MARSHALL changed his vote from ``aye'' to ``no.''
Mr. BUTTERFIELD changed his vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
So the amendment was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment in the nature of a
substitute, as amended.
The amendment was agreed to.
The Acting CHAIR. Under the rule, the Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Carter of Georgia) having assumed the chair, Mr. Mitchell, Acting Chair
of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported
that that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 469)
to impose certain limitations on consent decrees and settlement
agreements by agencies that require the agencies to take regulatory
action in accordance with the terms thereof, and for other purposes,
and, pursuant to House Resolution 577, he reported the bill back to the
House with an amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
Is a separate vote demanded on the amendment to the amendment
reported from the Committee of the Whole?
If not, the question is on the amendment in the nature of a
substitute, as amended.
The amendment was agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 234,
noes 187, not voting 11, as follows:
[Roll No. 588]
AYES--234
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Banks (IN)
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Bergman
Biggs
Bilirakis
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Blum
Bost
Brady (TX)
Brat
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burgess
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Comstock
Conaway
Cook
Costello (PA)
Cramer
Crawford
Cuellar
Culberson
Curbelo (FL)
Davidson
Davis, Rodney
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donovan
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Dunn
Emmer
Estes (KS)
Farenthold
Faso
Ferguson
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gaetz
Gallagher
Garrett
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Grothman
Guthrie
Handel
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Hice, Jody B.
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Holding
Hollingsworth
Hudson
Huizenga
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurd
Issa
Jenkins (KS)
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Jones
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Katko
[[Page H8209]]
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger
Knight
Kustoff (TN)
Labrador
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Latta
Lewis (MN)
LoBiondo
Long
Loudermilk
Love
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
MacArthur
Marchant
Marino
Marshall
Massie
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McSally
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Newhouse
Noem
Norman
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Peterson
Pittenger
Poe (TX)
Poliquin
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Rice (SC)
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney, Francis
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Rouzer
Royce (CA)
Russell
Rutherford
Sanford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smucker
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Trott
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Walters, Mimi
Weber (TX)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Zeldin
NOES--187
Adams
Aguilar
Barragan
Bass
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Capuano
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Crist
Crowley
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Espaillat
Esty (CT)
Evans
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Gottheimer
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hastings
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Himes
Hoyer
Huffman
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kihuen
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster (NH)
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowey
Lujan Grisham, M.
Lujan, Ben Ray
Lynch
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Moulton
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nolan
Norcross
O'Halleran
O'Rourke
Pallone
Panetta
Pascrell
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Pingree
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Rosen
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Soto
Speier
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Tsongas
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Welch
Yarmuth
NOT VOTING--11
Bridenstine
Fortenberry
Jeffries
Johnson, Sam
Lowenthal
Richmond
Rooney, Thomas J.
Smith (NE)
Thompson (CA)
Webster (FL)
Wilson (FL
{time} 1827
So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________