[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            VOTE EXPLANATION

  Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, like millions of my fellow Americans, I 
contracted COVID-19 from a close contact. Fortunately, because I am 
vaccinated and boosted, my symptoms were mostly mild. However, as a 
growing number have also experienced, after taking Paxlovid and 
recovering, I then experienced what is known as ``Covid-19 Rebound.'' I 
again had to isolate, per CDC guidance, and was not able to make a 
number of votes as I could not travel back to Washington, DC, to be 
present on the Senate floor.
  On May 24, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 194, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 855, Stephanie Dawkins Davis, of Michigan, to be 
United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit. Had I been in 
attendance, I would have voted yea.
  On May 24, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 196, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 896, Dara Lindenbaum, of Virginia, to be a 
Member of the Federal Election Commission. Had I been in attendance, I 
would have voted yea.
  On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 200, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 857, Evelyn Padin, of New Jersey, to be U.S. 
District Judge for the District of New Jersey. Had I been in 
attendance, I would have voted yea.
  On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 201, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 915, Charlotte Sweeney, of Colorado, to be U.S. 
District Judge for the District of Colorado. Had I been in attendance, 
I would have voted yea.
  On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 203, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 806, Sandra Thompson, of Maryland, to be 
Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Had I been in 
attendance, I would have voted yea.
  On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 205, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 651, Henry Christopher Frey, of North Carolina, 
to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
  On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 209, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 717, Cathy Ann Harris, of Maryland, to be a 
Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Had I been in attendance, 
I would have voted yea.
  On May 26, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 210, motion to invoke 
cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 350, a bill to authorize 
dedicated domestic terrorism offices within the Department of Homeland 
Security, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of 
Investigation to analyze and monitor domestic terrorist activity and 
require the Federal Government to take steps to prevent domestic 
terrorism. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
  As recent, unthinkably tragic events at a grocery store in Buffalo, 
NY, a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods, CA, and now an elementary 
school in Uvalde, TX, have shown, we need to be doing much more to 
protect our fellow Americans. Every man, woman, and child has the 
fundamental human right to live their life; to be and feel safe in 
their classrooms, house of worship, and within their communities. White 
supremacy and gun violence are crises that are plaguing our Nation, and 
inaction is unacceptable. I am disappointed that the Senate failed to 
advance this important legislation, and I will continue working to pass 
it in the future.
  On May 26, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 211, S.J. Res. 46, a 
joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 
8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the 
Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security relating 
to ``Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of 
Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection Claims by Asylum 
Officers.'' Had I been in attendance, I would have voted nay.
  On May 26, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 212, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 461, Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, of New 
Jersey, to be Director General of the Foreign Service. Had I been in 
attendance, I would have voted yea.
  On June 7, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 214, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 477, Alex Wagner, of the District of Columbia, 
to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. Had I been in 
attendance, I would have voted yea.
  On June 7, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 216, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 652, Chavonda J. Jacobs-Young, of Georgia, to be 
Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics. 
Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
  On June 7, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 217, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 792, Kenneth L. Wainstein, of Virginia, to be 
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland 
Security. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
  On June 7, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 218, confirmation of 
Executive Calendar No. 772, Shalanda H. Baker, of Texas, to be Director 
of the Office of Minority Economic Impact, Department of Energy. Had I 
been in attendance, I would have voted yea.

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