Moving Us Forward
We face real challenges at home and around the world. We want and need our elected leaders to work together to find solutions to our shared problems, but Washington is not working as it should. Partisanship has led to gridlock, politicians refuse to work across party lines, and we all pay the price. I launched this campaign because we need new leaders in Washington who will put people above politics and deliver results.

Houstonians are hardworking, welcoming, innovative, and caring. We are problem solvers. We are big thinkers. We are collaborators. And we are facing real challenges. We need everyone—Democrats and Republicans—to participate as we address our community’s challenges. While we may not always agree on exactly how to overcome each challenge, we can all agree that our elected representatives should work together to find solutions—and to care more about the people they represent than their political parties.

It is time for Texas’ 7th Congressional District to have a representative who knows who we are, understands our challenges, protects what we have worked for, ensures we stay healthy, and keeps us safe.

These principles guide my vision for the district and the policy priorities we will address in our campaign.

• Understanding our challenges means making our city more resilient by bolstering infrastructure to keep us safe from increasing and more frequent weather events, and partnering with our local agencies to make smart investments in mass transit. It means encouraging federal revitalization programs that provide high-risk communities like ours with the resources we need to be prepared for, and reduce the costs of, the next storm; passing a federal infrastructure investment plan that puts money into infrastructure improvements while creating local jobs; and working with METRO to expand our transit system to keep our workforce—and our economy—moving forward.
• Knowing who we are means knowing how our diverse, hard-working community functions and ensuring that its values are protected. This means understanding our economy and finding ways to remain global leaders. It means working with our institutions and companies to create and increase access to work training programs for our workforce; increasing access to capital and credit for Texans who want to start or expand their own businesses, so businesses of all sizes and in all sectors thrive; and passing equitable tax reform that encourages domestic job growth rather than incentives that promote the outsourcing of jobs and investments that should be kept in Houston.
• Protecting what we have worked for means protecting Social Security and Medicare. As the deficit and the national debt continue to rise, Congressional actions put the future of our investments at risk. We must keep the promise to retired Americans by opposing consistent efforts to efforts to turn Social Security and Medicare into voucher programs or use them to pay for irresponsible tax cuts; addressing waste in these and all government programs to ensure only those eligible get the benefits in which they invested; and preserving the integrity of the programs for those who pay into them now.
• Ensuring we stay healthy means knowing that our residents are rightly concerned about access to and affordability of health care. Congress is not helping. We stay healthy by reversing the impact of reckless partisanship and working with both parties to bring down the cost of health care by introducing common-sense, cost-saving measures like allowing Medicare to negotiate with drug companies to lower prescription drug prices; to defend women’s access to reproductive health care; and to fight any attempt to eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions like cancer, diabetes, or asthma.
• Keeping us safe means making smart policy and enforcing it by working with and across our diverse community. It means strengthening our border security by making smart investments in Border Patrol and new technologies; by reforming our immigration laws to protect Dreamers and those who follow the law and contribute to our economy; by reducing gun violence; by making sure law enforcement, including ICE, can do its job to keep our communities safe; and by ensuring our justice system is efficient and fair. It means having leaders who engage in thoughtful foreign policy and diplomacy abroad to help keep us safe at home.

Civil Rights
In 2017, we saw the vision of a minority who want to return America to the Jim Crow era, where mobs and terror reigned, where discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and national origin was both practice and policy, and where the basic humanity of our fellow citizens was denied. We must not let this happen.

We must choose to reject hate, bigotry, and racism. We must work for equality, justice, and freedom for all Americans. We saw that, too, in 2017: clergy, students, and citizens standing up to racist mobs, rejecting their ideas, and denouncing hate. We must continue to do so.

And we must elect leaders who do it with us; who speak out forcefully against the hateful vision of America we have seen on display in Charlottesville and elsewhere.

There is no doubt that our history is complex; we are an imperfect people with an imperfect past. Examining our society, our history, our privileges, and our biases is not always an obvious or easy process. For some, the hate and bigotry on display in Charlottesville was a shock and a wake-up call. For others, it was a demonstration of something they have been saying for some time: racism, bigotry, and hatred remain powerful forces in American life.

We are called now to protect our fundamental American ideals—equality, liberty, justice, freedom, civil rights, and democracy—and to ensure that these ideals define our society. In Congress, I will work to protect the civil rights of every American.

Education
Quality education is essential to our democracy. Good schools are the foundation for an informed community, better jobs, and a strong economy.

All children—no matter where they live—deserve the opportunity to reach their full potential. We must invest in public education and work to ensure its success. Teachers need to be able to teach. We need programs designed to close the achievement gap. We need to end the school-to-prison pipeline. We need to make sure that all of our schools offer the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum that helps build the skills our students will need for the jobs of the future and also a curriculum that encourages them to think, to create, and to find their own voices.

For the college-bound population, we must address the rising costs of tuition. For those who have graduated, we must find relief from crushing student debt. For-profit colleges must be held accountable for the false promises they made. Community colleges should be expanded, and access to technical and vocational programs should be encouraged.

Failures in our education system will affect every aspect of our community, from the strength of our economy to the strength of our democracy itself. Educating all of our citizens should always be our priority.

During the last legislative session, John Culberson got an “F” on the National Education Association’s legislative report card, reflecting his poor record of support for public education and educators.

Equality
Our nation’s laws are designed to protect against discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and many laws regarding federal government employment provide remedies to protect vulnerable groups. These laws should be enforced and expanded to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.

I support a federal Equality Act that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes to ensure that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited. Gay and transgender people – and their families – should have the same rights and protections as others in the workplace, in housing, in healthcare decisions, and in our communities. This will not be an easy fight. State legislatures (including Texas) continue to debate legislation designed to deny equal rights to gay and transgender people even after the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution. These discriminatory state laws—like the proposed bathroom bill in Texas—hurt all of us, and the best way to address them is to enact federal legislation that brings our laws in line with our values.

As a member of Congress, I will fight to end discrimination and to retain the rights that so many, including the LGBT community, have fought so hard to achieve.

Flooding & Houston's Future
Much of Houston’s future will be determined by how we manage the threat of flooding, including our recovery from Hurricane Harvey.

Our recovery will take years, and we need to start now and rebuild wisely. To succeed, we need to plan to strengthen existing systems while implementing new infrastructure projects and smart policies.

This plan would include:

• Improving existing structures, including the Addicks and Barker reservoirs;
• Facilitating the immediate completion of Project Brays;
• Identifying additional detention areas;
• Revising the floodplain maps;
• Devising and installing a system for coastal surge protection;
• Incentivizing public-private partnerships; and
• Ensuring future federal projects are completed on time and on budget.

We have learned that the increased flooding we are experiencing was not just predictable—it was actually predicted.

In 1996, engineers for the Harris County Flood Control District issued a dire warning that our reservoir system was insufficient. The Army Corps of Engineers authorized five flood control projects between 1986 and 1990. Today—more than 20 years later—only one of them has been completed. In 2009, the Army Corps gave Addicks and Barker reservoirs the worst possible safety ratings and expressly designated them at an “extremely high risk of catastrophic failure.”

After Tropical Storm Allison’s rains flooded the city in 2001, we developed Project Brays to protect the Texas Medical Center and those living and working along Brays Bayou. Sixteen years later, that project is far from completion.

John Culberson has failed to provide the leadership we need in Congress to protect us from flooding. In 2018, we must hold him accountable for those failings. We can, and we must, finish the projects that will keep our families safe. To do this, we need an advocate in Congress, not a bystander. We need a partner in Congress who will help us secure the resources, the information, and the assistance we need to do so—one who will work with the city, the county, and all agencies and partners to make sure we do it right.

'Gun Safety
We don’t have to live this way; gun violence in America doesn’t have to be inevitable. We can fix this. But if we truly want to save lives and protect our children, we need leaders who aren’t afraid to take on the corporate gun lobby.

In Congress, I will fight for common-sense gun safety measures, including:

• Passing a ban on all military-style assault weapons;
• Raising the age to buy all firearms to 21;
• Requiring universal background checks on all gun sales;
• Equipping law enforcement with the tools they need to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who are dangers to themselves and others;
• Eliminating bump stocks, devices that convert semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic weapons;
• Tightening regulations on high-capacity magazines;
• Closing the “boyfriend loophole” and stopping domestic abusers from owning and buying guns;
• Cracking down on illegal gun trafficking; and
• Fully fund comprehensive research on gun violence and prevention.

Health Care
We are proud of Houston’s role in leading advances in medicine. From the first heart transplant to the cutting-edge research in the Texas Medical Center today, we have led the way for decades.

But even though we are a leader in health care research, and cutting edge advances, many people in our community and across the country do not have access to quality healthcare. We have an obligation to make sure they do. This takes many forms, from maintaining and improving the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to defending reproductive healthcare and woman’s right to choose.

The ACA was a strong first step toward making health care accessible, but we have work ahead of us to improve it.

Strengthening the ACA begins with stabilizing the market. Our community relies on the healthcare industry – not just for our own care, but also for our jobs. We have the largest medical center in the world, and instability in the healthcare market means instability in Houston’s economy.

Millions of Texans are enrolled under ACA. Millions more in the state lack health insurance entirely. To cripple effective and affordable health care for our citizens, the Trump Administration has held the cost-sharing reduction subsidies hostage, leading to premium increases and making healthcare less affordable. Prescription drug costs are skyrocketing. Patients are going without care. And insurance companies are raking in record profits.

John Culberson has been the Trump Administration’s eager accomplice in trying to take health care away from the people who need it most. Culberson voted to repeal or defund the Affordable Care Act more than 20 times knowing it would cause residents in the district with pre-existing conditions and many others to lose their healthcare coverage.

It is time to devote real and serious attention to addressing the pressing health care needs of Houstonians and all Americans, not recklessly dismantling the system with no alternative plan in place, as the Republican Congress has sought to do at every turn.

Immigration
Houston is a city of immigrants. It is at the core of our very identity, and an essential part of what makes it a great place to live.

There is no doubt that we need to fix our immigration system. It will not be easy to do. But instead of meaningfully addressing it, Congress has played politics for decades, using scare tactics to win elections instead of doing what’s best for our country.

We need comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship. It should be thoughtful, practical, and fair. It should include strengthening our border security, cracking down on employers who break the law, and ensuring law enforcement, including immigration and customs enforcement, can do its job to keep our communities safe. It should not include building a wall between us and our state’s top trading partner.

In 2013, the Senate passed bipartisan bill to address this pressing issue—by a 2-to-1 margin—after negotiation and compromise. The House of Representatives has refused to consider the bill. The failure of the House even to debate this bill or propose other meaningful solutions is a stark example of the gridlock and dysfunction that has failed us for years.

Congress must work together to address immigration issues. We must keep the promises we made to Dreamers and pass the DREAM Act. And we must act immediately to stop the devastating separation of families at the border. It is time to send people to Washington who will do so.

Jobs & Economy
Houston is a hard-working city and a leader in cutting-edge invention and innovation.

We should embrace Houston’s role as the energy leader, while continuing to diversify our economy. This starts by leading the way in developing clean-energy technology. Many of the most talented and experienced energy professionals in the world work here. We need to take the best advantage of that fact. We cannot allow the next generation of energy jobs to be created elsewhere.

We are home to scientific, medical, and technological innovation. Baylor, Rice, and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are just a few examples of world-class research institutions here making a real impact on our world. We should be fostering growth to attract more hi-tech and biotech research jobs to the area. This means everything from promoting investment in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields, to directing grants and subsidies toward the incredible work being done in the diverse industries throughout Harris County.

We must invest in our schools and encourage vocational training and re-training that helps people connect their interests and skills with good jobs.

National Security & Foreign Policy
We are facing serious threats both abroad and at home, and nothing is more important than keeping our country safe.

The Trump administration has dismantled the U.S. State Department, alienated our allies, and abandoned the leadership role the United States has historically played. This destructive behavior is about more than how we look to others—it is about the safety of American citizens.

Taunting volatile nations does nothing but place our national security in jeopardy. Targeting people based on race or religious affiliation violates our Constitution and distracts from real threats to our safety.

Congress must act to fill the policy and diplomatic vacuum the administration has created. Qualified individuals, without regard to partisan interest or affiliation, must fill critical roles, and we must restore funding to under-resourced outposts at home and abroad.

We must work to repair our reputation and secure our alliances. And we must maintain our focus on stopping terrorist and other threats around the globe, including providing law enforcement the resources and training needed to prevent terrorism.

We must prioritize support for our men and women who serve us in our military. Our troops put their lives on the line every day, and they deserve a government that honors them and the sacrifices they make for us all. This includes taking all necessary steps to protect them abroad and making sure that they are supported at home. We must ensure their access to quality healthcare, educational opportunities, claim resolution, and housing.

Social Security & Medicare
Social Security is a promise we made to seniors who have paid into these programs with every paycheck. Medicare is the promise of health care coverage for millions of seniors and people with disabilities.

We have an absolute obligation to keep these promises and protect Social Security and Medicare. I will oppose efforts to privatize Social Security and Medicare, and I will oppose efforts to cut benefits for seniors or the disabled.

To ensure the long-term viability of these programs we need to make government work more efficiently by cutting wasteful spending, fraud, and abuse, but not by cutting these programs.

Instead of protecting Social Security and Medicare programs, Culberson has voted to allow Congress to privatize them.

Transportation & Infrastructure
One of the many things that makes Houston great is its welcoming attitude. And it shows. Talented and productive people want to come here: The Houston area is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country.

But our infrastructure has not kept up with our growth. From 2000 to 2010, the greater Houston area grew by more than 1.2 million people, and it is still growing. But our roads and transit system have not grown at the same pace, which makes it harder to transport goods, commute to work, and attract new businesses. Improving transportation in Houston is one of my top priorities.

We need to partner with cities, counties, and METRO to bring additional resources and improvements to our region. We need an advocate for policies that both maintain and expand our region’s mobility infrastructure. And we need to make sure that Houston receives its fair share of transportation funding to move our citizens across the region.

John Culberson has failed to be a partner in this effort. Even worse, his record shows that he has actively worked against expanding transportation options in Houston. It’s time for a change.

Voting Rights
All citizens have the constitutional right to vote. We should be enacting and enforcing laws that make it easier, not harder, for citizens to vote.

Instead, Republican-dominated state legislatures (including Texas) keep passing laws that restrict or suppress voting by traditional Democratic voters in hopes of stacking the deck for future elections. These laws are designed to appear as if they do not discriminate: requiring a photo I.D., denying access to translators, and making voter registration more difficult by closing DMV locations in certain districts. But they do discriminate, and our courts have struck down these laws as unconstitutional because they intentionally discriminate against voters on the basis of race or have the effect of doing so.

Partisan and racial gerrymandering have the same discriminatory effect. In practice, gerrymandering violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and it burdens our First Amendment rights of association and speech. Even still, it dominates our political system, disenfranchising voters and silencing their voices.

We must fight for a better system to determine our representation, eliminate partisan bias, and work for an equitable voting process. This means championing a full restoration of the Voting Rights Act, challenging discriminatory voter identification laws, legalizing same-day registration or implementing universal automatic registration, and expanding early voting and vote-by-mail options.

In Congress, I will be committed to protecting voting rights, not restricting them.

Women's Health
The health and safety of half of the population has been under relentless attack. Women must take a seat at the table to speak out for our needs.

Access to reproductive healthcare is essential to all Americans’ ability to control their lives. It is a matter of health. It is a matter of economics. It is a matter of justice. And it is not negotiable.

Protecting women’s access to safe and affordable health care is one of my top priorities. I have been an advocate for this issue for more than 25 years. When I was in high school, I stood outside a Houston Planned Parenthood clinic in the August heat to stop protestors who threatened to chain themselves to the doors and prevent women from entering the clinic. After college, I co-founded Planned Parenthood Young Leaders to build a new generation of supporters for this important community partner.

I will stand firmly against Donald Trump, John Culberson, and the Republicans in Congress who continue to attack Planned Parenthood. I will work to protect the Title X Family Planning Program and access to affordable reproductive health services. I will support policies to encourage access to contraception. And I will always stand up for the right to choose.^[2]

Key votes: 117th Congress, 2021-2023

The117th United States Congress began on January 3, 2021 and ended on January 3, 2023. At the start of the session, Democrats held the majority in theU.S. House of Representatives (222-213), and theU.S. Senate had a 50-50 makeup. Democrats assumed control of the Senate on January 20, 2021, when PresidentJoe Biden (D) and Vice PresidentKamala Harris (D), who acted as a tie-breaking vote in the chamber, assumed office. We identified the key votes below usingCongress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia.

Key votes: 117th Congress, 2021-2023
Vote	Bill and description	Status
Yea	Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act   TheInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) was a federal infrastructure bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on November 15, 2021. Among other provisions, the bill provided funding for new infrastructure projects and reauthorizations, Amtrak maintenance and development, bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation, clean drinking water, high-speed internet, and clean energy transmission and power infrastructure upgrades. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[48]Click here to read more.	Passed (228-206)
Yea	American Rescue Plan Act of 2021   TheAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (H.R. 1319) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on March 11, 2021, to provide economic relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key features of the bill included funding for a national vaccination program and response, funding to safely reopen schools, distribution of $1,400 per person in relief payments, and extended unemployment benefits. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[49]Click here to read more.	Passed (220-210)
Yea	Inflation Reduction Act of 2022   TheInflation Reduction Act of 2022 (H.R. 5376) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on August 16, 2022, to address climate change, healthcare costs, and tax enforcement. Key features of the bill included a $369 billion investment to address energy security and climate change, an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, allowing Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices, a 15% corporate minimum tax, a 1% stock buyback fee, and enhanced Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement, and an estimated $300 billion deficit reduction from 2022-2031. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[50]Click here to read more.	Passed (220-207)
Yea	Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act   The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (H.R. 3617) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to decriminalize marijuana, establish studies of legal marijuana sales, tax marijuana imports and production, and establish a process to expunge and review federal marijuana offenses. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[51]	Passed (220-204)
Yea	For the People Act of 2021   TheFor the People Act of 2021 (H.R. 1) was a federal election law and government ethics bill approved by the House of Representatives. The Congressional Research Service said the bill would "expand voter registration (e.g., automatic and same-day registration) and voting access (e.g., vote-by-mail and early voting). It [would also limit] removing voters from voter rolls. ... Further, the bill [would address] campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosure of campaign-related fundraising and spending, requiring additional disclaimers regarding certain political advertising, and establishing an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices." The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[52]Click here to read more.	Passed (220-210)
Yea	Assault Weapons Ban of 2022   The Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 (H.R. 1808) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives that sought to criminalize the knowing import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding devices (LCAFD). The bill made exemptions for grandfathered SAWs and LCAFDs. It required a simple majority vote in the House.[53]	Passed (217-213)
Yea	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022   The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (S. 1605) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 27, 2021, authorizingDepartment of Defense acitivities and programs for fiscal year 2022. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[54]	Passed (363-70)
Yea	James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023   The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7776) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 23, 2022, authorizing Department of Defense activities and programs for fiscal year 2023. The bill required a 2/3 majority in the House to suspend rules and pass the bill as amended.[55]	Passed (350-80)
Yea	American Dream and Promise Act of 2021   The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 (H.R. 6) was an immigration bill approved by the House of Representatives that proposed a path to permanent residence status for unauthorized immigrants eligible for Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure, among other immigration-related proposals. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[56]	Passed (228-197)
Yea	Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022   The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (S. 3373) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on August 10, 2022, that sought to address healthcare access, the presumption of service-connection, and research, resources, and other matters related to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during military service. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[57]	Passed (342-88)
Yea	Chips and Science Act   The Chips and Science Act (H.R. 4346) was a bill approved by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on August 9, 2022, which sought to fund domestic production of semiconductors and authorized various federal science agency programs and activities. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[58]	Passed (243-187)
Yea	Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021   The Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 (H.R. 3755) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives. The bill proposed prohibiting governmental restrictions on the provision of and access to abortion services and prohibiting governments from issuing some other abortion-related restrictions. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[59]	Passed (218-211)
Yea	SAFE Banking Act of 2021   The SAFE Banking Act of 2021 (H.R. 1996) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives that proposed prohibiting federal regulators from penalizing banks for providing services to legitimate cannabis-related businesses and defining proceeds from such transactions as not being proceeds from unlawful activity, among other related proposals. Since the House moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill in an expedited process, it required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.[60]	Passed (321-101)
Yea	Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022   The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (H.R. 2471) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on March 15, 2022, providing for the funding of federal agencies for the remainder of 2022, providing funding for activities related to Ukraine, and modifying or establishing various programs. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[61]	Passed (260-171)
Yea	Equality Act   The Equality Act (H.R. 5) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that proposed prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system, among other related proposals. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[62]	Passed (224-206)
Yea	Respect for Marriage Act   TheRespect for Marriage Act (H.R. 8404) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 13, 2022. The bill codified the recognition of marriages between individuals of the same sex and of different races, ethnicities, or national origins, and provided that the law would not impact religious liberty or conscience protections, or provide grounds to compel nonprofit religious organizations to recognize same-sex marriages. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[63]Click here to read more.	Passed (258-169)
Yea	Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023   The Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023 (H.R. 6833) was a bill approved by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on September 30, 2022. It provided for some fiscal year 2023 appropriations, supplemental funds for Ukraine, and extended several other programs and authorities. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[64]	Passed (230-201)
Nay	Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act   The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act (H.R. 7688) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to prohibit individuals from selling consumer fuels at excessive prices during a proclaimed energy emergency. It would have also required the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the price of gasoline was being manipulated. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[65]	Passed (217-207)
Yea	Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021   The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 (H.R. 8) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to prohibit the transfer of firearms between private parties unless a licensed firearm vendor conducted a background check on the recipient. The bill also provided for certain exceptions to this requirement. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[66]	Passed (227-203)
Yea	Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act   TheFreedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act was a federal elections bill approved by the House of Representatives and voted down by the Senate in a failed cloture vote that sought to, among other provisions, make Election Day a public holiday, allow for same-day voter registration, establish minimum early voting periods, and allow absentee voting for any reason, restrict the removal of local election administrators in federal elections, regulate congressional redistricting, expand campaign finance disclosure rules for some organizations, and amend the Voting Rights Act to require some states to obtain clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before implementing new election laws. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[67]Click here to read more.	Passed (220-203)
Yea	Bipartisan Safer Communities Act   TheBipartisan Safer Communities Act (S. 2938) was a firearm regulation and mental health bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on June 25, 2022. Provisions of the bill included expanding background checks for individuals under the age of 21, providing funding for mental health services, preventing individuals who had been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor or felony in dating relationships from purchasing firearms for five years, providing funding for state grants to implement crisis intervention order programs, and providing funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[68]Click here to read more.	Passed (234-193)
Yea	Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.   This was a resolution before the 117th Congress setting forth anarticle of impeachment saying thatDonald Trump (R) incited an insurrection against the government of the United States on January 6, 2021. The House of Representatives approved the article of impeachment, and the Senate adjudged that Trump was not guilty of the charges. The article of impeachment required a simple majority vote in the House.[69]Click here to read more.	Passed (232-197)
Yea	Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act of 2022   TheElectoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act was a bill passed by the 117th Congress in the form of an amendment to a year-end omnibus funding bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 23, 2022. The bill changed the procedure for counting electoral votes outlined in the Electoral Count Act of 1887. Elements of the bill included specifying that the vice president's role at the joint session of congress to count electoral votes is ministerial, raising the objection threshold at the joint session of congress to count electoral votes to one-fifth of the members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, identifying governors as the single official responsible for submitting the certificate of ascertainment identifying that state’s electors, and providing for expedited judicial review of certain claims about states' certificates identifying their electors. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[70]Click here to read more.	Passed (225-201)

Key votes: 116th Congress, 2019-2021

The116th United States Congress began on January 9, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021. At the start of the session, Democrats held the majority in theU.S. House of Representatives (235-200), and Republicans held the majority in theU.S. Senate (53-47).Donald Trump (R) was the president andMike Pence (R) was the vice president. We identified the key votes below usingCongress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia.

Key votes: 116th Congress, 2019-2021
Vote	Bill and description	Status
Yea	Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020   The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020 (H.R. 1044) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives seeking to increase the cap on employment-based visas, establish certain rules governing such visas, and impose some additional requirements on employers hiring holders of such visas. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended.[71]	Passed (365-65)
Yea	The Heroes Act   The HEROES Act (H.R. 6800) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to address the COVID-19 outbreak by providing $1,200 payments to individuals, extending and expanding the moratorium on some evictions and foreclosures, outlining requirements and establishing finding for contact tracing and COVID-19 testing, providing emergency supplemental appropriations to federal agencies for fiscal year 2020, and eliminating cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatments. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[72]	Passed (208-199)
Yea	For the People Act of 2019   The For the People Act of 2019 (H.R.1) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to protect election security, revise rules on campaign funding, introduce new provisions related to ethics, establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions, and establish new rules on the release of tax returns for presidential and vice presidential candidates. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[73]	Passed (234-193)
Yea	CARES Act   The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (H.R. 748) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on March 27, 2020, that expanded benefits through the joint federal-state unemployment insurance program during the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation also included $1,200 payments to certain individuals, funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and funds for businesses, hospitals, and state and local governments. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.[74]	Passed (419-6)
Yea	Equality Act   The Equality Act (H.R. 5) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to ban discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity by expanding the definition of establishments that fall under public accomodation and prohibiting the denial of access to a shared facility that is in agreement with an indiviual's gender indenitity. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[75]	Passed (236-173)
Yea	Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019   The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 8) was a bill approved by the House that sought to ban firearm transfers between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[76]	Passed (240-190)
Yea	American Dream and Promise Act of 2019   The American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R.6) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to protect certain immigrants from removal proceedings and provide a path to permanent resident status by establishing streamlined procedures for permanant residency and canceling removal proceedings against certain qualifed individuals. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[77]	Passed (237-187)
Yea	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020   The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (S. 1790) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on December 20, 2019, setting policies and appropriations for the Department of Defense. Key features of this bill include appropriations for research/development, procurement, military construction, and operation/maintenence, as well as policies for paid family leave, North Korea nuclear sanctions, limiting the use of criminal history in federal hiring and contracting, military housing privatization, and paid family leave for federal personnel. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[78]	Passed (377-48)
Yea	Families First Coronavirus Response Act   The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on March 18, 2020, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing access to unemployment benefits and food assistance, increasing funding for Medicaid, providing free testing for COVID-19, and requiring employers to provide paid sick time to employees who cannot work due to COVID-19. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.[79]	Passed (363-40)
Yea	Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019   The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (H.R. 1994) was a bill passed by the House Representatives that sought to change the requirements for employer provided retirement plans, IRAs, and other tax-favored savings accounts by modfying the requirements for things such as loans, lifetime income options, required minimum distributions, the eligibility rules for certain long-term, part-time employees, and nondiscrimination rules. The bill also sought to treat taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments as compensation for the purpose of an IRA, repeal the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions, increase penalties for failing to file tax returns, allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans if a child is born or adopted, and expand the purposes for which qualified tuition programs may be used. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[80]	Passed (417-3)
Yea	Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act   The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to address the price of healthcare by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate prices for certain drugs, requiring drug manufactures to issue rebates for certain drugs covered under Medicare, requiring drug price transparency from drug manufacturers, expanding Medicare coverage, and providing funds for certain public health programs. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[81]	Passed (230-192)
Yea	Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020   The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 1865) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on December 20, 2019, providing appropriations for federal agencies in fiscal year 2020. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[82]	Passed (297-120)
Yea	Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019   The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (S. 1838) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on November 27, 2019, directing several federal departments to assess Hong Kong's unique treatment under U.S. law. Key features of the bill include directing the Department of State to report and certify annually to Congress as to whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous from China to justify its unique treatment, and directing the Department of Commerce to report annually to Congress on China's efforts to use Hong Kong to evade U.S. export controls and sanctions. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.[83]	Passed (417-1)
Yea	MORE Act of 2020   The MORE Act of 2020 (H.R. 3884) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to decriminalize marijuana by removing marijuana as a scheduled controlled substance and eliminating criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana. This bill required a simple majority vote from the House.[84]	Passed (228-164)
Yea	Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020   The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 6074) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 6, 2020, providing emergency funding to federal agencies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Key features of the bill include funding for vaccine research, small business loans, humanitarian assistance to affected foreign countries, emergency preparedness, and grants for public health agencies and organizations. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill.[85]	Passed (415-2)
Yea	Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019   The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (H.J.Res. 31) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on February 15, 2019, providing approrations for Fiscal Year 2019. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House.[86]	Passed (300 -128)
Yea	John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act   The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (S. 47) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Doanld Trump on March 12, 2019. This bill sought to set provisions for federal land management and conservation by doing things such as conducting land exchanges and conveyances, establishing programs to respond to wildfires, and extending and reauthorizing wildlife conservation programs. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House.[87]	Passed (363-62)
Yea	William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (On passage)   The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and vetoed by President Donald Trump on December 23, 2020. Congress voted to override Trump's veto, and the bill became law on January 1, 2021. The bill set Department of Defense policies and appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021. Trump vetoed the bill due to disagreement with provisions related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the renaming of certain military installations, limits on emergency military construction fund usage, and limits on troop withdrawals. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House on passage, and a two-thirds majority vote in the House to override Trump's veto.[88]	Passed (335-78)
Yea	William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Overcoming veto)   The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and vetoed by President Donald Trump on December 23, 2020. Congress voted to override Trump's veto, and the bill became law on January 1, 2021. The bill set Department of Defense policies and appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021. Trump vetoed the bill due to disagreement with provisions related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the renaming of certain military installations, limits on emergency military construction fund usage, and limits on troop withdrawals. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House on passage, and a two-thirds majority vote in the House to override Trump's veto.[89]	Passed (322-87)
Yea	Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019   The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (S.24) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on January 16, 2019, that requires federal employees who were furloughed or compelled to work during a lapse in government funding to be compensated for that time. The bill also required those employees to be compensated as soon as the lapse in funding ends, irregardless of official pay date. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill.[90]	Passed (411-7)
Yea	Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. (Article 1)   The 2020 impeachment of Donald Trump (R) was a resolution before the 116th Congress to set forth two articles of impeachment saying that Trump abused his power and obstructed congress. The first article was related to allegations that Trump requested the Ukrainian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid, and the second was related to Trump's response to the impeachment inquiry. The House of Representatives approved both articles of impeachment, and the Senate adjudged that Trump was not guilty of either charge. The articles of impeachment required a simple majority vote in the House.[91]	Guilty (230-197)
Yea	Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. (Article 2)   The 2020 impeachment of Donald Trump (R) was a resolution before the 116th Congress to set forth two articles of impeachment saying that Trump abused his power and obstructed congress. The first article was related to allegations that Trump requested the Ukrainian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid, and the second was related to Trump's response to the impeachment inquiry. The House of Representatives approved both articles of impeachment, and the Senate adjudged that Trump was not guilty of either charge. The articles of impeachment required a simple majority vote in the House.[92]	Guilty (229-198)

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