I voted “Yes” on S. 3283, to designate the community-based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Pueblo, Colorado, as the "PFC James Dunn VA Clinic." This bill designates the outpatient VA clinic in Pueblo, Colorado as the “PFC James Dunn VA Clinic.” Pfc. James Dunn served as a U.S. Marines during the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1943. PFC Dunn displayed remarkable courage during his service, at one point evacuating his fellow Marines wounded in combat under heavy machine gun an... Read more

I voted “Yes” on the veto override of S. 2040, the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. This veto override successfully overturns President Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. This bill narrows the scope of foreign sovereign immunity to allow U.S. citizens to sue countries or their agents for acts of international terrorism. Under current law, Americans are only permitted to sue countries that are officially designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. In order to... Read more

I voted “Yes” on H.R. 5303, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. In 2014, Congress overhauled the water resources development process to increase oversight, reduce onerous bureaucracy, incorporate greater local participation in projects, and bring much-needed improvements to our nation’s water infrastructure. This bill is a continuation of this important process, authorizing the Army Core of Engineers to begin 27 new water projects and to start conducting feasibility studies on an additi... Read more

I voted “Yes” on the Senate Amendment to H.R. 5325, the Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act. This bill provides funding for the federal government through December 9, 2016 equal to FY16 levels. The bill includes $500 million to support communities in Louisiana recovering from recent floods and includes additional funding to begin the implementation of the Comprehensive Additio... Read more

I voted “Yes” on H.R. 954, the CO-OP Consumer Protection Act. This bill eliminates the individual mandate tax penalty for people who lose coverage during the course of the year because of a failure of their healthcare Co-Op. Under current law, an individual who does not enroll in insurance coverage during the course of the year will pay a fine of $695 or 2.5 percent of their income, whichever is more. This fine is also levied on people who cancel or lose coverage during the course of the year. I... Read more

I voted “Yes” on H.R. 5392, the No Veterans Crisis Line Call Should Go Unanswered Act. This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop quality assurance metrics to ensure the effectiveness of the Veterans Crisis Line, which is a toll-free number providing around-the-clock support to veterans and their families. In particular, the VA must establish a plan for ensuring all forms of communications are responded to in a timely manner and that clear and measurable performance in... Read more

I voted “Yes” on H.R. 3537, the Dangerous Synthetic Drug Control Act. Synthetic drugs are created in a laboratory from chemicals rather than from raw plant materials like other drugs such as heroin. Because they are created in a lab, producers can easily change the chemical structures of these drugs to avoid violating the Controlled Substances Act. Retailers and upstream distributors can then legally sell the product. Because of the untested compounds that these manufacturers create and the comp... Read more

I voted “Yes” on H.R. 5320, the Social Security Must Avert Identity Loss Act. This bill limits the number of instances in which an individual’s complete Social Security Number is permitted to appear on mailings sent directly from the Social Security Administration. Official mailings would only be permitted to include an individual’s Social Security Number if it is determined that the inclusion of such information is absolutely necessary. Each year thousands of Americans across the country fall v... Read more

I voted “Yes” on H.R. 5946, the United States Appreciation for Olympians and Paralympians Act. This bill exempts prize money and the value of medals received by Olympians and Paralympians from income tax. The tax exemption would not apply for athletes whose earnings exceed $1 million for the course of the year. The U.S. Olympic Committee pays a prize of $25,000 to winners of gold medals, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. Winners of the Paralympics receive $5,000 for gold, $3,500 for si... Read more

I voted “Yes” on H.R. 2285, the Prevent Trafficking in Cultural Property Act. This bill requires the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office as well as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to coordinate their efforts to protect international cultural property. International cultural property ranges from ancient artifacts to religious and historically significant objects. As conflict continues throughout the Middle East, we have seen the destruction and looting of thousands of historic sites... Read more