This House amendment to S. 610 would delay multiple planned Medicare payment reductions and policy proposals. Most significantly, the bill included a provision to expedite consideration of a proposal to increase the debt limit, including by limiting debate time, prohibiting the consideration of amendments, and bypassing the filibuster for passage. (Five days later, the Senate used the provisions of this amendment to S. 610 to pass a $2.5 trillion increase in the debt limit.)

The Senate agreed to the House amendment to S. 610 on December 9, 2021 by a vote of 59 to 35 (Roll Call 491). We have assigned pluses to the nays because continuing reckless spending and debt accumulation will result in economic catastrophe, and most federal spending is for programs not authorized by the Constitution.

H.R. 5746, the “Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act,” would implement a sweeping federalization of American elections. Among numerous other provisions, it would force states to implement nationwide internet, automatic, and same-day voter registration. The bill would also mandate states to allow mail-in voting and make available ballot “drop boxes” for all voters, implement early voting that begins at least 15 days prior to an election, and limit state legislatures’ authority over congressional redistricting. H.R. 5746 would also reestablish a “preclearance” process similar to what existed under the 1965 Voting Rights Act prior to 2013. Under it, states would be required to obtain permission from the U.S. Department of Justice prior to implementing changes to their election laws. The Senate did not vote directly on H.R. 5746, but on a motion to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could be voted on. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on January 19, 2022 by a vote of 49 to 51 (Roll Call 9; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because not only does this bill undermine election integrity, but it infringes upon federalism and state sovereignty as established under the Constitution and its 10th Amendment.

During consideration of the Omnibus Appropriations bill (H.R. 2471), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment “to prohibit funding for COVID-19 vaccine mandates.” When speaking in favor of his amendment on the Senate floor, Lee stated, “a few short months ago, President Biden issued a series of Executive orders. These Executive orders … proposed some pretty sweeping mandates on the American people, mandates insisting that covered persons, including for our purposes today military employees, Federal workers, employees of businesses with government contracts with the Federal Government, and medical professionals who contract with CMS — basically anyone involved with the provision of services through Medicare or Medicaid must get the COVID-19 vaccine on condition of termination…. That is not right, it is not American, and it is not constitutional, but more than anything, it is not moral.”

The Senate rejected Lee’s amendment on March 10, 2022 by a vote of 49 to 50 (Roll Call 75). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because, as Lee pointed out, “the very first clause of the very first section of the very first article [of the Constitution] says that ‘all legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.’”

This means that a president has no lawmaking power via executive orders, and therefore cannot impose vaccine mandates without an act of Congress. Even with an act of Congress, Covid-19 vaccine mandates would not be automatically considered constitutional due to the lack of constitutional authority for Congress to pass such a law.

H.R. 2471, officially known as the “Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022,” would provide $1.5 trillion in discretionary appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022 for federal government operations and services. Among the many unconstitutional and wasteful spending provisions in the bill was $13.6 billion in assistance to Ukraine against Russia, over $100 billion on Green New Deal-based initiatives, and $45 billion for the National Institutes of Health, which amounts to a 10-percent increase for the NIH from the previous fiscal year.

The Senate passed H.R. 2471 on March 10, 2022 by a vote of 68 to 31 (Roll Call 78). We have assigned pluses to the nays because with this omnibus bill, members of Congress are again failing to address their fiscally and constitutionally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that is currently yielding record-high inflation and increasing the already ballooning federal deficits, in addition to minimizing their accountability to their constituents by combining all discretionary federal spending for fiscal 2022 into one gigantic “go big or go home” bill.

Senate Joint Resolution 37, introduced by Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.), would provide “for congressional disapproval … of the rule submitted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relating to ‘Requirement for Persons To Wear Masks While on Conveyances [planes, trains, and buses] and at Transportation Hubs.’” In a floor speech in support of his resolution on March 15, 2022, Senator Paul stated, “While the efficacy of masks is debatable, the question of whether or not the Federal Government possesses the power to mandate that you wear a mask is not debatable. The 10th Amendment clearly states that powers not specifically enumerated by the Constitution for the Federal Government are retained by the States and the people respectively.” The Senate passed S. J. Res. 37 on March 15, 2022 by a vote of 57 to 40 (Roll Call 81). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the CDC rule requiring persons to wear masks while on planes, trains, and buses is unconstitutional based on the 10th Amendment.

At Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing, she was asked if she could provide a definition for the word “woman.” In Jackson’s response, she stated she could not define the word because she is “not a biologist.” This reeks of woke extremism, leading to the potential for liberal activism on the Supreme Court. As a federal district court judge, Jackson sentenced a child-porn convict to only a three-month prison sentence with three months of probation. In previous court cases as a federal judge, Jackson referred to illegal aliens as “non-citizens” to be politically correct. The Senate confirmed Jackson’s nomination on April 7, 2022 by a vote of 53 to 47 (Roll Call 134). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Jackson is supportive of unconstitutional actions and clearly supports the woke agenda.

S. 4132 would statutorily require that healthcare providers would have a right to provide abortion services and that patients would have a right to receive abortions. The Senate did not vote directly on S. 4132, but on a motion to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could be voted on. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on May 11, 2022 by a vote of 49 to 51 (Roll Call 170; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Roe v. Wade was deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, giving states the power to determine how they handle abortions. There is no constitutional provision granting a right to abortion. Many of our healthcare providers are subsidized by taxpayers, and government should not subsidize the killing of innocent human life.

H.R. 7691 would provide $40.1 billion in fiscal year 2022 “emergency supplemental appropriations for activities to respond to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

The Senate passed H.R. 7691 on May 19, 2022 by a vote of 86 to 11 (Roll Call 191). We have assigned pluses to the nays not only because foreign aid (military or otherwise) is unconstitutional, but also because the aid would further interject the United States in the Russia-Ukraine war, and would increase the likelihood of the war broadening to fully include as combatants the United States as well as the rest of NATO. Instead of acting as a global cop, America would be best served by returning to our traditional and constitutionally sound foreign policy of staying clear of foreign quarrels.

S. 4008, “A bill to provide COVID relief for restaurants, gyms, minor league sports teams, border businesses, live venue service providers, exclave businesses, and providers of transportation services,” would provide $48 billion for Small Business Administration grants to help small businesses that were harmed by the Covid pandemic.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 4008, but on a motion to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could be voted on. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on May 19, 2022 by a vote of 52 to 43 (Roll Call 192; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because not only is such spending not authorized anywhere in the Constitution, but this additional deficit spending would contribute to the ruinous inflation that is currently plaguing Americans. The economic harms to restaurants and other small businesses that S. 4008 is supposed to remedy were due to the unconstitutional federal and state Covid-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates in the first place.

S. 2938, the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” would provide more than $4.6 billion in funding through 2026 to address gun violence and mental health. $2.1 billion would be allocated to the Department of Education to support school-based mental-health services, and $990 million would be earmarked for Health and Human Services. $1.6 billion would be allocated to support school security and community violence intervention, and to improve background-check systems. This bill would also implement extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), also known as red flag laws, and expand background checks for firearm purchases.

The Senate passed S. 2938 on June 23, 2022 by a vote of 65 to 33 (Roll Call 242). We have assigned pluses to the nays because increased spending and red flag laws are a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution, especially the Second Amendment-protected right to keep and bear arms, and this is one step closer to a disarmed America. Also, Congress is failing to address its fiscally irresponsible spending habits, which are far outside of Congress’ constitutional limits.