H.Con.Res. 71: Establishing the congressional budget for the United States government for fiscal year 2018 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2019 through 2027.

This was a vote to pass House Continuing Resolution 71.

This bill establishes the congressional budget for the federal government for fiscal 2018 and sets budget levels for fiscal 2019 through fiscal 2027. The budget approved by the House is supposed to prepare for tax reform, reduce spending in the next 10 years and requires lawmakers to find $203 billion in additional budget cuts among mandatory programs. The Republican-led House budget still must be reconciled with a pending Senate budget. Some senators are criticizing the House budget for cuts to mandatory programs that include smaller subsidies for food stamps, housing and student loans. Democrats say the budget is unfair to low-income persons while enabling Republicans to pursue tax cuts that favor the wealthy.

Passed.

S. 782: Providing Resources, Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to Our Children Act of 2017

This was a vote to pass S. 782 in the House.

This bill, called the Providing Resources, Officers, and Technology to Eradicate Cyber Threats to (PROTECT) Our Children Act, reauthorizes the National Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The PROTECT Act (P.L. 110-401) established a program to help “state and local law enforcement agencies develop an effective response to technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation and Internet crimes against children.” The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force supports a national network of 61 multiagency, multijurisdictional task forces engaged in investigations, forensic examinations and prosecution of technology-facilitated child sexual exploitation. This training component of the program teaches the regional task forces and federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies about investigation, forensics, prosecution and community outreach. Much of the work involves tracking down suspects who trade images and videos of child sexual exploitation. The Colorado delegation approved it unanimously.

Passed.

H.R. 36: Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

This was a vote to pass H.R. 36 in the House.

This bill would ban elective abortions after 20 weeks of gestation. It carves out exceptions for rape or incest against a minor and for cases with a maternal mortality risk. Immediately after it passed in the House, it was reintroduced in the Senate. Supporters of the legislation say there is a “state interest” in unborn children, particularly after five months of gestation. They say the unborn children can feel pain. The United States is one of only seven nations that allow abortions after 20 weeks. Most Democrats oppose the bill but most Republicans favor it. The same bill was defeated two years ago in the Senate by a 54-to-42 vote. Twenty states have approved similar legislation. President Donald Trump already has said he would sign the bill if it wins approval.

Passed.

On the Nomination PN734: Randal Quarles of Colorado to be a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for the unexpired term of fourteen years from February 1, 2004

This was a vote to pass P.N. 734 in the Senate.

This Senate vote confirmed Randal K. Quarles as the Federal Reserve’s vice chairman for supervision. Quarles is a conservative who is expected to help the Trump administration’s efforts to ease some financial regulations imposed after the 2008 financial crisis. The vice chairman for supervision job was created after the recession to intensify the Fed’s focus on financial stability and regulation. Quarles would be authorized to vote on monetary policy developed by the Fed. He said during his confirmation hearing that the government should relax some tough regulations on the financial industry. The Trump administration says the credit and other limitations made the financial industry safer but interfered with economic development. Quarles will oversee “stress testing” of large banks to ensure they have the financial reserves to withstand another financial crisis. Quarles, 60, is a lawyer who worked in the financial industry before joining the Treasury Department in 2002 as assistant secretary for international affairs. He left public service in 2006 to become a partner at the financial firm Carlyle Group and later helped to found the Utah-based private equity firm Cynosure Group.

Nomination Confirmed.

Source: GovTrack