Here's how area members of Congress voted

WASHINGTON - Here's a look at how area members of Congress voted the week of May 11 to May 17:

Along with roll call votes this week, the Senate also passed the Improve Data on Sexual Violence Act (S. 2349), to direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to establish an interagency working group to study federal efforts to collect data on sexual violence and to make recommendations on the harmonization of such efforts; the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program Authorization Act (H.R. 3249); the SEA Act (H.R. 2772), to provide for requirements relating to the reassignment of Department of Veterans Affairs senior executive employees; and the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System Act (S. 346), to provide for the establishment of the National Volcano Early Warning and Monitoring System.

House

House Vote 1:
PROTECTING FEDERAL PRISON GUARDS: The House has passed the Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act (H.R. 613), sponsored by Rep. David B. McKinley, R-W.Va., to require the federal government's Bureau of Prisons to allow officers at prisons to store their guns and carry concealed firearms in areas adjacent to the security perimeter of the prison at which they work. McKinley said that allowing prison guards to have access to their personal firearms before and after work would protect them against being targeted for retaliatory attacks related to their job.  The vote, on May 15, was unanimous with 378 yeas.
YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Kaptur D-OH (9th), Jordan R-OH (4th)

House Vote 2:
DNA AND VIOLENT CRIMES: The House has passed the Justice Served Act (H.R. 4854), sponsored by Rep. John R. Carter, R-Texas, to require the Justice Department to allocate at least 5 percent of its grant funds to state efforts for processing DNA evidence related to the backlog of violent crime cases. A supporter, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said: "This bill will allow victims of crime and their families to receive justice by giving prosecutors the tools they need to investigate, solve, and close cold cases." The vote, on May 15, was 377 yeas to 1 nay.
YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Kaptur D-OH (9th), Jordan R-OH (4th)

House Vote 3:
ATTACKS AGAINST POLICE: The House has passed the Protect and Serve Act (H.R. 5698), sponsored by Rep. John H. Rutherford, R-Fla., to establish fines and imprisonment penalties for those convicted of attacking or attempting to attack federal law enforcement officers. Rutherford said the bill sought to "show those who wish to target police officers with violence that those attacks will not be tolerated." The vote, on May 16, was 382 yeas to 35 nays.
YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Kaptur D-OH (9th)
NAYS: Jordan R-OH (4th)

House Vote 4:
REFORMING VA PROGRAMS: The House has passed the VA MISSION Act (S. 2372), sponsored by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. The bill would establish a single community health care program, Choice, at the Department of Veterans Affairs, provide $5.2 billion to fund Choice, and establish a review process for closing and renovating various VA medical facilities. A supporter, Rep. David P. Roe, R-Tenn., said the bill's VA reforms "will positively impact the daily lives and well-being of millions of veterans and their families." An opponent, Rep. Timothy J. Walz, D-Minn., said the bill lacked a long-term solution for funding the Choice program, raising the danger that soon funding Choice will mean cutting funding for other vital VA programs. The vote, on May 16, was 347 yeas to 70 nays.
YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Kaptur D-OH (9th), Jordan R-OH (4th)

House Vote 5:
MANAGING FEDERAL FORESTS: The House has approved an amendment sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., to the Agriculture and Nutrition Act (H.R. 2), that would require the U.S. Forest Service to take long-term environmental health into account when making collaborative management plans for federal forests and the impacts of either taking no action or actively managing a given forest. Westerman said a new approach to forest management was needed because current Forest Service practices often degrade forest health by failing to remove overgrowth that raises the danger of devastating wildfires. An amendment opponent, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., said it "significantly alters critical environmental review requirements and limits opportunity for the public to challenge forest management projects." The vote, on May 17, was 224 yeas to 191 nays.
YEAS: Latta R-OH (5th), Jordan R-OH (4th)
NAYS: Kaptur D-OH (9th)

Senate

Senate Vote 1:
APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Michael Y. Scudder to serve as a judge on the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., cited Scudder's six years of experience as a federal government attorney and counsel, and award-winning pro bono work in his subsequent time as a private practice lawyer and law professor in Chicago. Durbin said Scudder "is well respected across the political spectrum, and he has the experience, the integrity, and the judgment to be an outstanding federal judge." The vote, on May 14, was unanimous with 90 yeas.
YEAS: Brown D-OH, Portman R-OH

Senate Vote 2:
SECOND APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Amy J. St. Eve to serve as a judge on the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. A supporter, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., praised St. Eve for her outstanding service as an Illinois federal district court judge for the past 16 years, and said "she has the qualifications and judgment to step up and be an outstanding member of the Seventh Circuit." The vote, on May 14, was unanimous with 91 yeas.
YEAS: Brown D-OH, Portman R-OH

Senate Vote 3:
THIRD APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Joel M. Carson III to serve as a judge on the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Carson, currently a U.S. magistrate judge in New Mexico, has also worked as a private practice lawyer specializing in appeals, commercial and energy litigation, and employment litigation. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., cited wide praise for Carson from his bipartisan peers in New Mexico. The vote, on May 15, was 77 yeas to 21 nays.
NAYS: Brown D-OH
YEAS: Portman R-OH

Senate Vote 4:
FOURTH APPEALS COURT JUDGE: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of John B. Nalbandian to serve as a judge on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Nalbandian, a private practice lawyer in Cincinnati since 2000, has also been on the board of directors of the State Justice Institute since 2010. A supporter, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Nalbandian "has the impressive credentials, the preparation, the broad support — every indication that he will be a worthy and capable judge." The vote, on May 15, was 53 yeas to 45 nays.
NAYS: Brown D-OH
YEAS: Portman R-OH

Senate Vote 5:
NET NEUTRALITY RULES: The Senate has approved a resolution (S. J. Res. 52) to disapprove of and void a 2017 Federal Communications Commission rule that overturned the FCC's so-called net neutrality rules governing regulation of broadband Internet service. A resolution supporter, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said restoring the net neutrality rules was needed "to prevent large internet service providers from segmenting the internet into fast and slow lanes, from selling faster service to folks who could pay and slower service to others." An opponent, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said going back to the net neutrality rules would stifle investment and innovation to make faster, more reliable networks, and Congress should instead develop a new legal framework that guarantees net neutrality without discouraging innovation. The vote, on May 16, was 52 yeas to 47 nays.
YEAS: Brown D-OH
NAYS: Portman R-OH

Senate Vote 6:
DEPUTY EDUCATION SECRETARY: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Mitchell Zais to serve as Deputy Education Secretary. Zais had spent four years as South Carolina's Superintendent of Education, 10 years as president of Newberry College, and 31 years as an Army officer. A supporter, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., cited Zais's extensive experience, and criticized Democrat senators for their "unreasonable and unnecessary obstructions and delays" of a confirmation vote. An opponent, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said Zais "largely opposes the federal role in education and, like [Education] Secretary DeVos, seems to lack even an understanding of key issues important to public schools." The vote, on May 16, was 50 yeas to 48 nays.
NAYS: Brown D-OH
YEAS: Portman R-OH

Senate Vote 7:
CUTTING GOVERNMENT SPENDING: The Senate has rejected a motion to proceed to consideration of a resolution (S. Con. Res. 36), sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to put forth a 10-year budget plan that would cut spending from 2017 levels by 1 percent annually. Paul said the program of steady spending cuts would spur the federal government to address waste and the danger posed by trillion-dollar annual deficits. A motion opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, ID-Vt., said the budget plan "would lead to devastating cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and education, while paving the way for even more tax breaks to the top 1 percent and large, profitable corporations." The vote, on May 17, was 21 yeas to 76 nays.
NAYS: Brown D-OH, Portman R-OH

Senate Vote 8:
CIA DIRECTOR: The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Gina Haspel to serve as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Haspel, CIA Deputy Director for the past year, joined the agency as a career intelligence officer in 1985 and has held various senior leadership posts at the CIA. A supporter, Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., said he accepted Haspel's statement regretting the CIA's Bush-era program of enhanced interrogation of suspected terrorists, and said Haspel "will act in accordance with the principles and values of our country." An opponent, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said rejecting Haspel's nomination was necessary "to make a clean break from the odious history of torture." The vote, on May 17, was 54 yeas to 45 nays.
NAYS: Brown D-OH
YEAS: Portman R-OH