S. 3385 would extend enhanced ObamaCare subsidies, originally enacted under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, by an additional three years.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 3385, 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 December 11, 2025 by a vote of 51 to 48 (Roll Call 644; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize Congress to subsidize health insurance. ObamaCare reduced individual choice in the health-insurance market, increased costs for many Americans, and has been poorly run from the beginning, exactly what is to be expected when the federal government attempts to regulate and subsidize healthcare.

S. J. Res. 90 would “direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against Venezuela that have not been authorized by Congress.”

On November 6, 2025, Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who introduced S. J. Res. 90 along with Senators Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), attempted to get his resolution out of committee and to the Senate floor by making a motion to discharge it. His motion was rejected by a vote of 49 to 51 (Roll Call 608). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution delegates to Congress, not the president, the power to declare war, and because of the folly of foreign military interventionism. In his remarks on the Senate floor, Paul warned against “pursuing regime change in Venezuela,” while also pointing out that “the President simply does not have the authority to unilaterally launch wars.”

S. J. Res. 80 would overturn a 2022 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule for the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A). This disapproval restores a less-restrictive plan that opens more areas to development, and reverses the closure of 48 percent of the NPR-A.

The Senate passed S. J. Res. 80 on October 30, 2025 by a vote of 52 to 45 (Roll Call 599). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Congress' disapproval nullifies an unconstitutional regulation that imposed restrictive land management and burdened American energy production under the pretext of environmental protection. The BLM's management of lands exceeds constitutional limits under Article I, Section 8; Article IV, Section 3; and the 10th Amendment. Additionally, such environmentalist policies align with the UN's Agenda 2030, undermining national sovereignty and individual liberty. Congress should reject such policies, abolish the BLM, and transfer lands to state or private ownership.

During consideration of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2296), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to prohibit any Federal Reserve bank from paying interest on reserve balances that are maintained at a Federal Reserve bank by or on behalf of a big bank or another depository institution. Of the need for his amendment, Paul explained, “The Federal Reserve pays both foreign and domestic banks to simply park their money in Fed accounts — in other words, to not loan money at all. Over the past 5 years, the Fed’s big bank bailout amounts to over half a trillion dollars…. My amendment ends these subsidies.”

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on October 9, 2025 by a vote of 14 to 83 (Roll Call 562). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the unconstitutional Federal Reserve should not bail out or subsidize banks at the expense of taxpayers.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a motion to proceed to Senate Concurrent Resolution 22, a budget resolution he introduced. On the Senate floor, Paul pleaded, “This year, the United States will spend $6.7 trillion while bringing in about $4.7 trillion. That is $2 trillion more being spent than what is coming in…. Next year, it is going to be even worse. The budget that was passed in the spring said we would spend $6.3 trillion next year, but it turns out it is going to be $7.2 trillion next year.” Of his resolution, Paul said, “My budget, … the Six Penny Plan budget, cuts 6 percent of all spending to rebalance in just 5 years.”

The Senate rejected Paul’s motion on September 16, 2025 by a vote of 36 to 62 (Roll Call 521). We have assigned pluses to the yeas not only because most government spending falls outside the scope of constitutionally authorized federal powers, but also because the federal government needs to start reining in ballooning federal spending and debt in order to avert future fiscal disaster. Although six percent may not seem like much, modest cuts are still better than none at all.

During consideration of the fiscal 2026 military-construction and agriculture appropriations bill (H.R. 3944), Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) offered an amendment to reduce discretionary spending in the agriculture appropriations component of the bill by two percent across the board. This would not affect SNAP and EBT food stamps, which are funded as mandatory spending.

The Senate rejected Kennedy’s amendment on August 1, 2025 by a vote of 14 to 81 (Roll Call 476). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government needs to start reining in climbing federal spending (and deficits) somewhere in order to avert fiscal disaster.

H.R. 4, the “Rescissions Act of 2025,” would rescind $9 billion in funding previously appropriated by Congress for fiscal 2025, including $7.9 billion in foreign aid and $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The foreign-aid rescissions include $800 million for migration and refugee assistance, $361 million for international peacekeeping operations, and $169 million for international organizations such as the United Nations and World Health Organization.

The Senate passed H.R. 4 on July 17, 2025 by a vote of 51 to 48 (Roll Call 411). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize Congress to establish or fund public media, or to send financial aid to foreign countries. Although $9 billion is a small number compared to the total amount of federal expenditures, it is a good first step toward reining in unconstitutional, reckless spending.

During consideration of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to end federal tax credits for projects utilizing battery and energy-storage technologies that begin construction more than 60 days after the bill's enactment, phasing out taxpayer-funded subsidies and curbing federal favoritism toward "green" energy. By contrast, the enacted law preserves longer-term subsidies for energy storage while ending tax credits for wind and solar projects placed in service after December 31, 2027.

The Senate rejected Lee's amendment on July 1, 2025 by a vote of 21 to 79 (Roll Call 360). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the amendment would have ended these subsidies almost immediately rather than allowing them to continue for years. By preserving "green" energy credits, Congress continues to advance policies aligned with the UN's Agenda 2030, using federal tax law to manipulate the economy and impose globalist energy priorities that fall well outside the Constitution's enumerated powers.

S. 1582, the "Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act," would regulate cryptocurrency stablecoins, digital assets used as a means of payment redeemable for a fixed amount of currency. It requires stablecoin issuers to apply to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to be a "permitted payment stablecoin issuer" and maintain 1:1 reserves in approved assets. Additionally, it empowers the Federal Reserve Board, FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Department of the Treasury to oversee permitted stablecoin issuers.

The Senate passed S. 1582 on June 17, 2025 by a vote of 68 to 30 (Roll Call 318). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the GENIUS Act expands government surveillance and control over private financial activities, creating a backdoor to a central bank digital currency. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not permit Congress to regulate the financial sector, and the Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and unwarranted government surveillance.

H. J. Res. 42 would overturn a Department of Energy rule imposing new efficiency-standard certification, labeling, and enforcement requirements for dozens of appliances, preventing the regulation from taking effect.

The Senate passed H. J. Res. 42 on April 30, 2025 by a vote of 52 to 46 (Roll Call 223). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Congress — and unelected federal agencies — lacks constitutional authorization to dictate appliance standards, which drive up costs, reduce consumer choice, and micromanage private industry. Energy policy and consumer decisions are not among the enumerated powers of the federal government, and Congress should rein in bureaucratic rulemaking — driven by the false climate-change narrative promoted by Marxists and globalists — that substitutes centralized mandates for market freedom and individual judgment.

H. J. Res. 20 would overturn a 2024 Department of Energy rule, titled “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters,” that imposed new requirements on gas-fired instantaneous water heaters and effectively banned the sale of non-condensing models.

The Senate passed H. J. Res. 20 on April 10, 2025 by a vote of 53 to 44 (Roll Call 207). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government should not impose regulatory standards on consumer products. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize Congress to regulate consumer products; this is reserved to the states, as the 10th Amendment affirms.

During consideration of a budget resolution for fiscal 2025 (House Concurrent Resolution 14), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) offered an amendment to increase the federal minimum wage to at least $17 an hour over five years.

The Senate rejected Sanders’ amendment on April 5, 2025 by a vote of 47 to 52 (Roll Call 184). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the “Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938,” which mandates a federal minimum wage for nearly every employee in the United States, is unconstitutional. Nothing in the Constitution authorizes Congress to set the wages of non-federal or private employees. In fact, Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution limits Congress to regulating “Commerce … among the several States,” preventing interference by the federal government in intrastate economic matters. The 10th Amendment reinforces that all powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved “to the States respectively, or to the people.”

During consideration of a budget resolution to establish “the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025” (House Concurrent Resolution 14), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to reduce the increase in the national debt limit in the bill from $4 trillion to $500 billion. The debt limit is the maximum amount the federal government is allowed to borrow.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on April 4, 2025 by a vote of 5 to 94 (Roll Call 179). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Congress should cut spending rather than raise the national debt limit, which was $36.1 trillion at the time of this vote. Of course, though raising the debt limit $500 billion is better than raising it $4 trillion, it should not be raised at all. In fact, by restoring constitutional government, spending would be reduced to the point that the U.S. government once again could operate on a surplus and the national debt would be reduced.

During consideration of a continuing appropriations bill to fund the federal government through the end of fiscal 2025 (H.R. 1968), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to reduce funding levels for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). A press release from Paul’s office after the vote explained that the amendment would have codified “Secretary of State Rubio and DOGE’s cuts to foreign aid” and would have cut “most of the waste, fraud, and abuse that has plagued USAID for decades.”

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on March 14, 2024 by a vote of 27 to 73 (Roll Call 132). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because foreign aid, not being one of the enumerated powers granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, is unconstitutional. In fact, foreign aid should be not just reduced, but eliminated entirely.

S. 9, the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025,” would ensure that only real (i.e., biological) women and girls compete in women’s sports that are operated, sponsored, or facilitated by federal funding. “Transgender” women and girls — i.e., biological males who “identify,” or pose, as females — would be prohibited from competing.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 9, 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 March 3, 2025 by a vote of 51 to 45 (Roll Call 100; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government should not use taxpayer money to facilitate biological males competing against real women and girls.

H. J. Res. 35 would overturn the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2024 “Waste Emissions Charge” rule, which imposed annual fees on oil and gas facilities that emit methane above certain thresholds. The resolution blocks the EPA from imposing this rule — intended to curb greenhouse-gas emissions — on petroleum and natural-gas systems.

The Senate passed H. J. Res. 35 on February 27, 2025 by a vote of 52 to 47 (Roll Call 97). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because neither the EPA nor its methane-emissions-fee rule are authorized under the Constitution. Moreover, the rule was driven by the false climate-change narrative that serves as a pretext for implementing the UN’s Agenda 2030, which undermines national sovereignty and promotes centralized, global control.

During consideration of a budget resolution “setting forth the congressional budget for the United States government for fiscal year 2025” (Senate Concurrent Resolution 7), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) submitted an amendment to have House and Senate committees recommend changes in law within their jurisdictions that would collectively reduce the deficit by approximately $1.4 trillion through fiscal 2034.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on February 21, 2025 by a vote of 24 to 76 (Roll Call 77). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because trillion-dollar annual deficits and the ballooning national debt are not sustainable. For fiscal year 2024 alone, which ended on September 30, 2024, the federal deficit was $1.8 trillion, which was added to the national debt. Most of the spending fueling runaway deficits and debt is unconstitutional. Paul’s defeated amendment fell far short of the cuts needed to eliminate deficit spending, but it would at least have been a step in the right direction.

During consideration of a budget resolution for fiscal 2025 (Senate Concurrent Resolution 7), Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) offered an amendment to provide increased resources for local law enforcement by funding the COPS Hiring Program, a federal grant program administered by the Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). It provides funding to state, local, and tribal law-enforcement agencies to hire or rehire career law-enforcement officers.

The Senate rejected Luján’s amendment on February 21, 2025 by a vote of 48 to 52 (Roll Call 81). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not authorize federal involvement in domestic law enforcement, as affirmed by the 10th Amendment. The COPS Hiring Program undermines the decentralized structure of the U.S. federalist system, inserting federal influence into state and local policing and creating dependence on federal funding.

During consideration of a budget resolution for fiscal 2025 (Senate Concurrent Resolution 7), Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) offered an amendment to protect access to "reproductive healthcare," including "fertility treatment services" such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The Senate rejected Duckworth's amendment on February 21, 2025 by a vote of 49 to 51 (Roll Call 82). We have assigned pluses to the nays because healthcare is not the role of government, and neither abortion nor IVF is healthcare. Despite healthcare not being one of the powers enumerated to Congress in Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, the term "reproductive health services" has been codified into federal law. It encompasses the life-destroying practices of IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies, through which most embryos conceived outside the womb are aborted or indefinitely frozen. If Congress, as affirmed in the Declaration of Independence, holds that all people are "created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights," then it should secure the first of those rights — the right to life — by rejecting any federal protections or support for abortion and cryo-orphaning entirely.

S. 6, the “Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act,” would establish criminal penalties for healthcare practitioners who intentionally kill or harm an infant born alive following an abortion or attempted abortion.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 6, 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 22, 2025 by a vote of 52 to 47 (Roll Call 11; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the U.S. Constitution does not grant a right to abortion. Abortion is not healthcare, it is the ending of innocent human life, and the Declaration of Independence affirms the right to life as a fundamental, God-given, and inherent right.

H.R. 10545, also dubbed the “American Relief Act,” would extend funding for federal-government operations at current levels through March 14, 2025, thereby averting a partial government shutdown that would otherwise have begun on December 21, 2024. The bill would also provide $110 billion for disaster aid, including $30.8 billion for farm losses, among other provisions. It does not include, however, a two-year suspension of the debt limit that was in an earlier version under a different bill number (H.R. 10515). Ironically, President-elect Donald Trump wanted the debt-limit suspension in the bill, but Democrats did not — the latter preferring to raise or suspend the debt limit under Trump’s (not Biden’s) watch.

The Senate passed (and thus cleared for the president to sign) the stop-gap funding bill on December 21, 2024 by a vote of 85 to 11 (Roll Call 339). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the misnamed American Relief Act will continue the Washington spendathon, thereby continuing to run up government debt without providing any relief. Instead of kicking the can further down the road, Congress must cut spending now, not later.

On November 18, 2024, President Biden submitted to Congress his plan to cancel $4.65 billion in Ukrainian debt owed to the United States. To block this debt forgiveness, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered a resolution (Senate Joint Resolution 117) to disapprove the president’s proposal.

The Senate rejected Paul’s motion on November 20, 2024 by a vote of 37 to 61 (Roll Call 295). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the $4.65 billion, which is just a small fraction of U.S. aid to Ukraine, not only should not be canceled, but never should have been loaned to Ukraine in the first place. Moreover, the United States should not interject itself into the Russia-Ukraine war by providing aid to one of the combatants, and should instead follow a noninterventionist foreign policy that puts America first.

S. 4445, also known as the “Right to IVF Act,” would, in the words of the bill, “protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization.”

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 4445, but on a motion by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to invoke cloture (and thus limit debate) so the bill could be voted on. The motion to invoke cloture was rejected on September 17, 2024 by a vote of 51 to 44 (Roll Call 242; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because IVF is not included in the powers delegated to the federal government by the Constitution. Moreover, in February 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos should be considered children, just as should be the case with embryos in the mother’s womb. The destruction of frozen embryos — which is common in the IVF process — is the destruction of innocent human life.

Senate Joint Resolution 58 would reverse a December 2023 Department of Energy rule setting stricter energy-efficiency standards for non-weatherized and mobile-home gas furnaces at 95-percent annual fuel utilization efficiency. The rule seeks to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and methane, though it would increase sulfur-dioxide and mercury emissions due to higher electricity use.

The Senate passed S. J. Res. 58 on May 21, 2024 by a vote of 50 to 45 (Roll Call 176). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to regulate furnaces and other appliances.

President Joe Biden nominated Courtney Diesel O’Donnell to serve as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with the rank of ambassador.

The Senate confirmed O’Donnell’s nomination on May 15, 2024 by a vote of 49 to 45 (Roll Call 164). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this vote marked the return of the United States to the Paris-based organization, reversing its formal exit by the Trump administration in 2018. Yet rather than merely leaving UNESCO, the United States should fully withdraw from the entire United Nations system. The UN poses one of the greatest threats to U.S. sovereignty and the God-given rights of the American people, as its charter is antithetical to the U.S. Constitution. Congress must pursue a sound, traditional foreign policy of noninterventionism, based on U.S. interests and the original intent of the Founding Fathers.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made a motion to pass H.R. 815, which would provide a total of $95.3 billion in “emergency” aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The bill’s provisions include $60.8 billion for Ukraine (part of this funding is for replenishing U.S. stockpiles of military equipment already provided to Ukraine), $26.4 billion for Israel, and $8.1 billion for Taiwan and other U.S. allies in the region.

The Senate agreed to Schumer’s motion on April 23, 2024 by a vote of 79 to 18 (Roll Call 154). We have assigned pluses to the nays because foreign aid, not being one of the enumerated powers granted to the federal government in the Constitution, is unconstitutional, and the United States should follow a noninterventionist policy and avoid becoming embroiled in foreign quarrels.

H.R. 7888, titled the “Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act,” would reauthorize for two years, until 2026, Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which governs electronic surveillance of foreign terrorism suspects. Among other provisions, the bill would require additional procedures for searches by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) involving U.S. citizens and FBI surveillance requests to the secret FISA Court. It would also expand the definition of an “electronic communication service provider” and allow congressional leaders to access FISA Court and FISA Court of Review meetings.

The Senate passed H.R. 7888 on April 20, 2024 by a vote of 60 to 34 (Roll Call 150). We have assigned pluses to the nays because FISA has been used to spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment. While the bill includes provisions ostensibly to protect the privacy of U.S. citizens, those provisions fail to uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment-protected rights. Furthermore, the FISA Court approves just about any surveillance request that comes its way, and given the track record of intelligence agencies, it is unlikely that they would actually follow these rules.

During consideration of a bill to reauthorize Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA (H.R. 7888), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to prohibit federal officials from requesting orders under FISA to surveil U.S. persons, including citizens and permanent residents. It would ban officials from querying information collected under Section 702 using search terms connected to a U.S. person. Additionally, the amendment would prohibit information obtained about a U.S. person from being used as evidence against that person in criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on April 19, 2024 by a vote of 11 to 81 (Roll Call 147). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause.

S. 4072 would have prohibited the use of fiscal 2024 funding to implement, enforce, or administer certain EPA rules on tailpipe emissions for vehicles. This includes the proposed May 2023 rule and the final March 2024 rule setting multipollutant emissions standards for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 and beyond.

The Senate rejected S. 4072 on April 18, 2024 by a vote of 52 to 46 (Roll Call 142; a 60-vote majority was required for passage). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government has no constitutional authority to impose environmental regulations.

S. J. Res. 61 would reverse a December 2023 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) rule that requires state transportation agencies to set targets for reducing transportation-related greenhouse-gas emissions and report to the FHWA on their progress.

The Senate passed S. J. Res. 61 on April 10, 2024 by a vote of 53 to 47 (Roll Call 121). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the 10th Amendment reserves any such regulatory powers to “the States respectively, or to the people,” as opposed to unelected federal bureaucrats. In addition to eroding state sovereignty, the FHWA’s rule is a step toward implementing UN-led global “climate change” policy.

During consideration of the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024” (H.R. 2882), Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) offered an amendment to prohibit funds under the bill from being used by the federal government to label a U.S. citizen’s speech as “disinformation or misinformation” or to coerce online platforms to alter, remove, restrict, or suppress such speech.

The Senate rejected Schmitt’s amendment on March 23, 2024 by a vote of 47 to 51 (Roll Call 109). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the First Amendment specifically states that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” This restrictive clause was designed to protect Americans’ right to free speech from “misconstruction or abuse” of power by the federal government, as expressed in the 1789 Joint Resolution of Congress proposing the Bill of Rights.

H.R. 2882, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024,” would appropriate $1.2 trillion in total funding for fiscal 2024. Among other provisions, it would provide $825 billion for the Department of Defense; $224.7 billion for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education; $89.8 billion for the Department of Homeland Security; and $58.3 billion for the Department of State. Furthermore, H.R. 2882 would provide $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and $500 million for Israel defense assistance; extend the National Flood Insurance Program through September 30, 2024; and prohibit funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency through fiscal 2025.

The Senate passed H.R. 2882 on March 23, 2024 by a vote of 74 to 24 (Roll Call 114). We have assigned pluses to the nays because of the many unconstitutional agencies and programs that it would fund, including funding for our further entanglement in the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts without a congressional declaration of war, and because this reckless spending is yielding record increases in the national debt.

During consideration of a consolidated appropriations bill (H.R. 2882), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a motion to refer the bill back to committee with instructions to amend it to reduce its overall funding by five percent, excluding funding for the Department of Defense and border security.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on March 23, 2024 by a vote of 34 to 63 (Roll Call 106). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because reining in government spending ought to be an urgent priority given that the national debt recently surpassed $36 trillion. Members of Congress must also take more drastic and immediate action to eliminate all spending that is not specifically authorized by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Their ongoing failure to do so is contributing to the erosion and decline of the American Republic.

During consideration of a consolidated appropriations bill (H.R. 2882), Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) made a motion to offer an amendment to prohibit funds in the bill from being used to fly in illegal migrants under the Department of Homeland Security’s “Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans” (CHNV) parole program and resettle them in towns and cities across the United States.

The Senate rejected Hagerty’s amendment on March 23, 2024 by a vote of 47 to 51 (Roll Call 112). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to facilitate the transportation of illegal migrants into the United States.

During consideration of a consolidated appropriations bill (H.R. 2882), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to prohibit federal funding for the use of the CBP One app to facilitate the entry of aliens into the United States. The app, which the Biden administration relaunched in January 2023, allows persons from any country who are physically present in Mexico to schedule appointments for immigration proceedings at U.S. ports of entry.

The Senate rejected Lee’s amendment on March 22, 2024 by a vote of 45 to 51 (Roll Call 105). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because migrants who do not satisfy the conditions for asylum are often, upon their entry into the United States and release from custody, granted parole for up to two years under Title 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, making them eligible for work permits. Given that aliens are presumed to be ineligible for asylum if they enter the United States unlawfully after failing to seek refuge in a third country (e.g., Mexico), the CBP One app has effectively become a fraudulent gateway for millions of illegal migrants. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution stipulates that Congress shall have the power to “establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization,” and Article II, Section 3 requires the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.”

During consideration of the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024” (H.R. 4366), Senator Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) offered an amendment to “require that the census determine basic population statistics like the number of citizens, noncitizens, and illegal aliens that live in this country, and ... require that only U.S. citizens be counted in determining the number of House seats and electoral votes that each State gets,” as he explained on the Senate floor.

The Senate rejected Hagerty’s amendment on March 8, 2024 by a vote of 45 to 51 (Roll Call 83). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the purpose of the U.S. Census is to determine the allotment of congressional seats and Electoral College votes for each state. Illegal aliens, who are not U.S. citizens, should not be counted toward determining those numbers. Furthermore, changing the demographics of a congressional district or state also changes the voting patterns of those areas.

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made a motion to pass H.R. 4366, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024,” which would appropriate $467.5 billion in federal funding for fiscal 2024. Among other provisions, it would provide $307.8 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs; $103 billion for federal transportation and housing programs; $50 billion for the Department of Energy; $38.6 billion for the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency; $37.5 billion for the Department of Justice; $26.3 billion for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration; and $24.9 billion for NASA.

The Senate agreed to Schumer’s motion on March 8, 2024 by a vote of 75 to 22 (Roll Call 84). We have assigned pluses to the nays because most of the spending would go to federal government departments, agencies, and programs that have no authorization or basis in the Constitution. Furthermore, this reckless spending is currently yielding high inflation and record increases in the national debt.

During consideration of a continuing appropriations resolution (H.R. 7463), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to prohibit the Federal Reserve from creating an emergency lending program or facility that purchases or sells the debt of any state or municipality.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on February 29, 2024 by a vote of 37 to 53 (Roll Call 63). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because this amendment would have been a step toward ultimately abolishing the unconstitutional Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve is the largest domestic holder of U.S. public debt, which has surpassed $36 trillion. It had already caused much damage to our nation’s economy, through its inflationary policies and issuance of fiat currency, prior to its announcement during Covid-19 that it would also be willing to buy or sell the debt of state and local governments. According to Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, only Congress has the power to “coin Money” and “regulate the Value thereof.” Moreover, Article I, Section 10 specifies that “No State” shall “make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.”

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a motion to discharge the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from further consideration of Senate Joint Resolution 51, which would direct the president to remove U.S. armed forces “from hostilities in or affecting Syria … unless and until a declaration of war or specific authorization for such use of United States Armed Forces has been enacted.”

The Senate rejected Paul’s motion on December 7, 2023 by a vote of 13 to 84 (Roll Call 333). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because under the U.S. Constitution, the power to declare war belongs to Congress, and the United States should follow a policy of noninterventionism, minding its own business in foreign affairs.

S. J. Res. 43 would formally disapprove of a July 2023 Department of Education rule modifying Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans for student-loan borrowers. This rule, unveiled shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Biden administration student loan-forgiveness plan in Biden v. Nebraska, would reduce the amount borrowers pay and make it easier to forgive loans held for 20 to 25 years. Speaking on the Senate floor, Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) stated the rule “transfers the burden of $559 billion in Federal student loans to the 87 percent of Americans who don’t have student loans, who chose not to go to college, or who already responsibly paid off their debts.”

The Senate rejected S. J. Res. 43 on November 15, 2023 by a vote of 49 to 50 (Roll Call 310). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government has no authority under the Constitution to subsidize or involve itself in higher education. Furthermore, the Department of Education’s rule merely transfers the cost of these unpaid loans to taxpayers, harming Americans and further eroding our nation’s fiscal situation.

During consideration of the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act (H.R. 6363), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to reduce funding in the bill by 15 percent, except for the Department of Defense, military construction, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and to rescind $30 billion in enforcement funds provided to the Internal Revenue Service.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on November 15, 2023 by a vote of 32 to 65 (Roll Call 311). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because reining in government spending ought to be an urgent priority given that about 80 percent of the current federal bureaucracy is unconstitutional and the national debt recently surpassed $33 trillion. Members of Congress must also be willing to take more drastic and immediate action to eliminate all spending that is not specifically authorized by Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution. Their ongoing failure to do so is contributing to the erosion and decline of the American Republic.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (H.R. 4366) would provide roughly $279 billion in total discretionary spending for three of the 12 fiscal 2024 appropriations bills. This includes funding for Defense Department military construction projects; the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Transportation, and Department of Housing and Urban Development; and various other government agencies.

The Senate passed H.R. 4366 on November 1, 2023 by a vote of 82 to 15 (Roll Call 284). We have assigned pluses to the nays because, with the exception of the Department of Defense, none of these federal departments or agencies is authorized by the Constitution. Furthermore, in light of a $33.9 trillion national debt and a $1.7 trillion budget deficit, this appropriations bill is fiscally irresponsible.

During consideration of a consolidated appropriations minibus (H.R. 4366), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to require that the U.S. comptroller general conduct a full audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on November 1, 2023 by a vote of 46 to 51 (Roll Call 280). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Federal Reserve System, essentially a cartel of private banks functioning as a central bank, is unconstitutional and responsible for many of the nation’s current financial problems via its control of money and credit. Auditing the Fed would shed light on its otherwise secretive practices, and perhaps lead to its eventual abolishment.

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a joint resolution (S. J. Res. 44) to direct the president to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in or affecting Niger. The resolution noted that a coup d’etat in July 2023 triggered a regional conflict that threatens to involve U.S. military forces in the country. As of June 2023, more than 1,000 members of the U.S. military were deployed there.

The Senate blocked Paul’s joint resolution on October 26, 2023 by a vote of 11 to 86 (Roll Call 270). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the deployment of U.S. forces to Niger was not specifically authorized by Congress, and under the Constitution only Congress has the power to declare war.

During consideration of a consolidated appropriations minibus (H.R. 4366), Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) offered an amendment that would prohibit any funds made available by the bill for the Transportation Department for fiscal 2024 to be used to enforce a Covid-19 mask mandate.

The Senate adopted Vance’s amendment on October 25, 2023 by a vote of 59 to 38 (Roll Call 266). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government has no authority under the Constitution to impose mask mandates.

H.R. 5860, the “Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act,” would appropriate federal government funding at fiscal 2023 levels from October 1, 2023 through November 17, 2023. Additionally, it would appropriate $16 billion in disaster relief for fiscal 2024 and extend federal authorization for multiple programs, including certain Medicare, Medicaid, and Federal Aviation Administration programs. Notably, the bill does not include funding for Ukraine.

The Senate passed H.R. 5860 on September 30, 2023 by a vote of 88 to 9 (Roll Call 247). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress needs to cut spending to avoid fiscal disaster. Additionally, Congress’ inability to promptly pass a 2024 budget, instead using a continuing appropriations bill that funds the federal government at bloated fiscal 2023 levels, illustrates the breakdown of the federal budgeting process.

During consideration of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) offered an amendment to “Prohibit the Secretary of Defense from issuing any replacement Covid-19 vaccine mandate without Congressional approval.” Cruz’ amendment would also require the Department of Defense to (1) “reinstate any service member separated solely for Covid-19 vaccine status who wants to return to service”; (2) “restore the rank of any service member demoted solely for Covid-19 vaccine status”; (3) adjust to “honorable” any “general” discharge given due to Covid-19 vaccine status; (4) “expunge … any adverse action based solely on Covid-19 vaccine status”; and (5) “make every effort to retain service members not vaccinated against Covid-19.”

The Senate rejected Cruz’ amendment on July 26, 2023 by a vote of 46 to 53 (Roll Call 199). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because it is unconstitutional to force vaccinations on people.

During consideration of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2226), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment “to express the sense of Congress that Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty does not supersede the constitutional requirement that Congress declare war before the United States engages in war.” Under Article 5, member nations of NATO “agree that an armed attack against one or more of them … shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them … will assist the Party or Parties so attacked.”

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on July 19, 2023 by a vote of 16 to 83 (Roll Call 191). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because according to the U.S. Constitution only Congress has the authority to declare war. U.S. membership in NATO increases the likelihood of the United States being dragged into a war that neither the American people nor Congress wants. Rather than allowing NATO and its UN parent to determine when we go to war, we should get out of both organizations.

H. J. Res. 44 would formally disapprove of a January 2023 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule expanding the definition of a “short-barreled rifle” to include those with stabilizing braces, and requiring such firearms to comply with various requirements under the National Firearms Act (NFA).

The Senate rejected H. J. Res. 44 on June 22, 2023 by a vote of 49 to 50 (Roll Call 171). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the ATF’s stabilizing-brace rule violates the Second Amendment-protected right to keep and bear arms. Furthermore, there is no constitutional basis for the ATF’s or NFA’s existence.

S. J. Res. 11 would formally disapprove of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule mandating stricter emissions standards on heavy-duty vehicles and engines. The rule aims to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from such vehicles by nearly 50 percent by 2045.

The Senate failed to override President Biden’s veto of S. J. Res. 11 on June 21, 2023 by a vote of 50 to 50 (Roll Call 167). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government has no authority under the Constitution to implement environmental regulations. Furthermore, the EPA’s rule feeds right into the climate-change hoax and, by extension, the UN’s Agenda 2030, and would impose onerous regulations on businesses.

During consideration of the bipartisan debt-limit deal (H.R. 3746), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered a substitute amendment to increase the debt limit by $500 billion (rather than suspend the limit through January 1, 2025) and limit federal outlays to $4.8 trillion for fiscal 2024, decreasing this limit annually by five percent through fiscal 2028, at $3.9 trillion. Among other provisions, Paul’s amendment would require the Office of Management and Budget to report annually whether actual outlays exceeded these limits and, if so, require the president to issue a sequestration order to cut spending by the same amount as the excess spending.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on June 1, 2023 by a vote of 21 to 75 (Roll Call 136). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because runaway, deficit-laden federal spending, most of which is unconstitutional, must be brought under control, and Paul’s proposal would have been a step in the right direction.

H.R. 3746, titled the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, would suspend the debt limit through January 1, 2025 and create caps on “discretionary” spending for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. In fiscal 2024, defense spending would increase three percent, to $886.4 billion, and nondefense spending would decrease five percent, to $703.7 billion; both limits would increase by one percent for fiscal 2025. Among multiple other provisions, H.R. 3746 would provide $44.8 billion for the veterans’ toxic exposure fund and $22 billion for a Commerce Department fund, rescind $27.7 billion in unspent federal Covid-related funds, rescind $1.4 billion of the $79.3 billion provided in 2022 for IRS enforcement, enact time limits on environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act, and raises the age of SNAP work requirements for able-bodied individuals to 55 while exempting certain other groups. Furthermore, the bill requires discretionary spending to decrease by one percent if Congress fails to enact on-time appropriations legislation for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. In an April 28, 2023 op-ed opposing a previous iteration of the bill, Representative Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) stated, “Going off the cliff at the Republicans’ 60-mph or the Democrats’ 80-mph results in the same thing: A horrific crash.”

The Senate passed H.R. 3746 on June 1, 2023 by a vote of 63 to 36 (Roll Call 146). 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.

This resolution (S. J. Res 4) purports that the Equal Rights Amendment “is valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution, having been ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States.”

The Senate did not vote directly on S. J. Res. 4, 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 April 27, 2023 by a vote of 51 to 47 (Roll Call 99; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the claim that the ERA is a “valid … part of the Constitution” is a sham. When Congress submitted the ERA to the states for ratification in 1972, it set a seven-year ratification period that ended on March 22, 1979. During that period, 35 states ratified the ERA, but four of those states reconsidered and rescinded their ratifications. This left the ERA seven states short of the three-fourths majority (38 states) needed to become part of the Constitution. Prior to the deadline, when it became apparent the 38-state threshold would not be reached, Congress extended the deadline to June 30, 1982. This legally dubious extension caused a fifth state to rescind, and during the extension period no new states ratified. In recent years, three new states have ratified the ERA. But to claim that this makes the ERA part of the Constitution is to ignore the long-expired deadlines, as well as the five states that rescinded.

S. 870 would authorize $95 million annually through fiscal 2030 for the U.S. Fire Administration, increasing the agency’s funding levels by 24 percent. Among other provisions, S. 870 would authorize $3.4 million to create standards for assessing new firefighting technologies, reauthorize through fiscal 2030 two Federal Emergency Management Agency grant programs assisting local fire departments, and ban Chinese entities from receiving any of these funds.

The Senate passed S. 870 on April 20, 2023 by a vote of 95 to 2 (Roll Call 94). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution does not authorize any federal spending for firefighting. Furthermore, the strings that come attached to grants for local fire departments move the United States closer to federalizing firefighting.

S. J. Res. 10 would reverse the September 2022 Department of Veterans Affairs rule allowing medical benefit coverage for abortion counseling and procedures. This rule overturned longstanding VA regulations excluding abortion from its coverage.

The Senate rejected S. J. Res. 10 on April 19, 2023 by a vote of 48 to 51 (Roll Call 90). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because taxpayers should not be required to subsidize abortion services. The Declaration of Independence affirms the right to life as the most fundamental, God-given, and inherent right, which is further protected by the Fifth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

H. J. Res. 27 would disapprove of a rule submitted by the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, Department of Defense, and Environmental Protection Agency on January 18, 2023 that again revises the definition of the “Waters of the United States.” During House debate on the bill, Representative Tracey Mann (R-Kan.) declared, “Agricultural producers have been forced to operate their businesses under three different definitions of water in the last 10 years, and this most recent rule removes long-standing bipartisan exemptions for common water features like ponds and streams found on family farms and other private property. With this vote, Congress has a golden opportunity to stand up not only for people who feed, fuel, and clothe us all, but also for all Americans whose businesses and private lives will be affected by this Big Government encroachment onto their property.”

The Senate passed H. J. Res. 27 on March 29, 2023 by a vote of 53 to 43 (Roll Call 79). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because both federal water regulations and the EPA are unconstitutional, and if the latest Biden administration rule were allowed to stand, activities such as farming and real estate development would be greatly hampered, since farmers and developers would be subject to increased unconstitutional permit requirements and fines concerning their treatment of almost any body of water, no matter how small.

According to H. J. Res. 7, “the national [Covid-19] emergency declared by the finding of the President on March 13, 2020, in Proclamation 9994 … is hereby terminated.”

The Senate passed H. J. Res. 7 on March 29, 2023 by a vote of 68 to 23 (Roll Call 80). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because it is unconstitutional to suspend the Constitution by declaring national public-health emergencies.

During consideration of the bill to repeal the authorizations for the use of military force against Iraq (S. 316), Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) introduced an amendment that would require any convention or agreement about pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response reached by either the World Health Assembly or the International Negotiating Body of the World Health Organization (WHO) to be deemed as “a treaty that is subject to the requirements of article II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States,” according to the text of the amendment.

The Senate rejected Johnson’s amendment on March 28, 2023 by a vote of 47 to 49 (Roll Call 71). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because in recent decades both the Executive Branch and Congress have regularly skirted the constitutional requirement in Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution that treaties have to be made with the “Advice and Consent of the Senate … provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.” Instead of recognizing agreements as treaties, they unconstitutionally designate them as “executive agreements,” thereby enabling the president and Congress to avoid seeking the advice and consent of the Senate and pass them by a simple majority of the House and Senate, rather than the more rigorous threshold of two-thirds of the senators present.

During consideration of the bill (S. 316) to repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force against Iraq, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to repeal the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. Enacted in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the 2001 AUMF authorized the president to use military force against the terrorists involved, including those who aided and harbored them, and was used as the legal authority for U.S. military entry into Afghanistan. But that was more than 20 years ago. Since that time, the 2001 AUMF has been used by presidents as a blank check for military interventions in more than 20 countries, from Afghanistan to Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on March 22, 2023 by a vote of 9 to 86 (Roll Call 65). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not give the president a blank check to go to war without congressional approval.

H. J. Res. 30 would reverse the December 2022 Labor Department rule modifying standards under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to allow retirement-plan fiduciaries to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in making investment decisions and exercising shareholder rights, including when voting on shareholder resolutions and board nominations.

The Senate passed H. J. Res. 30 on March 1, 2023 by a vote of 50 to 46 (Roll Call 35). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because “woke” ESG policies, which corporations and governments are increasingly embracing, are aligned with the United Nations’ Agenda 2030. The UN’s Agenda 2030 is inherently contrary to the Constitution, and ESG promotes leftist policies including radical environmentalism, gun control, and the LGBT agenda. Plus, the U.S. Constitution does not authorize the federal government to regulate retirement plans.

H.R. 2617 would authorize $1.6 trillion for regular fiscal 2023 discretionary federal spending and another $100 billion for a wide variety of other legislation (nearly $47 billion for aid to Ukraine and roughly $38 billion for U.S. natural disasters) that was tacked onto the bill in last-minute negotiations by congressional leaders. Looking at the big picture, this bill minimizes congressional accountability to the voters by combining the 2023 spending approval for 15 Cabinet departments and eight federal agencies into only one bill. On top of that, the federal budget deficit for 2023 is expected to be one trillion dollars.

The Senate passed H.R. 2617 on December 22, 2022 by a vote of 68 to 29 (Roll Call 421). We have assigned pluses to the nays because passage of this largely unconstitutional bill in the context of a projected $1 trillion 2023 federal budget deficit reveals a high degree of fiscal irresponsibility and unaccountability to the voters by Congress. This Omnibus 2023 spending bill should have been punted by this “lame duck” session of Congress into the next Congress, where it would have been subject to revision by the members selected by the voters on November 8, 2022.

H.R. 8404 would codify the right to marry regardless of sexual orientation or race. It prohibits the states from denying marriage between two individuals on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. This bill also repeals the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as “only a legal union between one man and one woman.”

The Senate passed H.R. 8404 on November 29, 2022 by a vote of 61 to 36 (Roll Call 362). We have assigned pluses to the nays because this Marxist-inspired bill violates state sovereignty. Additionally, it embraces “woke” culture and undermines the traditional nuclear family. Rights come from God, not government.

Senate Joint Resolution 63 would terminate the Covid-19 national emergency declared by President Donald Trump on March 13, 2020. As Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) stated in a November 17, 2022 op-ed, “The Constitution is the guarantor of our liberties. So it should come as no surprise that those who crave power to rule over their fellow man always seek to suspend the Constitution by declaring and perpetuating national emergencies.” He went on to write, “A president should not be able to unilaterally aggrandize his powers by saying a magic word. If he will not terminate the national emergency himself, it falls to us, the people’s representatives in Congress, to act, and, in the wise words of the court, remind Biden that ‘there is no pandemic exception to the Constitution.’”

The Senate passed the resolution terminating the Covid-19 national emergency on November 15, 2022 by a vote of 62 to 36. (Roll Call 355). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because it is unconstitutional to suspend the Constitution by declaring national public health emergencies.

This resolution of ratification (Treaty Document 117-1) would ratify the 2016 Kigali Amendment to the 1987 Montreal Protocol. Under this treaty, the United States would be required to reduce hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) emissions 85 percent (compared to 2012 levels) by 2036, and create a licensing system to regulate HFC imports and exports.

The Senate confirmed the treaty on September 21, 2022 by a vote of 69 to 27 (Roll Call 343). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Kigali Amendment infringes on U.S. sovereignty and allows the United Nations to dictate HFC environmental regulations in the United States. Furthermore, the U.S. Constitution does not authorize federal or international regulation of HFCs.

During consideration of the budget reconciliation bill (aka the Inflation Reduction Act), Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) made a motion to commit the bill to the Senate Judiciary Committee for changes that would prohibit the Justice Department from using resources to “inappropriately target” or classify parents as “domestic terrorists” based on their engagement with public- school officials.

The Senate rejected Cruz’ motion on August 7, 2022 by a vote of 50 to 50 (Roll Call 316). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because Congress should ensure that executive branch officials do not abridge parents’ freedom of speech or their right to peaceably assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances, which is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

H.R. 5376 would spend at least $512 billion on federal programs, subsidies, and tax credits. This includes $369 billion for various climate-change initiatives with the goal of lowering carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030, including $270 billion in tax credits, $27 billion in grants to state and local governments and nongovernmental organizations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and $9.7 billion to support zero-emission or carbon-capture technology in rural areas; $64 billion to extend expanded ObamaCare subsidies for three years; and $79.3 billion in expanded IRS funding (including to hire up to 87,000 new agents). Among other programs, the bill imposes a 15-percent minimum tax — based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) global minimum tax proposal — on corporations with at least $1 million in annual income, enacts drug-pricing changes for Medicare, and raises fee rates on energy production on public lands.

The Senate passed H.R. 5376 on August 7, 2022 by a vote of 50 to 50 (Roll Call 325). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress is failing to address its fiscally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that yielded a federal deficit of $1.38 trillion in fiscal 2022. Moreover, the bill advances a radical environmentalist agenda, and virtually all of its provisions fall outside the Constitution’s specified powers.

During consideration of protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty to expand NATO to include Sweden and Finland, Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to add a reservation to the protocols stating that “Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty does not supersede the constitutional requirement that Congress declare war before the United States engages in war.” Article 5 of the treaty, which created NATO in 1949, states, “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them … shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them … will assist the Party or Parties so attacked.”

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on August 3, 2022 by a vote of 10 to 87 (Roll Call 281). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because, under the U.S. Constitution, only the Congress may declare war.

The Senate voted on protocols to the North Atlantic Treaty that created the North American Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1949 that would expand the military alliance to include Finland and Sweden. For the protocols to become effective, all 30 current NATO members must approve them.

The Senate overwhelmingly approved the protocols on August 3, 2022 by a vote of 95 to 1 (Roll Call 282), far in excess of the two-thirds majority vote needed to ratify treaties. We have assigned pluses to the nay because NATO is based on the principle of collective security, as opposed to each country acting in its own best interests. Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, “The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them … shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them … will assist the Party or Parties so attacked.” The expansion of this entangling military alliance, which was comprised of just 12 members at the time of its founding, increases the likelihood of the United States being drawn into a military conflict.

During consideration of a veterans healthcare bill (S. 3373), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered an amendment to offset the cost of a Veterans’ Benefits for Toxic Exposure bill by prohibiting USAID from distributing foreign-aid funds, other than to Israel, for 10 years. Paul defended his proposition with examples of USAID waste, including a $50 million “Visit Tunisia” program and a $37 million project designed to get “Filipinos back to school.”

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on August 2, 2022 by a vote of 7 to 90 (Roll Call 277). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the United States cannot afford to give aid to the rest of the world (in fact, the United States must borrow the money it gives away, since it is operating in the red), and there is no constitutional authorization to do so.

H.R. 4346 would appropriate $54.2 billion over five years, including $52.7 billion for semiconductor research and manufacturing and $1.5 billion for 5G development and implementation, and authorizes a 25-percent tax credit for spending on semiconductor manufacturing facilities. Additionally, H.R. 4346 authorizes, over five years, $81 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), $67 billion for the Energy Department, $11 billion for the Commerce Department, and $9.7 billion for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Among other actions, the bill authorizes new and existing NASA programs, requires the NSF to support research in new fields including climate change, and authorizes programs to improve underrepresented groups’ participation in STEM fields.

The Senate passed H.R. 4346 on July 27, 2022 by a vote of 64 to 33 (Roll Call 271). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not authorize Congress to fund research and development programs for the private sector. The free market, not government, is the key to technological and economic progress.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

During consideration of a continuing resolution (H.R. 6119) that would provide funding for federal government operations and services through February 18, 2022, Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) offered an amendment to prohibit “moneys from this bill to be used to fund or enforce the White House’s COVID vaccine mandates on the American people for the duration of” the continuing resolution. In his floor speech in support of his amendment, Marshall, a physician, stated, “Whether to receive the vaccine or not is a personal choice. It should not be mandated via unconstitutional Executive actions…. Make no mistake, these vaccine mandates are not about public health or science. If they were, the White House would recognize the 92 percent of Americans ... who already built up immunity to this virus between vaccines and natural immunity.”

The Senate rejected Marshall’s amendment on December 2, 2021 by a vote of 48 to 50 (Roll Call 476). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not grant the power to any branch of the federal government to force citizens to submit to vaccinations.

S. 4 would 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 modifications to their election laws. The types of election laws subject to preclearance under S. 4 include redistricting, and the bill effectively prohibits new voter-ID laws or rollbacks of “multilingual voting materials.” S. 4 would also make it easier for the federal government and others to take legal action against state election laws.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 4, 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 November 3, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 459; 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, it infringes upon state sovereignty as established under the 10th Amendment, subjugating it to the whims of federal bureaucrats.

S. 2747 would implement a sweeping federalization of American elections. Among the bill’s provisions, S. 2747 would force states to implement nationwide Internet, automatic, and same-day voter registration. The bill would also mandate that states allow mail-in voting and make available ballot “drop boxes” for all voters, and implement early voting that begins at least 15 days prior to an election. Additionally, S. 2747 would make Election Day a federal holiday, limit state legislatures’ authority over congressional redistricting, and enact additional campaign-finance regulations.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 2747, 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 October 20, 2021 by a vote of 49 to 51 (Roll Call 420; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because, under our system of government, state legislatures possess primary authority over regulating congressional elections.

During consideration of the Budget Resolution for fiscal 2022 (Senate Concurrent Resolution 14), Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) submitted an amendment to allow for “prohibiting or limiting Federal funding from being used to promote critical race theory or compel teachers or students to affirm critical race theory in prekindergarten programs, elementary schools, and secondary schools, by the amounts provided in such legislation for those purposes.”

The Senate adopted Cotton’s amendment on August 11, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 342). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because nowhere in the Constitution is Congress authorized to allocate federal funding for education or to promote any particular curriculum in schools. Furthermore, critical Race Theory (CRT) is a radical and divisive theory that forces students to see and acknowledge others primarily by their skin color and racial ancestry, rather than by individual merits. CRT is part of the broader Marxist-inspired “Black Lives Matter” agenda and has its roots in Marxist “Critical Theory” originating from the Frankfurt School and Fabian Socialists. The federal government has no business promoting this extremist, anti-American agenda in our children’s schools.

During consideration of the Budget Resolution for fiscal 2022 (Senate Concurrent Resolution 14), Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a misguided amendment to fund the hiring of 100,000 new local police officers nationwide with federal money. Even though Hawley’s amendment was passed by the overwhelming bipartisan majority of 95-3, it is misguided because it is in conflict with the system of federalism that the Founders bequeathed to us. Since the Constitution does not grant Congress the power of creating and funding local police departments, the 10th Amendment tells us that this power is reserved to the states and to the people.

The Senate adopted Hawley’s amendment on August 11, 2021 by a vote of 95 to 3 (Roll Call 345). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not grant to Congress the power to hire and/or control local police officers.

The Budget Resolution for fiscal 2022 (Senate Concurrent Resolution 14) sets budgetary levels that Congress uses as a guide for its spending bills. The resolution proposes federal outlays of $4.7 trillion, revenues of $3.4 trillion, and a deficit of $1.3 trillion in fiscal 2022. Trillion-dollar deficits are projected for each succeeding year through fiscal 2031, and the public debt is projected to increase from less than $30 trillion at the time of this vote to more than $45 trillion by 2031.

The Senate passed the Budget Resolution on August 11, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 357). We have assigned pluses to the nays because continuing the reckless spending and debt accumulation will result in economic catastrophe, and most federal spending is for programs not authorized by the Constitution.

During consideration of Senate Concurrent Resolution 14, Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) offered an amendment to “prohibit the Council on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency from promulgating rules or guidance that bans hydraulic fracturing in the United States.” During debate on the Senate floor, Cramer stated, “This amendment would simply prohibit any ban on hydraulic fracturing. Such a ban would raise Americans’ cost of living, weaken our national security, and, of course, actually enhance greenhouse gas emissions. Thanks to the technology of fracking, since 2007, U.S. oil production has doubled, and natural gas production has increased by 60 percent.... And, by the way, banning fracking would lead to triple-digit oil prices and possible global economic shock as per the University of Chicago.”

The Senate adopted Cramer’s amendment on August 10, 2021 by a vote of 57 to 42 (Roll Call 323). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the federal government should not interfere with energy exploration. Regulation of various industries, such as energy, is not one of the federal government’s enumerated powers under the Constitution. Allowing the United States to fully utilize its energy resources would make the country more self-sufficient and potentially create millions of jobs.

During consideration of the Budget Resolution for fiscal 2022 (Senate Concurrent Resolution 14), Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) offered an amendment to prevent funding from being included in the budget for abortion or abortion-related discrimination. According to a press release from Lankford’s office, “The amendment ensures that the budget will comply with the long-standing Hyde Amendment, which bars the use of federal dollars to pay for abortion, and the Weldon amendment, which protects health care providers who refuse to participate in abortion from discrimination.”

The Senate adopted Lankford’s amendment on August 10, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 336). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because there is no constitutional provision granting a right to abortion, Roe v. Wade notwithstanding; and pro-life taxpayers should not be forced to fund a lethal practice that violates their deeply held religious convictions.

During consideration of the Budget Resolution for fiscal 2022 (Senate Concurrent Resolution 14), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered a substitute amendment that would replace the budgetary levels in the resolution with new budgetary levels that would gradually reduce the deficit in order to achieve a budget surplus in fiscal 2026. “Five years ago, I offered a similar amendment,” Paul noted. “Had my amendment been adopted, today the budget would be balanced. Instead, we continued to borrow money, money we don’t have, and now our debt is rapidly approaching $30 trillion.”

The Senate rejected Paul’s alternative amendment to balance the budget on August 10, 2021 by a vote of 28 to 71 (Roll Call 338). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because continuing the federal spending spree will ultimately result in fiscal disaster, and most of the spending in the budget is for programs not authorized by the Constitution’s enumerated powers.

H.R. 3684 would spend $1.2 trillion altogether, with $550 billion being new spending. Among numerous other provisions, H.R. 3684 would spend $110 billion on roads and bridges, $66 billion on rail projects, $65 billion on broadband, $62 billion on Energy Department programs, $55 billion on water infrastructure, $39 billion on public transportation, $25 billion on airports, and $7.5 billion on electric vehicle-charging stations. The bill also mandates that states create carbon-reduction programs subject to federal approval, creates a mileage-tax pilot program, requires car companies to equip all vehicles with “advanced alcohol monitoring systems,” and defines “gender identity” as a protected class.

The Senate passed H.R. 3684 on August 10, 2021 by a vote of 69 to 30 (Roll Call 314). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress is failing to address its fiscally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that yielded a federal deficit of $2.77 trillion in fiscal 2021. Moreover, virtually all of the bill’s provisions fall outside the Constitution’s specified powers.

The For the People Act (S. 2093) would implement a sweeping federalization of American elections. Among the bill’s provisions, S. 2093 would force states to implement nationwide Internet, automatic, and same-day voter registration. The bill would also mandate states to allow mail-in voting for all voters, make ballot “drop boxes” available in every county, and implement early voting that begins at least 15 days prior to an election. Additionally, S. 2093 would prohibit voter caging, greatly reducing verification of voter-registration lists; require states to set up “independent redistricting commissions” that take redistricting authority out of state legislatures’ hands; and enact additional campaign-finance regulations.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 2093, 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 June 22, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 50 (Roll Call 246; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because, under our system of government, state legislatures possess primary authority over regulating congressional elections.

S. 1260, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, would authorize $250 billion over five years for federal funding of scientific research and development programs, including more than $52 billion for the U.S. semiconductor industry; $81 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), including $52 billion for the existing NSF programs and $29 billion for a new NSF directorate for technology and innovation that would support research and development in key areas such as artificial intelligence, automation, quantum computing, biotechnology, and advanced energy; and $23.5 billion (in fiscal 2021 alone) for NASA.

The Senate passed S. 1260 on June 8, 2021 by a vote of 68 to 32 (Roll Call 226). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not authorize Congress to fund research and development programs.

During consideration of the Endless Frontier Act (S. 1260), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to, as he described it from the Senate floor, “simply prohibit any research funded, for the Endless Frontier Act, from using any fetal tissue obtained from an abortion and from creating, destroying, discarding, or putting human embryos at risk.” Lee’s amendment would have essentially codified the National Science Foundation’s agency policy banning research that destroys or creates human embryos.

The Senate rejected Lee’s amendment on May 25, 2021 by a vote of 48 to 51 (Roll Call 206). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because not only does the Constitution not authorize the federal government to fund any type of research that incentivizes abortion, but all human life, at every stage of development from fertilization onward, is sacred and taxpayers should not be forced to pay for the destruction and unethical manipulation of such life.

During consideration of the Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act (S. 914), Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) offered an amendment to “limit the authority to reserve water rights in designating a national monument.” The amendment stated: “(1) No reservation of water rights. — In designating a national monument under subsection (a), the President may not reserve any implied or expressed water rights associated with the national monument. (2) Applicable law. — Water rights associated with a national monument designated under subsection (a) may be acquired for the national monument only in accordance with the laws of the State in which the water rights are located.”

The Senate rejected Lee’s amendment on April 29, 2021 by a vote of 41 to 54 (Roll Call 177). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the Constitution does not grant the federal government the power to designate national monuments or to grant water rights.

H.R. 1799 would extend the authorization for the Treasury Department’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) from March 31 to June 30, 2021. The PPP provides Small Business Administration-backed loans to businesses of 500 employees or less struggling as a result of the draconian COVID-19 lockdowns issued by governors across the country beginning in 2020 and extending into 2021. PPP loans do not have to be paid back so long as employers only use the funds for legitimate business expenses, such as PPP-approved payroll costs, mortgages, rent, operation expenditures, personal protective equipment as may have been required by state-issued emergency orders, property damage as a result of violent mob protests that occurred in 2020 and not covered by the business’s insurance, and suppliers’ costs for contracts or other bills of goods and services purchased prior to taking out the loan.

The Senate passed H.R. 1799 on March 25, 2021 by a vote of 92 to 7 (Roll Call 140). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Constitution does not authorize the federal government to bail out or lend funds to business.

H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, would follow the precedent set in 2020 of spending multiple trillions of dollars within one year on unconstitutional programs in the name of coronavirus relief. As summarized by a Treasury Department fact sheet posted after the House and Senate had approved the $1.9 trillion spending bill, 90 million Americans would receive more than $242 billion in direct payments ($1,400 for individuals, $2,800 for married couples, and $1,400 for each dependent); families would receive $3,600 for children under age six, and $3,000 for other children under age 18; state and local governments would receive $325 billion in emergency direct payments; states, territories, and tribes would receive $10 billion for capital projects; etc.

The Senate passed H.R. 1319 on March 6, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 49 (Roll Call 110). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress is failing to address its fiscally irresponsible budgeting and appropriating process that yielded annual federal deficits of $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020 and an expected $3.0 trillion in 2021. Moreover, virtually all of the coronavirus aid provisions, including direct checks, federal unemployment benefits, and subsidization of the economy, are unconstitutional.

The House adopted the article of impeachment (“Incitement of Insurrection”) against President Donald Trump on January 13, 2021. The article, contained in House Resolution 24, was then sent to the Senate to decide whether or not to convict Trump and remove him from office. The article alleges that Trump engaged in “high Crimes and Misdemeanors by inciting violence against the Government of the United States.” He did so, the article claims, by repeatedly issuing “false statements asserting that the Presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by State or Federal officials”; by reiterating the claim that “we won the election” at his January 6, 2021, Washington, D.C., rally; and by saying in his January 6 speech, “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country anymore.”

The Senate acquitted Trump on February 13, 2021 by a vote of 57 to 43 (Roll Call 59; a two-thirds majority of those present and voting is required to convict). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Senate may not constitutionally convict a private citizen, which is what Trump was at the time of this vote, and also because he had not committed any crime — much less “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” (the constitutional standard for impeachment) — by exercising his right to free speech regarding the election results and political activism. Also, to interpret his “fight like hell” remark as a call to violence is ludicrous. In the same speech, Trump stated, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

During consideration of the Budget Resolution for fiscal 2021 (S. Con. Res. 5), Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) offered an amendment to create a deficit-neutral fund, consistent with the Senate’s pay-as-you-go rule in order to be included in a reconciliation bill. This fund would allow for legislation enforcing the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that requires illegal migrants attempting to gain asylum in the United States to wait in Mexico while their asylum claims are determined.

The Senate rejected Rubio’s amendment on February 5, 2021 by a vote of 50 to 50 (Roll Call 51). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because uncontrolled migration is detrimental to preserving our constitutional republic. Furthermore, considering that in fiscal 2020, 71.6 percent of asylum claims were ultimately rejected, it is wise public policy to prohibit asylum seekers from entering the United States.

During consideration of the Budget Resolution for fiscal 2021 (S. Con. Res. 5), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) offered a substitute amendment, which he called the “Three Penny Plan Budget.” According to a press release from his senate office, “Dr. Paul’s plan requires that for every on-budget dollar the federal government spends in Fiscal Year 2021, it spends three pennies fewer each year for the next five years.” This would have reduced spending by $67.4 billion in fiscal 2022 alone, and by a total of $7.2 trillion over 10 years.

The Senate rejected Paul’s substitute amendment on February 4, 2021 by a vote of 29 to 71 (Roll Call 31). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because runaway, deficit-laden federal spending, most of which is unconstitutional, must be brought under control, and Paul’s proposal would have been a step in the right direction.

During the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump (House Resolution 24), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made a constitutional point of order that the “proceeding, which would try a private citizen and not a president, a vice president or civil officer, violates the Constitution.”

The Senate tabled (killed) Paul’s point of order on January 26, 2021 by a vote of 55 to 45 (Roll Call 8). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Paul’s point is constitutionally unassailable. The Constitution states, “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.” Yet as of January 20, when Joe Biden was sworn in as president, Trump was a private citizen to whom the impeachment power does not apply.

The National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2021 (H.R. 6395) authorizes $740 billion in military spending. When President Donald Trump vetoed the NDAA on December 23, 2020, he stated in his veto message that “my administration recognizes the importance of the Act to our national security.” But, he also said, “Numerous provisions in the Act particularly contradict my Administration’s foreign policy, particularly my efforts to bring the troops home. I oppose endless wars, as does the American public.” He also cited other reasons for vetoing the NDAA, including Congress’ failure to end Section 230, which protects the social-media giants from liability for content posted on their sites, allowing them to create leftist monopolies.

The Senate overrode President Trump’s veto of the NDAA on January 1, 2021 by a vote of 81 to 13 (Roll Call 292). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the act includes spending not only for legitimate national defense, but also for military interventionism in foreign lands that does not make America safer. Also, the legislation undercuts the president’s legitimate authority as commander-in-chief by restricting his ability to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Germany, and South Korea.

H.R. 133, the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, includes about $1.4 trillion in discretionary appropriations and another $900 billion in coronavirus aid. Among other discretionary provisions, it includes $696 billion for the Department of Defense, including $77 billion for overseas military operations. It also includes $590 million in aid to developing countries. The coronavirus aid provisions include $600 checks per adult or dependent child, $300 per week in federal unemployment benefits through March 14, 2021, $325 billion in loans and grants to small businesses, $81.9 billion in Education Department grants, $25 billion in rental assistance, and $13 billion in agricultural assistance.

The Senate passed H.R. 133 on December 21, 2020 by a vote of 92 to 6 (Roll Call 289). We have assigned pluses to the nays because spending, which yielded an annual federal deficit of $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020, is courting fiscal disaster. Additionally, Congress is minimizing its accountability to voters by combining all discretionary federal spending and coronavirus aid into one gigantic “take it or leave it” bill. Furthermore, most of the coronavirus aid provisions, including direct checks, federal unemployment benefits, and subsidization of the economy, exceed the federal government’s authority. These and other matters are reserved for the states and the people under the 10th Amendment.

S. 4653, “A bill to protect the healthcare of hundreds of millions of people of the United States and prevent efforts of the Department of Justice to advocate courts to strike down the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” was introduced September 22, 2020 by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as a response to the Supreme Court agreeing to hear California v. Texas, a lawsuit involving multiple states with the aim of ruling the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ObamaCare) unconstitutional.

The Senate did not vote directly on S. 4653, 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 October 1, 2020 by a vote of 51 to 43 (Roll Call 200; a three-fifths majority of the entire Senate is required to invoke cloture). We have assigned pluses to the nays because the Affordable Care Act is an unconstitutional monstrosity of government intervention into the healthcare sector and is anything but affordable. ObamaCare reduced individual choice in the health-insurance market, increased costs for many Americans, and has been a poorly run boondoggle from the beginning, exactly what is to be expected when the federal government attempts to regulate and subsidize healthcare, something it has no constitutional authority to do.

H.R. 8337, titled the “Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act,” would appropriate federal government funding, at fiscal 2020 levels, from October 1, 2020, through December 11, 2020. Additionally, it increases funding levels for FEMA disaster relief, Small Business Administration loans, and multiple other programs. The bill also extends federal authorization for multiple programs including the National Flood Insurance Program.

The Senate passed H.R. 8337 on September 30, 2020 by a vote of 84 to 10 (Roll Call 197). We have assigned pluses to the nays because Congress needs to cut spending to avoid fiscal disaster. Additionally, Congress’ inability to promptly pass a 2021 budget, instead using a continuing appropriations bill, illustrates the breakdown of the federal budgeting process.

During consideration of a bill to impose sanctions on China over their treatment of the minority Uighur population (S. 178), Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced an amendment to “amend the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act [HIPAA] to prohibit pre-existing condition exclusions.” As its title suggests, Tillis’ amendment would prohibit medical insurance issuers in group or individual marketplaces from denying coverage based on preexisting health conditions. 

The Senate failed to table (kill) Tillis’ amendment on September 30, 2020 by a vote of 47 to 47 (Roll Call 199). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because the U.S. government should not be attempting to regulate healthcare or health insurance in any way, shape, or form. The Constitution clearly does not allow the federal government to involve itself in healthcare. Decisions about health insurance coverage should be left up to insurance companies. Federal regulations and/or subsidies in the healthcare sector tend to distort the market and have in large part caused the current out-of-control insurance prices we see today.

During consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 4049), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced an amendment “to reduce the bloated Pentagon budget by 10 percent and invest that money in jobs, education, health care, and housing in communities in the United States in which the poverty rate is not less than 25 percent.”

The Senate rejected Sanders’ amendment on July 22, 2020 by a vote of 23 to 77 (Roll Call 135). We have assigned pluses to the nays because national defense is an essential function of the federal government. This is not to say that the budget is not “bloated” (the Pentagon budget does contain waste, and not all military spending is defense spending), but unnecessary military spending should be cut, not transferred to social-welfare programs falling outside the Constitution’s specified powers.

During consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 4049), Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced an amendment to “restore American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing by increasing federal incentives.” Cornyn’s amendment would provide up to $3 million in grants to subsidize U.S. semiconductor manufacturers.

The Senate agreed to Cornyn’s amendment on July 21, 2020 by a vote of 96 to 4 (Roll Call 134). We have assigned pluses to the nays because nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government authorized to subsidize private businesses. If such subsidies are allowed, then any business could potentially be subsidized at the expense of any other, with the government essentially picking winners and losers in the marketplace, causing great economic distortion.

During consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (S. 4049), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced an amendment to withdraw American soldiers from Afghanistan within one year of the bill’s enactment, and to repeal the Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) that was used as authorization for U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11.

The Senate tabled (killed) Paul’s amendment on July 1, 2020 by a vote of 60 to 33 (Roll Call 129). We have assigned pluses to the nays because, as Paul put it in his remarks on the Senate floor, “the people who attacked on 9/11 have all been killed or captured,” and “it is not sustainable to keep fighting in Afghanistan generation after generation.” Instead, it is long past  time to bring the troops home. The AUMF that the amendment would repeal has been used broadly by presidents to send troops into foreign conflicts, despite the fact that under the Constitution only Congress may declare war.

H.R. 1957, the Great American Outdoors Act, permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at $900 million annually. The LWCF was created in 1964 to purchase and develop land for “recreational” uses. The bill also creates the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (NPPLLRF), which is funded at $1.9 billion annually for five years. This funding comes from oil, gas, and other energy royalties on federal property, and the NPPLLRF allocates this funding to maintenance in national parks and other federal lands.

The Senate passed H.R. 1957 on June 17, 2020 by a vote of 73 to 25 (Roll Call 121). We have assigned pluses to the nays not only because this bill irresponsibly increases the federal deficit and diverts energy royalties from being spent for needed constitutional purposes, but also because the Constitution does not authorize Congress to purchase private property except “for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings.” Moreover, the federal government already owns a huge percentage of land directly — about 28 percent of the nation — and is a demonstrably poor steward of public lands.

During consideration of a bill on public lands (H.R. 1957), Senator Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) offered a substitute amendment to replace the bill text with that of the Great American Outdoors Act. The Senate also moved to waive its “pay-as-you-go” rule, also called PAYGO. This rule requires legislation that includes measures that would increase the national deficit to also include provisions that would offset those increases.

The Senate agreed to waive the PAYGO rule on June 15, 2020 by a vote of 68 to 30 (Roll Call 118). We have assigned pluses to the nays because profligate spending needs to be immediately brought under control and deficits eliminated to avoid fiscal disaster. Congress is failing to address its fiscally and constitutionally irresponsible spending habits that yielded an annual federal deficit of $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020.

During consideration of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA, H.R. 6172), Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced an amendment to prohibit the use of certain methods to collect information concerning a U.S. person under FISA authorities. Specifically, it would prohibit the collection of electronic surveillance, physical search of premises or property, use of pen register and “trap and trace” phone number identification devices, production of tangible things, and targeting for acquisition of information of a U.S. person. It would require a warrant issued by a non-FISA federal court for the use of such methods.

The Senate rejected Paul’s amendment on May 14, 2020 by a vote of 11 to 85 (Roll Call 91). We have assigned pluses to the yeas because this amendment seeks specifically to limit FISA authorities and place specific surveillance powers in the hands of non-FISA courts.