Vote Explanation
Floor Speech
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Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, like millions of my fellow Americans, I contracted COVID-19 from a close contact. Fortunately, because I am vaccinated and boosted, my symptoms were mostly mild. However, as a growing number have also experienced, after taking Paxlovid and recovering, I then experienced what is known as ``Covid-19 Rebound.'' I again had to isolate, per CDC guidance, and was not able to make a number of votes as I could not travel back to Washington, DC, to be present on the Senate floor.
On May 24, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 194, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 855, Stephanie Dawkins Davis, of Michigan, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On May 24, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 196, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 896, Dara Lindenbaum, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 200, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 857, Evelyn Padin, of New Jersey, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of New Jersey. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 201, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 915, Charlotte Sweeney, of Colorado, to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Colorado. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 203, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 806, Sandra Thompson, of Maryland, to be Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 205, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 651, Henry Christopher Frey, of North Carolina, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On May 25, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 209, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 717, Cathy Ann Harris, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On May 26, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 210, motion to invoke cloture on the Motion to Proceed to H.R. 350, a bill to authorize dedicated domestic terrorism offices within the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to analyze and monitor domestic terrorist activity and require the Federal Government to take steps to prevent domestic terrorism. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
As recent, unthinkably tragic events at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods, CA, and now an elementary school in Uvalde, TX, have shown, we need to be doing much more to protect our fellow Americans. Every man, woman, and child has the fundamental human right to live their life; to be and feel safe in their classrooms, house of worship, and within their communities. White supremacy and gun violence are crises that are plaguing our Nation, and inaction is unacceptable. I am disappointed that the Senate failed to advance this important legislation, and I will continue working to pass it in the future.
On May 26, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 211, S.J. Res. 46, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security relating to ``Procedures for Credible Fear Screening and Consideration of Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and CAT Protection Claims by Asylum Officers.'' Had I been in attendance, I would have voted nay.
On May 26, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 212, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 461, Marcia Stephens Bloom Bernicat, of New Jersey, to be Director General of the Foreign Service. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On June 7, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 214, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 477, Alex Wagner, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On June 7, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 216, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 652, Chavonda J. Jacobs-Young, of Georgia, to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On June 7, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 217, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 792, Kenneth L. Wainstein, of Virginia, to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis, Department of Homeland Security. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
On June 7, 2022, I missed rollcall vote No. 218, confirmation of Executive Calendar No. 772, Shalanda H. Baker, of Texas, to be Director of the Office of Minority Economic Impact, Department of Energy. Had I been in attendance, I would have voted yea.
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