Here’s how the lawmakers who represent Centre County in Congress voted July 9-15
Here’s a look at how Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators voted from July 9 to 15. There were no key votes in the House this week.
Along with the week’s roll call votes, the Senate passed a bill (S Res 300) honoring the the victims of the June building collapse in Surfside, Florida, and the individuals who responded; and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (S 65) to ensure that goods made with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region do not enter the United States market.
HUMAN RIGHTS DIPLOMACY: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Uzra Zeya to be the State Department’s undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights. Zeya had been head of the Alliance for Peacebuilding for the past four years, and before that was a senior State Department official starting in 1990, both at overseas missions and in the U.S. A supporter, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said Zeya “is immensely qualified to lead U.S. efforts to recenter our most fundamental values in our foreign policy efforts and to strengthen the bureaus she will lead.”
The vote, on July 13, was 73 yeas to 24 nays. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., voted yes.
LABOR DEPARTMENT: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Julie Su to serve as the Labor Department’s deputy secretary. Su had been secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency for the past two and a half years, and before that was the state’s labor commissioner. A supporter, Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said her “leadership skills and proven track record of experience and effectiveness are just what we need.”
The vote, on July 13, was 50 yeas to 47 nays. Casey voted yes; Toomey voted no.
EMPLOYMENT LAW: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Jocelyn Samuels to serve as a commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for a term ending in July 2026. Samuels joined the commission in October, and was a civil rights director at the Department of Health and Human Services from 2014 to early 2017. A supporter, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said: “Workers need a champion at the EEOC fighting for them, and Ms. Samuels has proven over her nearly two decades of experience with the federal government and her recent service as a commissioner of the EEOC that she is that champion.”
The vote, on July 14, was 52 yeas to 47 nays. Casey voted yes; Toomey voted no.
LABOR LAW: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Seema Nanda to serve as solicitor for the Labor Department. Murray cited Nanda’s experience at the agency as a chief of staff and deputy solicitor, and as a Justice Department attorney who “fought to defend immigrant workers from discrimination and held employers accountable for unfair hiring practices.”
The vote, on July 14, was 53 yeas to 46 nays. Casey voted yes; Toomey voted no.
FINANCE OFFICIAL: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Nellie Liang to serve as the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for domestic finance. Liang was a longtime Federal Reserve official, including an eight-year tenure as head of its division of financial stability; for the past three years, she has been a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.
The vote, on July 15, was 72 yeas to 27 nays. Casey and Toomey voted yes.
VA OFFICIAL: The Senate confirmed the nomination of Donald Remy to serve as deputy secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Remy has been chief operating officer and chief legal officer for the NCAA, a lawyer and an Army captain. An opponent, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said that in his time at the NCAA, Remy worked “to maintain the culture of exploitation that defines modern college athletics.”
The vote, on July 15, was 91 yeas to 8 nays. Casey and Toomey voted yes.