This Week in Research: December 19 –23

Highlights from the Week

1. On December 8, the U.S. House of Representatives provided concurrence in the Senate amendment to the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023. This act was originally introduced in May and appropriates $858 billion for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year 2023. The most recent resolution to the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 amends the requirement of COVID-19 vaccine for service members. Click here to view the bill text and vote breakdown. Click here to view a statement from Representative Todd Young (R-IN) and here for a statement from Representative Patty Murray (D-WA). Click here to see statements mentioning the National Defense Authorization Act by members of Congress.

2. On December 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Puerto Rico Status Act, a bill that would allow the territory to vote on their political status next November. The vote would give voters in Puerto Rico a choice of statehood or independence from the United States. Click here to view a statement from former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on the passage of this legislation, and click here to view the bill text and vote breakdown. Additionally, click here to view a statement from Representative Nydia Velasquez (D-NY) and here for a statement from Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA). Click here to see statements mentioning the Puerto Rico Status Act by members of Congress.

3. On December 21, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Joe Biden and addressed Congress for further American support as well as gave an update on war efforts from Ukraine against Russia. Click here to view a statement from President Biden about Zelensky’s address to Congress. Additionally, click here to see statements mentioning Ukraine and Russia by members of Congress.

Elections

By the Elections Research team: Nick, Zachary, Courtney, Seth, & Caleb

Elections:

Want to learn more about the results of the 2022 midterm elections? You can see the full list of results for these offices below:

• Congressional General Election Results

• Gubernatorial General Election Results

• State Legislative General Election Results

• Statewide General Election Results

• State Judicial General Election Results
  

Biographies: Want to learn more about officials who have been sworn in at the state level? You can see the full list of officials here:

Gubernatorial:

• Hawaii Gubernatorial

State Legislative:

• Florida State Legislative

• Hawaii State Legislative

• Tennessee State Legislative

• Delaware State Legislative

• Indiana State Legislative

• Nevada State Legislative

• North Dakota State Legislative

• Alabama State Legislative

• South Carolina State Legislative

• Oklahoma State Legislative

• Idaho State Legislative

• West Virginia State Legislative

• Pennsylvania State Legislative

• California State Legislative

State Judicial:

• Illinois State Judicial

Officials

By the Officials Research team: Noah, James, Johanan, Neal, Thomas, Bibi, Craig, & Israel

Public Statements: 1,009 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

• States: 21 new votes were added.

  • Arizona passed HB 2264, a bill that appropriates funding for military transitional housing, which was then signed into law by the governor. This bill seeks to establish: money allocation from federal sources, money allocation for developing projects and programs to provide transitional housing opportunities for military members, and guidelines to yearly reporting status of the transitional housing fund. This bill also specifies: the director shall administer the fund, the money shall be deposited into the fund by order of the governor for newly constructed transitional housing, that the department may not use more than 10% of the money in the fund annually, and that any construction project financed by the department, the department shall notify the city, town, county, or tribal government that a project is planned for its jurisdiction.

  • New Jersey’s House and Senate passed SJR 70, which adopts a resolution that authorizes the funding for affordable housing in the “Build Back Better” legislation.

  • New Mexico passed HB 7, which authorizes the Opportunity Enterprise Act and provides financing and loans, which was then signed into law by the governor. The Opportunity Enterprise Act authorizes the New Mexico Finance Authority to apply and uphold regulations and requirements that allow for the expansion of availability of commercial building spaces for meaningful economic development in communities across New Mexico. The full bill text can be found here.

• Federal Legislation: 7 new votes

  • HR 1437 - Further Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2023

  • H Res 1512 - NDAA - Providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 7776, with an amendment

  • HR 2521 - DOULA for VA Act of 2022

  • HR 8393 - Puerto Rico Status Act

  • S 1466 - Saline Lake Ecosystems in the Great Basin States Program Act

  • S 3905 - Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act

  • S 4003 - Law Enforcement De-Escalation Training Act of 2022

Special Interest Groups:

• This year to date, the SIGs team has rated 118,651 candidates and entered endorsements for 46,114 candidates.