2019: Fitzpatrick Voted For Incorporating A Question On Citizenship
Into The 2020 Census. In June 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for an amendment
to the FY 2020 minibus appropriations bill, which would, according to
Congressional Quarterly, "strike from the bill a provision prohibiting
the use of funds made available by the bill for the Commerce Department
to incorporate any questions not included in a 2018 census test in the
2020 decennial census." The vote was on adoption. The House rejected the
amendment by a vote of 192-240. [House Vote 369,
6/20/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 6/20/19;
Congressional Actions,
H.Amdt393;
Congressional Actions,
H.R.3055]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted For The FY 2020 Minibus Appropriations Bill,
Which Provided $7.6 Billion For The Census Bureau, Almost Double FY
2019 Funding. In December 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for the FY 2020
minibus appropriations bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The
measure provides $7.6 billion for the census bureau --- almost double
FY 2019 funding and 28% more than requested. The total includes $7.3
billion for periodic censuses and programs, including $6.7 billion for
the 2020 Decennial Census. Of that amount, $3.5 billion is to be
transferred to the Commerce Department Inspector General for oversight
of the 2020 census. The bill directs the Census Bureau to use the funds
provided to support new initiatives aimed at increasing response in
historically undercounted and hard to count communities through the use
of mobile assistance centers." The vote was a motion to concur in the
Senate Amendment. The House agreed to the motion by a vote of 280-138.
The Senate then passed the bill and the President signed the bill into
law. [House Vote 690,
12/17/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 12/17/19;
Congressional Actions,
H.R.1158]
2018: Fitzpatrick Voted For The $1.3 Trillion FY 2018 Omnibus
Spending Deal Which Raised Spending By $138 Billion Over FY 2017
Levels, Including $2.8 Billion For The Census, $1.3 Billion More Than
The Administration's Request. In March 2018, Fitzpatrick voted for the
FY 2018 Omnibus spending bill. According to Congressional Quarterly,
"Combined, the spending measures would provide about $1.3 trillion in
discretionary spending, with $1.2 trillion subject to discretionary
spending caps, and $78.1 billion designated as Overseas Contingency
Operations funds. The measure's spending levels are consistent with the
increased defense and non-defense budget caps set by the two-year budget
deal agreed to last month. That agreement increased the FY 2018 defense
cap by $80 billion and the non-defense cap by $63 billion. Given that
the previous caps were set to reduce overall discretionary spending by
$5 billion, the net increase provided by the omnibus is $138 billion
over the FY 2017 level." The vote was on the motion to concur in the
Senate Amendment with an Amendment. The House agreed to the motion,
thereby passing the bill, by a vote of 256 to 167. The Senate later
agreed to the legislation, sending it to the president, who signed it
into law. [House Vote 127,
3/22/18; Congressional
Quarterly, 3/22/18; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
1625]