2019: Fitzpatrick Voted To Retroactively Pay Federal Employees Who
Were Not Paid During The Government Shutdown. In January 2019,
Fitzpatrick voted for giving backpay to federal employees who lost pay
during the government shutdown. According to Congressional Quarterly,
"the bill that would require the federal government to provide
retroactive pay to employees who are furloughed or working without
compensation during the partial government shutdown. The bill would
require federal employees to be compensated at the earliest possible
date once the shutdown has concluded, regardless of regularly scheduled
pay dates." The vote was on a motion to suspend the rules and pass the
bill. The House agreed to the motion, thereby passing the bill, by a
vote of 411 to 7. The Senate had already passed the bill, thereby the
House vote sent the bill to the president, who signed it into law.
[House Vote 28, 1/11/19;
Congressional Quarterly,
1/11/19; Congressional Actions,
S.
24]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted For A Full Year Omnibus Appropriations Bill
With No Funding For Trump's Wall; Legislation Provided Backpay For
Federal Workers And Provided A 1.9 Percent Pay Raise For Federal
Workers. In January 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for a resolution that
would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "provide[d]
full-year continuing appropriations covering six of the seven fiscal
2019 appropriations bills that have not been enacted into law, including
those that relate to Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, Financial
Services, Interior-Environment, State-Foreign Operations, and
Transportation-HUD provisions. The bill include[d] provisions for a
1.9 percent pay increase for federal civilian employees and would extend
the National Flood Insurance Program through fiscal 2019. It would also
[have] provide[d] for retroactive pay for federal workers furloughed
during the partial shutdown." The vote was on passage. The House passed
the bill by a vote of 241 to 190. [House Vote 11,
1/3/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 1/3/19; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
21]
2017: Fitzpatrick Voted To Reinstate The 'Holman Rule,' Which Allows
Congress To Reduce The Pay Of Individual Federal Employees. In January
2017, Fitzpatrick voted for the 2017 House rules which in part
reinstating the 'Holman Rule.' According to the Washington Post, "House
Republicans this week reinstated an arcane procedural rule that enables
lawmakers to reach deep into the budget and slash the pay of an
individual federal worker - down to a $1 - a move that threatens to
upend the 130-year-old civil service. The Holman rule, named after a
Indiana congressman who devised it in 1876, empowers any member of
Congress to offer an amendment to an appropriations bill that targets a
specific government employee or program. A majority of the House and the
Senate would still have to approve any such amendment but opponents and
supporters agree it puts agencies and the public on notice that their
work is now vulnerable to the whims of elected officials. [...] The
Holman provision was approved Tuesday as part of a larger rules package
but received little attention amid the chaos of Republicans' failed
effort to decimate the House ethics office on the first day of the new
Congress." The vote was on the resolution. The House passed the
resolution by a vote of 234 to 193. [House Vote 6,
1/3/17; Washington Post,
1/5/17;
Congressional Actions, H. Res.
5]
2024: Fitzpatrick Voted Against Requiring The Secretary Of Defense To
Submit A Report On The Use Of Official Time. In June 2024, Fitzpatrick
voted against , according to Congressional Quarterly, "amendment no. 56
that would require the Defense Department to report to Congress on the
use of taxpayer-funded official time." The vote was on the amendment.
The underlying legislation was the FY 2025 National Defense
Authorization Act. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 188 to
228. [House Vote 276,
6/14/24; Congressional
Quarterly, 6/14/24;
Congressional Actions,
H.Amdt.987;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
8070]
2017: Fitzpatrick Voted Against The FY 2018 Republican Study Committee
Budget Resolution Which In Part Called For Prohibiting Federal Employees
From Using Official Time For Union Activity. In October 2017,
Fitzpatrick voted against a budget resolution that would in part,
according to Congressional Quarterly, "provide for $2.9 trillion in new
budget authority in fiscal 2018. It would balance the budget by fiscal
2023 by reducing spending by $10.1 trillion over 10 years. It would cap
total discretionary spending at $1.06 trillion for fiscal 2018 and
would assume no separate Overseas Contingency Operations funding for
fiscal 2018 or subsequent years and would incorporate funding related to
war or terror into the base defense account. It would assume repeal of
the 2010 health care overhaul and would convert Medicaid and the
Children's Health Insurance Program into a single block grant program.
It would require that off budget programs, such as Social Security, the
U.S. Postal Service, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, be included in the
budget." The underlying legislation was an FY 2018 House GOP budget
resolution. The House rejected the RSC budget by a vote of 139 to 281.
[House Vote 555,
10/5/17; Congressional
Quarterly, 10/5/17; Congressional
Actions, H. Amdt.
455;
Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res.
71]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted For The FY 2020 Minibus Appropriations Bill,
Which Provided A 3.1% Pay Increase For Federal Civilian Employees. In
December 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for the FY 2020 minibus appropriations
bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, the bill "provides funding
for a 3.1% pay increase for federal civilian employees in calendar year
2020." 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]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted For An Omnibus Spending Proposal Preventing
Another Government Shutdown And Providing A 1.9 Percent Pay Raise For
Federal Civilian Employees. In February 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for
the FY 2019 consolidated appropriations bill. According to Congressional
Quarterly, "This Conference Summary describes the agreement on H J Res
31, Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY 2019, which provides
detailed, full-year funding for all seven remaining FY 2019 spending
bills ---thereby completing the FY 2019 appropriations process. The
centerpiece, Homeland Security, provides $1.375 billion for new and
replacement barriers along the U.S. border with Mexico, including 55
miles of new fencing, along with an increase of $1.5 billion in other
border security funding --- such as for new technology at ports of entry
and additional Customs officers. Outside of the Homeland bill, it
includes another $1.6 billion for border security, as well as a 1.9%
pay increase for federal civilian employees." The vote was on passage.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 300 to 128. The bill was later
signed into law by the president. [House Vote 87,
2/14/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 2/14/19; Congressional
Actions, H. J. Res.
31]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted To Increase Pay For Federal Civilian Employees
By 2.6 Percent. In January 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for an amendment
that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "increase[d]
the salaries and wages of all civilian federal employees by 2.6 percent
for calendar year 2019. The pay raise would take effect immediately upon
enactment, and would be backdated to apply to the first pay period that
occurred after Jan. 1." The vote was on passage. The House passed the
bill by a vote of 259 to 161 [House Vote 64,
1/30/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 1/30/19; Congressional
Actions, H.R.
790]
Legislation Created Parity Between Federal Civilian And Military
Employees. According to Congressional Quarterly, "The vote to
provide 'pay parity' with military service members, who are already
receiving a 2.6 percent pay boost this year, was 259-161."
[Congressional Quarterly,
1/30/19]
Bill Also Raised Pay For The Vice President, Cabinet Members, And
Senior Trump Administration Officials. According to Congressional
Quarterly, "As part of the effort to woo support for the measure,
House Democrats removed a provision from the bill that would have
continued a pay freeze for Vice President Mike Pence and other
senior Trump administration officials. The statutory pay freeze for
Pence, Cabinet officials and other senior White House political
appointees, which has been in place since 2013, came out of the
underlying bill once the House adopted the rule (H Res 87) for floor
debate. Pence, who makes $230,700 now, and other affected senior
officials would get the same 2.6 percent raise as other civilian
workers under Connolly's bill, if it becomes law." [Congressional
Quarterly, 1/30/19]
Legislation Raised Pay For Secret Service Agents. According to
Congressional Quarterly, "Prior to final passage, the House by voice
vote adopted clarifying amendments to ensure workers at the Secret
Service and NASA would get the raise. There were some concerns that
employees hired under special provisions in the law for hiring at
those agencies might be excluded." [Congressional Quarterly,
1/30/19]
2019: Fitzpatrick Voted To Increase Pay For Certain IRS Employees By
2.6 Percent. In January 2019, Fitzpatrick voted for an amendment that
would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "increase[d] the
rate of pay for eligible IRS employees for calendar year 2019 by 2.6
percent." The underlying legislation raised pay for federal civilian
employees. The House agreed to the amendment by a vote of 243 to 183.
The House later passed the underlying bill. [House Vote 62,
1/30/19; Congressional
Quarterly, 1/30/19; Congressional
Actions, H. Amdt.
19;
Congressional Actions, H.R.
790]