2018: Schweikert Effectively Voted Against Preventing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt From Taking Any Charter Or First Class Flights To Implement Legislation On Residential Wood Heaters. In March 2017, Schweikert effectively voted against an amendment that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "clarif[ied] that nothing in the bill would authorize the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to charter a flight, or travel by any air accommodation above coach class, in order to make certain changes to rules and guidance documents for the purpose of implementing the bill's provision regarding standards for residential wood heaters." The underlying legislation delayed until May 15, 2023, according to Congressional Quarterly, "EPA's new emissions standards for hazardous air pollutants from kilns and other facilities that manufacture brick and structural clay products or clay ceramics, and it delays for three years (until May 15, 2023) implementation of the second phase of EPA's performance standards for new residential wood heaters." The vote was on a motion to recommit. The House rejected the motion by a vote of 186 to 227. [House Vote 98, 3/7/18; Congressional Quarterly, 3/7/18; Congressional Quarterly, 3/2/18; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1917]
2017: Schweikert Effectively Voted Against Protecting Whistleblowing Federal Employees Who Disclose Improper Travel By Agency Heads Or Political Appointees. In October 2017, Schweikert effectively voted against an amendment that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "extend[ed] the bill's provisions to apply to any federal employee disclosure regarding the violation of any law or regulation related to travel by the head of an agency or a political appointee." The underlying legislation, also according to Congressional Quarterly, would have "set specific penalties for federal supervisors who retaliate against an employee who discloses waste, fraud or abuse. It would [have] require[d] a supervisor to be suspended for at least three days for an initial offense, and would [have] require[d] a supervisor to be fired for a second offense. It would also [have] require[d] the VA to develop a plan to protect the medical records of employees and would [have] prohibit[ed] VA employees from accessing medical files for demographic information when another non-medical database is available." The vote was on a motion to recommit. The House rejected the motion by a vote of 190 to 232. [House Vote 567, 10/12/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/12/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/12/17; Congressional Actions, S. 585]
Then Former HHS Secretary Price Had Been Implicated In A Scandal Resulting In His Resignation Which Arose From His Use Of Government Funded Travel. According to NPR, "Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned Friday in the face of multiple investigations into his use of private charter and military jets to travel around the country at taxpayer expense. Later, the White House placed new requirements on officials' air travel plans. A statement released by the White House Friday afternoon said that Price had 'offered his resignation earlier today and the president accepted.' [...] The work-related travel, which was first reported Sept. 19 by Politico, cost taxpayers nearly $1 million, or about $400,000 for private charters and $500,000 in military airplane costs. Most of the trips were between cities where inexpensive commercial flights were also available." [NPR, 9/29/17]
Other Cabinet Secretaries Also Were Under Scrutiny For Similar Activities. According to Business Insider, "President Donald Trump's administration is under increasing scrutiny following reports of the extravagant, taxpayer-funded travels of numerous White House officials. At least five investigations into Cabinet officials' use of military and private jets are underway, and have stoked bipartisan criticism over what some call a culture of entitlement within Trump's White House. So far, the trips have cost the government millions of dollars." [Business Insider, 10/10/17]