


Here’s a look at how Colorado members of Congress voted over the previous week.
House votes
AMENDED BUDGET BILL >> The House has concurred in the Senate amendment to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1), sponsored by Rep. Jodey C. Arrington, R-Texas. The bill’s provisions include making permanent numerous tax code changes included in 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act; a higher federal tax deduction for payment of state and local taxes (SALT); ending various energy tax subsidies; tax deductions for tips, overtime pay, and interest expenses on personal car loans; increasing the debt limit by $5 trillion; and requiring state Medicaid programs to develop work or education requirements for able-bodied single adults to receive benefits. Arrington said: “This bill creates the right incentives for historic economic growth, makes unprecedented investments in our military and border security, and implements the largest spending reduction in American history by twofold.” An opponent, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said the amended version of the bill “still kicks 17 million Americans off their healthcare and makes record cuts to Medicaid, record cuts to the Affordable Care Act, and record cuts to Medicare.” The vote, on July 3, was 218 yeas to 214 nays.
NAYS: DeGette D-CO (1st), Crow D-CO (6th), Neguse D-CO (2nd), Pettersen D-CO (7th)
YEAS: Crank R-CO (5th), Boebert R-CO (4th), Evans (CO) R-CO (8th), Hurd (CO) R-CO (3rd)
Senate votes
ENERGY UNDER SECRETARY >> The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Preston Griffith to be the Energy Department’s Under Secretary. Griffith was a White House aide and senior official at Energy in the first Trump administration. Since then, he has been a director at FTI Consulting, a global business management consultancy. The vote, on July 9, was 54 yeas to 43 nays.
NAYS: Bennet D-CO
NOT VOTING: Hickenlooper D-CO
AVIATION ADMINISTRATOR >> The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Bryan Bedford to be Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for a five-year term. Bedford had been the CEO of Republic Airways, a regional airliner primarily operating East Coast flights for larger companies, including United and Delta, since 1999. An opponent, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., cited Bedford’s desire to end the FAA’s rule requiring 1,500 hours of training time for commercial pilots and his openness to having one pilot, not two, for long-distance flights. She criticized Bedford as seeking “to roll back safety reforms and unravel the regulatory framework that has made the United States the gold standard” in safe air travel. The vote, on July 9, was 53 yeas to 43 nays.
NAYS: Bennet, Hickenlooper
MANAGING GOVERNMENT WORKERS >> The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Scott Kupor to direct the Office of Personnel Management for a four-year term. Kupor had been at the Andreessen Horowitz Silicon Valley venture capital firm since 2009; previously, he was a manager at Hewlett Packard and an investment banker. The vote, on July 9, was 49 yeas to 46 nays.
NAYS: Bennet, Hickenlooper
SMALL BUSINESS DEPUTY >> The Senate has confirmed the nomination of William Briggs to be Deputy Administrator at the Small Business Administration (SBA). Briggs was an SBA official in the first Trump administration, after time operating two of his own small businesses; most recently, he has been at a Texas independent bankers group. A supporter, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, called Briggs “the perfect candidate to help Administrator Loeffler make the SBA more accountable, more efficient, more transparent, and more focused on its core mission.” An opponent, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., questioned Briggs’s commitment to transparency and accountability to Congress. The vote, on July 9, was 49 yeas to 45 nays.
NAYS: Bennet, Hickenlooper
CURRENCY COMPTROLLER >> The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jonathan Gould to be Comptroller of the Currency. Gould was a deputy comptroller and head lawyer at the Office of the Comptroller from late 2018 to June 2021; otherwise, he has been a corporate lawyer focused on financial services and staff lawyer for the Senate Banking Committee. The vote, on July 10, was 50 yeas to 45 nays.
NAYS: Bennet, Hickenlooper