Olympic Peninsula Environmental News

Last week I received info from a friend that U.S. Representative Emily Randall did not vote during the key vote to “claw back” monies already allocated to a variety of important causes, including U.S. food and health aid to many foreign countries, along with the funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which includes funding for PBS, StoryCore, NPR and funding for many stations around the U.S.

It was hard to believe that Rep. Randall would miss such a key vote.

What did this vote affect? From Congress.gov:

This bill rescinds $9.4 billion in unobligated funds that were provided to the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), various independent and related agencies, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 

The rescissions were proposed by the President under procedures included in the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Under current law, the President may propose rescissions to Congress using specified procedures, and the rescissions must be enacted into law to take effect. 

Specifically, the bill rescinds funds that were provided to the State Department or the President for

• Contributions to International Organizations;
• Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities;
• Global Health Programs;
• Migration and Refugee Assistance;
• the Complex Crises Fund;
• the Democracy Fund;
• the Economic Support Fund;
• Contributions to the Clean Technology Fund;
• International Organization and Programs;
• Development Assistance;
• Assistance for Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia;
• International Disaster Assistance; and
• Transition Initiatives.

The bill also rescinds funds that were provided for 

• USAID Operating Expenses,
• the Inter-American Foundation,
• the U.S. African Development Foundation,
• the U.S. Institute of Peace, and
• the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
• CPB also includes StoryCorp, and others.

The vote came down to a simple majority needed. As you can see, it passed by only 2 votes.

Four Democrats did not vote. One was Emily Randall. With her vote and only one other, the bill would have failed.

Why did she not vote on this key piece of legislation that all the other Democrats voted on as a party? Where was Emily that night and what caused her to miss this? I have reached out to her office, identifying as a member of the press and asked for someone to get back to us and give us an answer. No one has returned our calls. I’ve been in touch with other members of the Democratic party in this county/district and they too have gotten no feedback. In addition to this bill, Randall has not voted on 11 bills in total in June! Of course, some bills are very low priority. But her record is becoming a question.

Another question is “Where was Democratic Whip Katherine Clark? “ She is supposed to be in charge of getting out the parties votes? Why did she not get Randall there?

This is an unacceptable situation . Randall ran as the darling of the left, with huge support from unions and the LGBTQ wing of the Dems. This support helped many of us, who were unfamiliar with her background support her, as she did not represent this district in her prior roles in government.

We have waited 13 days to get an answer to our questions. It’s time her staff and her went public about this. We will not drop this issue until an explanation is forthcoming. There is a Jefferson County Democratic fundraiser in July and if answers are not here by then, it is going to cause some problems for the fundraiser. How many are willing to give money when the results are a person that does not vote for key legislation?

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