Twenty-four members of the U.S. House of Representatives did not vote on the first major bill facing the 113th Congress – Aid to the Victims of Superstorm Sandy (H.R. 219). The majority were Democrats. Notable absences were four Republicans from Texas and the House Minority Leader, Eric Cantor.
Why didn’t these elected officials show up? What prevented them from doing their job? I want to know and will be writing my Florida legislators and asking for an explanation. I urge you to do the same for your elected Representatives.
Below are the non-participants by State with an embedded link to their GovTrack profile. Send them an email, if possible, or a letter. Tell them to commit to a Yea or Nay vote in upcoming legislation!
Arizona
Kirkpatrick, Ann, (Dem)
Grijalva, Raúl (Dem)
California
Huffman, Jared (Dem)
Costa, Jim (Dem)
Capps, Lois (Dem)
Napolitano, Grace (Dem)
Rohrabacher, Dana (Rep)
Florida
Crenshaw, Ander (Rep)
Brown, Corrine (Dem)
Georgia
Kingston, Jack (Rep)
Bishop, Sanford (Dem)
Iowa
Braley, Bruce (Dem)
Maryland
Ruppersberger, A. Dutch (Dem)
North Carolina
Butterfield, G.K. (Dem)
Oregon
DeFazio, Peter (Dem)
Pennsylvania
Schwartz, Allyson (Dem)
Tennessee
Fleischmann, Chuck (Rep)
Texas
Johnson, Sam (Rep)
Culberson, John (Rep)
McCaul, Michael (Rep)
Carter, John (Rep)
Virginia
Forbes, Randy (Rep)
Cantor, Eric (Rep)
Washington
Smith, Adam (Dem)
(2013). Retrieved from Civic Impulse LLC website: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/113-2013/h8
