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H.J.Res. 36: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule of the Bureau of Land Management relating to “Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation”.

Feb 3, 2017 at 10:34 a.m. ET. On Passage of the Bill in the House.

This was a vote to agree to H.J.Res. 36 (115th) in the House.

H.J. Res. 36 nullifies a rule that was issued by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that requires operators to take various actions to reduce waste of gas lost during oil and gas production activities through venting or flaring of the gas, and through equipment leaks. Bill sponsors considered the rule's cost savings estimates from BLM to have been overstated, the rule itself unnecessary due to decreased levels of emissions and the legal basis for the rule tenuous. As a general matter, the EPA and states are authorized by the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions, whereas BLM is charged with federal land use management. Therefore, it is unclear BLM has the expertise or personnel to efficiently administer this rule.

Source: Republican Policy Committee

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Vote Outcome
All Votes R D
Yea 54%
 
 
221
218
 
3
 
Nay 46%
 
 
191
11
 
180
 
Not Voting
 
 
20
10
 
10
 

Passed. Simple Majority Required. Source: house.gov.

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Republican - Yea Democrat - Yea Republican - Nay Democrat - Nay

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Notes: The Speaker’s Vote?
The Speaker of the House is not required to vote in “ordinary legislative proceedings, except when such vote would be decisive.” In practice, this means the Speaker of the House rarely votes and only does so when it is politically useful. When the Speaker declines to vote, he or she is simply omitted from the roll call by the House Clerk. (See House Rules, Rule I(7).)
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You can find answers to most of the questions below here on the vote page. For a guide to understanding the resolution this vote was about, see here.

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  1. What was this vote on?

    2. Not all votes are meant to pass legislation. In the Senate some votes are not about legislation at all, since the Senate must vote to confirm presidential nominations to certain federal positions.

    This vote is related to a resolution. However, that doesn’t necessarily tell you what it is about. Congress makes many decisions in the process of passing legislation, such as on the procedures for debating the resolution, whether to change the resolution before voting on passage, and even whether to vote on passage at all.

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