skip to main content
Hide The Ads ▶
Log In ▶

H.R. 6439: Biometric Identification Transnational Migration Alert Program Authorization Act of 2018

Sep 4, 2018 at 7:01 p.m. ET. On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass in the House.

This was a vote to pass H.R. 6439 (115th) in the House. The federal budget process occurs in two stages: appropriations and authorizations. This is an authorization bill, which directs how federal funds should or should not be used. (It does not set overall spending limits, however, which are the subject of appropriations bills.) Authorizations are typically made for single fiscal years (October 1 through September 30 of the next year) but are often renewed in subsequent law. This vote was taken under a House procedure called “suspension of the rules” which is typically used to pass non-controversial bills. Votes under suspension require a 2/3rds majority. A failed vote under suspension can be taken again.

BITMAP is an HSI-led initiative that fills biometric databases with data collected from special interest aliens, violent criminals, fugitives, and known or suspected terrorists encountered within illicit pathways. BITMAP was established to equip international partner-country law enforcement officers to collect and share biometric and biographic data on special interest individuals and to identify potential threat actors transiting through participating countries. BITMAP further provides infrastructure and capability for host governments to collect biometric data on individuals they encounter transiting through illicit pathways. The information collected under the auspices of BITMAP is shared with U.S. law enforcement and Intelligence Community members; DHS in turn provides information back to the host countries concerning the individuals whom they enrolled. Through this process, ICE is able to track U.S. bound illegal migration patterns, take joint action with partner countries, and deter human smuggling through South and Central America. Comparisons of biometric data through BITMAP serve to identify criminal persons, wanted subjects (including international fugitives), and known or suspected terrorists. BITMAP is currently deployed to 14 countries, with near-term plans to expand to additional countries.

Source: Republican Policy Committee

(About Ads | Hide These Ads)
By Party Selected Caucuses
All Votes R D New Democrat Coalition Congressional Progressive Caucus
Yea 70%
 
 
272
213
 
59
 
26
 
9
 
Nay 30%
 
 
119
8
 
111
 
14
 
40
 
Not Voting
 
 
37
14
 
23
 

Passed. 2/3 Required.

Data from the official record at house.gov.

Selected Caucuses Yea Nay
New Democrat Coalition
26
 
14
 
Congressional Progressive Caucus
9
 
40
 

Caucuses are selected based on a statistical analysis of their relevance to the vote outcome. Caucus membership may not be the latest — we are still working on that. Legislators may be a member of multiple caucuses.

Ideology Vote Chart
Key:
Republican - Yea Democrat - Yea Republican - Nay Democrat - Nay

Seat position based on our ideology score.

Cartogram Map

Each hexagon represents one congressional district. Dark shaded hexes are Yea votes.

What you can do

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).)
“Aye” or “Yea”?

“Aye” and “Yea” mean the same thing, and so do “No” and “Nay”. Congress uses different words in different sorts of votes.

The U.S. Constitution says that bills should be decided on by the “yeas and nays” (Article I, Section 7). Congress takes this literally and uses “yea” and “nay” when voting on the final passage of bills.

All Senate votes use these words. But the House of Representatives uses “Aye” and “No” in other sorts of votes.

Download as CSV

Statistically Notable Votes

Statistically notable votes are the votes that are most surprising, or least predictable, given how other members of each voter’s party voted and other factors.

All Votes

Study Guide

What was the procedure for this vote?

  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 bill. 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 bill, whether to change the bill before voting on passage, and even whether to vote on passage at all.

    You can learn more about the various motions used in Congress at EveryCRSReport.com. If you aren’t sure what the House was voting on, try seeing if it’s on this list.

  2. What is the next step after this vote?

    3. Take a look at where this bill is in the legislative process. What might come next? Keep in mind what this specific vote was on, and the context of the bill. Will there be amendments? Will the other chamber of Congress vote on it, or let it die?

    For this question it may help to briefly examine the bill itself.

What is your analysis of this vote?

  1. What trends do you see in this vote?

    2. Members of Congress side together for many reasons beside being in the same political party, especially so for less prominent legislation or legislation specific to a certain region. What might have determined how the roll call came out in this case? Does it look like Members of Congress voted based on party, geography, or some other reason?

    One tool that will be helpful in answering this question is the cartogram at the top of the page. A cartogram is a stylized map of the United States that shows each district as an identical hexagon. This view allows you to see the how the representatives from each district voted arranged by their geography and colored by their political party. What trends can you see in the cartogram for this vote?

  2. How did your representative vote?

    3. There is one vote here that should be more important to you than all the others. These are the votes cast by your representative, which is meant to represent you and your community. Do you agree with how your representative voted? Why do you think they voted the way they did?

    If you don’t already know who your Members of Congress are you can find them by entering your address here.