Vote Spotter app: Identifying legislators and partisan affiliation

Vote Spotter App Report: Palm Harbor, Florida

The "Vote Spotter" app provided the partisan affiliation and voting record on key legislation results for congressional members of the U.S. House and Senate for Palm Harbor, Florida shown in Tables 1 and 2 respectively below (the Vote Spotter app did not indicate that any of the Floridian congressmen sponsored or co-sponsored any legislation).

House of Representatives

Voting Record on Key Legislation

Gus Bilirakis

Republican

HB 5946 (exempts Olympic prizes from taxes)

HB 5931 (prohibits prisoner release payments to Iran)

HB 3438 (allows delay of expensive regulations)

HB 3590 (keep income tax deductions from medical expenses)

Yes: HB 5461 (requires report on Iranian officials' assets)

Table 2 -- U.S. Senate

Partisan Affiliation

Voting Record on Key Legislation

Bill Nelson

Democrat

Yes: SB 2040 (override the veto of legislation allowing terrorism lawsuits)

Yes: U.S. Senate Joint resolution (support sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia)

No: SB 3100 (removes federal funding from "sanctuary cities")

No: SB 2193 (increases penalties for illegal reentry into the country)

Marco Rubio

Republican

Yes: SB 2040 (override the veto of legislation allowing terrorism lawsuits)

Yes: Joint Resolution 39 (supporting the sale of military equipment to Saudi Arabia)

Yes: SB 3100 (remove federal funding from sanctuary cities)

Yes: SB 2193 (increase penalties for illegal reentry into the country)

According to Rep. Gus Bilirakis' Web site, the rationale in support of the congressman's support of HB 5931 and HB 5461 was based in large part to the growing threat represented by ISIS (What is the strategy for ISIS? 3). The congressman does not explain his rationale in support of other recent legislation (including the exemption of Olympic prizes from taxes, allowing delay of expensive regulations and keeping income tax deductions from medical expenses).

The State of Florida has one of the largest immigrant populations of any state and voters are worried about the impact of these foreigners on jobs and their security (Mendoza 11). This legislation in particular appears to be intended to tap into this fear to the benefit of its supporters rather than having any particular benefits for constituents. In this regard, a post by Senator Rubio on his official Web site emphasizes that, "Marco opposes President Obama's attempts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and has called for terrorists captured in the fight against ISIS to be sent there" (Stand Against ISIS 4). In addition, the senator has also aggressively supported a cessation of admissions for Syrian refugees and Iraq in an purported effort to "prevent terrorists from coming to the United States" (Stand Against ISIS 5). Likewise, Senator Bill Nelson also cites the growing threat represented by fundamentalist jihadists on his official Web site to rationalize his support of terrorism-related legislation: "Terrorist groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda pose a serious threat to our national security. As we work with our allies to defeat these groups, it's important that we continue to support our Afghan partners to prevent Afghanistan from once again becoming a safe haven for terrorists" (Sen. Bill Nelson's statement on president's decision to keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan 2).

To their credit, both Floridian senators gave their bipartisan support of SB 2040 (override the veto of legislation allowing terrorism lawsuits), and the U.S. public has historically favored bipartisan efforts in the Congress rather than the gridlock that has characterized these legislative bodies in recent years (Carsley 526). Finally, although nearly 20% of members of the 114th U.S. Congress are members of ethnic or racial minorities (meaning that it is the most diverse legislative body in U.S. history), Congress is still disproportionately represented by whites compared with the country's population (Krogstad 1).

Works Cited

Bilirakis, Gus. "What is the strategy for ISIS?" (2016). U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis. Web.

Carsley, Nikki C. "When Old Becomes New: Reconciling the Commands of the Wilderness Act and the National Historic Preservation Act." Washington Law Review 88(2) (2013, June): 525-529. Print.

Krogstad, Jens M. "114 Congress is most diverse ever" (2016, Jan. 12). Pew Research Center. Web.

Mendoz, Sylvia. "Building False Crisis: The Role of the Media Covering Undocumented Immigrants." The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education 25(16) (2105, Jun. 15): 10-15.

"Sen. Bill Nelson's statement on president's decision to keep 8,400 troops in Afghanistan." (2016, Jul. 6). U.S. Senator Bill Nelson. Web.

"Stand Against ISIS." (2016). U.S. Senator Marco Rubio. Web.