Closed record ·Former U.S. Representative ·Virginia ·District 11
Gerald E. Connolly
- Party
- Democrat
- Left office
A closed record holds what Connolly filed and did in office. No new votes or terms are added; a disclosure covering their time in office that is filed after they left is still added when it arrives. No grade is given to a closed record.
85 votes total · 1 broke with party
- HR 1223May 20, 2025Science, Technology, CommunicationsPassed ChamberNot voting
ANCHOR Act
House vote · 412-11
Democrats206-0Republicans206-11What this does
This bill orders a study, not an upgrade. Within 18 months, the Director of the National Science Foundation must give two congressional committees a plan to improve the cybersecurity and telecommunications of the U.S. Academic Research Fleet, the university- and laboratory-operated oceanographic vessels in the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System. The plan must assess the fleet's networking and cybersecurity needs, the costs to meet them including equipment and personnel above current spending, the time required under different funding scenarios, and opportunities to share solutions or centralize services, and it must lay out a spending plan drawing on the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and non-Federal vessel owners and users. The Director may support upgrades consistent with the plan, and must report on implementation progress within two years after the plan is submitted.
The bill does one thing: require a plan to harden the research fleet's cybersecurity and communications, with a follow-up progress report. Every section serves that subject.
- SJRES 13May 20, 2025Finance and Financial SectorBecame LawNot voting
Overturning the OCC Bank Merger Rule
House vote · 220-207
Democrats1-207Republicans219-0Official title: A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the Department of the Treasury relating to the review of applications under the Bank Merger Act.
What this does
This resolution voids a bank-merger rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Using the Congressional Review Act, Congress disapproves the OCC rule titled "Business Combinations Under the Bank Merger Act," published at 89 Fed. Reg. 78207 on September 25, 2024, and provides that the rule has no force or effect. Under the Congressional Review Act, the OCC may not issue a substantially similar rule without new authorization from Congress.
One operative sentence voiding a single OCC rule governing how bank-merger applications are reviewed. The enrolled text names the rule as "Business Combinations Under the Bank Merger Act" while the resolution's caption describes it as the review of applications under the Bank Merger Act; both point to the same September 25, 2024 rule. No other subjects are attached.
- HR 1286May 19, 2025Armed Forces and National SecurityPassed ChamberNot voting
Simplifying Forms for Veterans Claims Act
House vote · 386-1
Democrats192-0Republicans194-1What this does
This bill directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to seek an agreement with a federally funded research and development center to review the forms the department sends to people claiming veterans benefits. The center would produce a written assessment, developed in consultation with veterans groups and other experts, recommending how to make those forms clearer and better organized. Within 90 days of receiving the assessment, the Secretary would have to send it to the congressional Veterans' Affairs Committees and put into effect any recommendations that comply with existing law. The Secretary would have to finish implementing those recommendations within two years of starting. The bill also extends a date in existing pension law by one month, moving a limit on certain pension payments from November 30, 2031 to December 31, 2031.
This is a narrow veterans-benefits bill. Its main provision directs an independent assessment of the forms the VA sends to benefit claimants, with recommendations to make them clearer. It also carries a separate, unrelated provision that extends by one month a date limiting certain pension payments to veterans under 38 U.S.C. 5503(d)(7). Both sit in veterans-benefits law, but they are different subjects, so a single yes vote covered both the forms assessment and that pension-date change.
- HR 1263May 19, 2025International AffairsPassed ChamberNot voting
Strengthening the Quad Act
House vote · 334-51
Democrats191-1Republicans143-50What this does
This bill directs diplomacy toward the Quad, the grouping of the United States, Australia, India, and Japan. Within 180 days, the Secretary of State must give the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committees a strategy for bolstering engagement and cooperation with the Quad, including a summary of past and current Quad initiatives, the diplomatic and bureaucratic barriers to expanding them, and recommendations for how Congress could help, including any new authorities or resources needed. Within 60 days, the Secretary must seek negotiations with Australia, India, and Japan toward a written agreement to establish a Quad Inter-Parliamentary Working Group. If such an agreement is reached, a United States Group of up to 24 Members of Congress is established to represent the country in that working group, split evenly between House and Senate appointees, meeting at least annually and reporting yearly to the two foreign affairs committees.
Both operative pieces serve one subject: deepening cooperation with the Quad. The State Department strategy and the inter-parliamentary working group are two means to the same end, not unrelated riders.
- HR 2240May 15, 2025Crime and Law EnforcementPassed ChamberNot voting
Improving Law Enforcement Officer Safety and Wellness Through Data Act
House vote · 403-11
Democrats190-11Republicans213-0What this does
This bill directs the Attorney General to produce three reports for Congress on the safety and wellness of law enforcement officers. One report would examine violent attacks and ambushes against officers, including how federal, state, and local agencies respond, how well bulletproof vest distribution reaches officers, and what training prepares them for such attacks. A second report would study whether a new category could be added to national crime reporting systems to capture aggressive or trauma-inducing acts against officers that do not currently rise to the level of a reportable crime. A third report would cover officers' mental health, the stress-related toll of the job, and the resources and screening available to them. Each report is due within 270 days of enactment and goes to the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate. The bill creates no new grant program, crime category, or enforcement authority; it only requires study and recommendations.
Every operative provision is a reporting requirement about law enforcement officer safety, aggression against officers, and officer mental health. The three report mandates share one subject and one mechanism, so the bill reads as a single measure.
- HR 2255May 15, 2025Crime and Law EnforcementPassed ChamberNot voting
Federal Law Enforcement Officer Service Weapon Purchase Act of 2025
House vote · 234-182
Democrats20-182Republicans214-0What this does
Directs the Administrator of General Services, within one year of enactment, to establish a program under which a Federal law enforcement officer may buy a retired service firearm from the agency that issued it. The purchase must occur within the six-month period beginning when the firearm was retired, and the officer must be in good standing with the employing or former employing agency. The firearm is sold at its salvage value based on age and condition. The program excludes machineguns not lawfully possessed before the 1986 civilian-transfer ban in Section 922(o) of title 18, and the term Federal law enforcement officer includes retired officers.
Single subject. One operative section creating the retired-firearm purchase program, plus its definitions; the title matches the content.
- HR 2243May 14, 2025Crime and Law EnforcementPassed ChamberNot voting
LEOSA Reform Act
House vote · 229-193
Democrats14-193Republicans215-0What this does
This bill expands where current and retired law enforcement officers who qualify under the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act may carry a concealed firearm. It adds those officers to the list of people exempt from the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, so they may carry in school zones. It lets them carry in units of the National Park System by overriding federal law and Interior Department regulations that would otherwise bar it. It narrows the state and local law carve-out so those officers may carry on common and contract carrier property and on property open to the public even where state or local law restricts it. It extends the law's protection to cover magazines, not just the firearm and ammunition. It permits these officers to carry in federal facilities rated Facility Security Level I or II that are open to the public. It loosens the firearms qualification rules for retired officers by allowing the qualification to be up to 36 months old at a state's option and by letting the former agency, the state, any state law enforcement agency, or any certified firearms instructor set and certify the standard.
Single-subject. Every section amends title 18 to widen the carry rights of officers qualified under the Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act, reaching the Gun-Free School Zones Act, the National Park System, common carrier and public property, and federal facilities. A yes vote carried only that one subject.
- HR 2215May 14, 2025Public Lands and Natural ResourcesBecame LawNot voting
Salem Maritime National Historical Park Redesignation and Boundary Study Act
House vote · 382-31
Democrats200-0Republicans182-31What this does
The bill renames a National Park Service unit and orders a study of expanding it. It redesignates the Salem Maritime National Historic Site as the Salem Maritime National Historical Park and provides that any existing legal reference to the old name is treated as a reference to the new one. It directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a boundary study evaluating whether to add to the park sites and resources in the Salem, Massachusetts area tied to maritime history, coastal defenses, and military history, including National Guard and militia activity. The Secretary must report results to the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee within three years after funds are made available. The study area includes the Salem Armory Visitor Center building and adjacent Salem Armory Park.
Single subject. Redesignation and the boundary study both concern the same Salem Maritime park unit; no unrelated provisions.
- HR 249May 13, 2025Public Lands and Natural ResourcesPassed ChamberNot voting
Pascrell Great Falls Renaming Act
House vote · 362-50
Democrats200-0Republicans162-50Official title: To redesignate certain facilities at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in honor of Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr.
What this does
This bill renames two features at Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park in New Jersey after Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. It designates the Great Falls Scenic Overlook Trail Bridge as the Bill Pascrell, Jr. Scenic Overlook Trail Bridge. It designates Overlook Park as the Bill Pascrell, Jr. Overlook Park. Any existing legal reference to the old names is treated as a reference to the new names. The bill moves no money and transfers no land.
Single-subject. The one section makes two renamings within the same park, both honoring the same person, plus a conforming reference clause. Nothing unrelated rides along.
- HCONRES 30May 13, 2025Crime and Law EnforcementPassed ChamberNot voting
Support for Local Law Enforcement Officers
House vote · 411-1
Democrats197-1Republicans214-0Official title: Expressing support for local law enforcement officers.
What this does
This resolution states that Congress supports local law enforcement officers. It carries no legal force and changes no law. Congress recognizes the dedication of local law enforcement officers, extends gratitude to officers and their families, honors officers who died in the line of duty, and encourages continued collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and their communities. The House passed it on May 13, 2025.
Single-subject. The resolution addresses only support for local law enforcement officers. The operative clause has four numbered items and every one concerns that single subject. No rider is attached.
- HR 276May 8, 2025Public Lands and Natural ResourcesPassed ChamberNot voting
Gulf of America Act
House vote · 211-206
Democrats0-205Republicans211-1What this does
This bill renames the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. It declares that any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, or other federal record to the Gulf of Mexico is deemed a reference to the Gulf of America. The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Chairman of the Board on Geographic Names, oversees implementation across federal documents and maps. Each federal agency must update its documents and maps to reflect the new name within 180 days of enactment.
One subject, one action. The bill renames the body of water and sets the mechanics for carrying that name change through federal records. The title matches the content.
- HR 1503May 7, 2025International AffairsPassed ChamberNot voting
Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025
House vote · 406-1
Democrats203-0Republicans203-1What this does
Congress directs the federal government to combat forced organ harvesting and requires sanctions on those who facilitate it. The bill declares a policy of fighting organ-trafficking and holding accountable those implicated, including members of the Chinese Communist Party. It lets the Secretary of State refuse or revoke the passport of a person convicted of an organ-purchase offense under the National Organ Transplant Act who used a passport or crossed an international border in committing it. It amends the Foreign Assistance Act to require the State Department's annual human-rights reports to assess forced organ harvesting and organ-trafficking in each foreign country. Within 180 days the President must give Congress a list of every person determined to fund, sponsor, or facilitate forced organ harvesting or organ-trafficking, and must sanction them by blocking their U.S. property and, for individuals, barring them from visas and entry. The bill carves out exceptions for imported goods, humanitarian assistance, and certain international obligations, and lets the President waive sanctions in 180-day increments on national-security grounds.
Every operative section serves the one subject the title names: combating forced organ harvesting and organ-trafficking. The passport authority, the human-rights reporting requirement, and the sanctions regime are three tools aimed at the same target. No provision reaches outside that subject. One measure, one subject.
- HR 881May 7, 2025EducationPassed ChamberNot voting
DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act
House vote · 266-153
Democrats55-153Republicans211-0What this does
The bill bars the Department of Homeland Security from funding colleges and universities that maintain a relationship with a Confucius Institute, the Thousand Talents Program, or a designated "Chinese entity of concern." Beginning with the first fiscal year that starts more than 12 months after enactment, an institution with such a relationship is ineligible for any DHS funds unless it terminates the relationship, and eligibility resumes upon termination. A relationship covers any contract, agreement, in-kind donation, or gift from such an entity. A Chinese entity of concern is defined as a university or college in China tied to military-civil fusion, the Chinese defense industrial base, defense-affiliated science and technology bodies, Central Military Commission funding, Chinese security or intelligence services, undermining U.S.-Taiwan relations, the forced labor of Uyghur Muslims, election-interference disinformation, or the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The Secretary of Homeland Security may, after consulting the Director of National Intelligence, grant a case-by-case waiver of up to one year, renewable annually, if the institution maintains robust safeguards to deter unauthorized access to sensitive research and either the relationship serves U.S. national security interests or presents no national security risk; each waiver requires written notice to the House and Senate Homeland Security committees at least 30 days before it takes effect. The Secretary must provide outreach and technical assistance and report on implementation within 18 months and annually thereafter.
Single subject. All provisions build the one restriction on DHS funding of institutions tied to Confucius Institutes and related Chinese entities, and match the title.
- HR 530May 5, 2025Armed Forces and National SecurityBundledPassed ChamberNot voting
ACES Act
House vote · 376-5
Democrats180-0Republicans196-5What this does
This bill directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a study on the prevalence and mortality of cancer among people who served as active duty aircrew of fixed-wing aircraft. The Secretary must seek the agreement within 30 days of enactment and finalize it within 60 days of entering negotiations. If the Secretary misses that deadline, the Secretary must report to the Veterans' Affairs Committees and brief them every 60 days. The study identifies occupational exposures, reviews the literature for associations with overall cancer and eleven named cancers, and determines prevalence and mortality using existing data. The National Academies then reports the results to the Secretary and the committees. The bill also carries a separate provision that changes one date in the pension payment limits of title 38, moving November 30, 2031 to December 31, 2031.
Not single-subject. Section 2 orders the aircrew cancer study. Section 3 is an unrelated rider that amends 38 U.S.C. 5503(d)(7) to extend a pension payment limit from November 30, 2031 to December 31, 2031. The two share no subject beyond both touching veterans law.
- HR 36May 5, 2025International AffairsPassed ChamberNot voting
MEGOBARI Act
House vote · 349-42
Democrats181-8Republicans168-34What this does
This bill sets US sanctions and reporting policy toward Georgia. It directs the President, within 90 days, to determine whether covered Georgian officials knowingly engaged in significant corruption, or in acts of violence or intimidation tied to blocking Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration, and to bar each person found culpable from the United States. Those persons become ineligible for any US visa, admission, or parole, and any visa already issued is revoked. The covered class reaches anyone who served, on or after January 1, 2014, as a member of Georgia's Parliament or a senior party official, officials in leadership positions across law enforcement, intelligence, the judiciary, or local government, and immediate family members who benefited. Separately, for any foreign person the President finds is undermining Georgia's peace, security, sovereignty, or territorial integrity, the President must impose that same entry ban and may also freeze the person's US property under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The President may waive sanctions for national security. The bill orders the Secretary of State to deliver a classified report on Russian intelligence penetration in Georgia within 180 days, with an annex on Chinese influence, and a five-year bilateral strategy within 90 days. The act expires five years after enactment.
Single subject. Every operative section concerns US policy toward Georgia: the sanctions regime (Section 6), the required reports (Section 5), and the conditional assistance tied to a democratic-progress certification (Section 7). No unrelated rider rides along. The title also names the Chinese Communist Party, the Iranian Regime, and the Russian Federation, but the operative text targets Georgian officials and persons undermining Georgia, and names Iran nowhere outside the title.
- HJRES 88May 1, 2025Environmental ProtectionBecame LawNot voting
Overturning California’s Advanced Clean Cars II Rule
House vote · 246-164
Democrats35-164Republicans211-0Official title: Providing congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards; Advanced Clean Cars II; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision".
What this does
Overturns, under the Congressional Review Act, an Environmental Protection Agency decision that granted California a Clean Air Act preemption waiver for its Advanced Clean Cars II motor vehicle and engine emissions standards. Congress disapproves the rule (90 Fed. Reg. 642, January 6, 2025), and the rule has no force or effect. Because the waiver let California set stricter vehicle standards that other states could adopt, removing it strips the federal approval that gave those standards effect.
A single Congressional Review Act disapproval of one identified EPA rule. Single subject.
- HJRES 78May 1, 2025Environmental ProtectionPassed ChamberNot voting
Overturning the Longfin Smelt Endangered Listing
House vote · 216-195
Democrats3-194Republicans213-1Official title: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service relating to "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of the Longfin Smelt".
What this does
This resolution reverses the Endangered Species Act listing of the San Francisco Bay-Delta longfin smelt. Using the Congressional Review Act, it declares that Congress disapproves the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule titled "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Species Status for the San Francisco Bay-Delta Distinct Population Segment of the Longfin Smelt," published at 89 Fed. Reg. 61029 on July 30, 2024, and that the rule shall have no force or effect. If enacted, the disapproval would strip the endangered listing from that population of the fish.
Single subject: one Congressional Review Act resolution voiding one identified Fish and Wildlife Service rule, named by its Federal Register citation. No divisions or attached matter.
- HJRES 87Apr 30, 2025Environmental ProtectionBecame LawNot voting
Overturning California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule
House vote · 231-191
Democrats13-190Republicans218-1Official title: Providing congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "California State Motor Vehicle and Engine Pollution Control Standards; Heavy-Duty Vehicle and Engine Emission Warranty and Maintenance Provisions; Advanced Clean Trucks; Zero Emission Airport Shuttle; Zero-Emission Power Train Certification; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision".
What this does
Using the Congressional Review Act, this resolution voids the Environmental Protection Agency's decision granting California a Clean Air Act waiver of preemption for its Advanced Clean Trucks and related heavy-duty vehicle standards, published at 88 Fed. Reg. 20688 on April 6, 2023. The waiver had let California enforce its own zero-emission truck sales requirements and associated heavy-duty engine warranty, maintenance, and certification provisions. Once this resolution takes effect, that EPA action has no force or effect. Under the Congressional Review Act, the agency may not reissue it in substantially the same form without new authorization from Congress.
Single subject. The resolving clause disapproves one identified EPA action and does nothing else. The rule's own title lists several component standards, but the resolution targets the single waiver decision as published, not separate measures.
- HJRES 89Apr 30, 2025Environmental ProtectionBecame LawNot voting
Overturning California’s Omnibus Low-NOx Rule
House vote · 225-196
Democrats10-195Republicans215-1Official title: Providing congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "California State Motor Vehicle and Engine and Nonroad Engine Pollution Control Standards; The "Omnibus" Low NOX Regulation; Waiver of Preemption; Notice of Decision".
What this does
Using the Congressional Review Act, this resolution voids the Environmental Protection Agency's decision granting California a Clean Air Act waiver of preemption for its Omnibus Low NOX regulation on motor vehicle, engine, and nonroad engine pollution, published at 90 Fed. Reg. 643 on January 6, 2025. The waiver had let California enforce its own low-NOX standards for heavy-duty engines. Once this resolution takes effect, that EPA action has no force or effect. Under the Congressional Review Act, the agency may not reissue it in substantially the same form without new authorization from Congress.
Single subject. The resolving clause disapproves one identified EPA action and does nothing else.
- HJRES 60Apr 29, 2025Public Lands and Natural ResourcesBecame LawNot voting
Overturning the Glen Canyon Motor Vehicle Rule
House vote · 219-205
Democrats2-205Republicans217-0Official title: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the National Park Service relating to "Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: Motor Vehicles".
What this does
This resolution overturns a National Park Service rule governing motor-vehicle use at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Using the Congressional Review Act, Congress disapproves the Park Service rule titled "Glen Canyon National Recreation Area: Motor Vehicles," published at 90 Fed. Reg. 2621, and the rule has no force or effect. Under the Congressional Review Act, the Park Service may not issue a substantially similar rule without new authorization from Congress.
One operative sentence disapproving a single National Park Service rule on motor vehicles at Glen Canyon. No divisions or added subjects; the title matches the content.