Texas Rep. Chip Roy has accomplished the rarest of feats, voting with the president’s position on bills in the House zero percent of the time last year.
Many Republican House members opposed President Joe Biden’s position often in 2022, but only Roy had a perfect record against Biden on presidential support votes, according to CQ Roll Call’s annual vote studies.
Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Clay Higgins of Louisiana and Bob Good of Virginia and then-Rep. Van Taylor of Texas each voted with Biden on 1 percent of votes in which CQ Roll Call determined the president had a clear position. Because there were only 66 presidential support votes in the House last year, that 1 percent equates to one vote.
Roy, Greene and Higgins were three of 11 GOP votes against an extension, through December 2024, of telehealth coverage under Medicare that was initially authorized as part of the emergency authorities granted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill garnered the support of 416 members overall, and it was introduced by then-Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.
Roy said in a statement that he agreed with increased availability of telehealth, but he expressed concern about the implications for Medicare.
[Biden gets wins despite narrow majority]
“If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Temporary extensions like this — even if for a proper purpose — allows us to put off doing the hard work of healthcare reform,” Roy said. “If Republicans are going to reform Medicare, then we need to roll up our sleeves and do it seriously, with an aim to make the program solvent, protect benefits, and make changes to our system that patients and doctors can rely on every year.”
Greene notched her 1 percent by supporting legislation originally sponsored by then-Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., that would establish new reporting requirements and seek to address challenges related to incarcerated pregnant women.
Higgins, meanwhile, voted with Biden for a bill regarding disability presumptions for federal firefighters. The measure, which passed the House with 288 votes in support, was ultimately included at the end of the year in the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which Higgins opposed.
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