Date Bill Title Vote Outcome 09/17/2008 Defense Authorizations Bill NV Bill Passed - Senate 07/10/2008 Nomination of General Petraeus as Military Leader of the Middle East NV Nomination Confirmed - Senate 06/26/2008 Iraq and Afghanistan War Funding, Unemployment Benefits Extension, and GI Bill NV Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate 05/22/2008 Funding for Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan NV Amendment Adopted - Senate 05/22/2008 Funding for Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan with Provisions Regarding Conduct and Congressional Oversight NV Amendment Rejected - Senate 03/14/2008 Concurrent Budget Resolution NV Resolution Passed - Senate 12/18/2007 Iraq Withdrawal Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 11/16/2007 Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense and Timeline for Withdrawal from Iraq NV Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 11/16/2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense NV Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 10/24/2007 Permanent Residence for Certain Undocumented Immigrants NV Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 10/01/2007 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 NV Bill Passed - Senate 09/21/2007 Iraq Troop Reduction Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/19/2007 Time Between Troop Deployments N Amendment Rejected - Senate 07/18/2007 Iraq Troop Reduction N Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 05/24/2007 Emergency Departmental Supplemental Appropriations Bill of 2007 Y Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate 03/27/2007 Iraq Withdrawal Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 03/15/2007 United States Policy in Iraq Resolution of 2007 NV Joint Resolution Failed - Senate 12/06/2006 Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense Y Nomination Confirmed - Senate 09/28/2006 Military Commissions Act of 2006 Y Bill Passed - Senate 09/28/2006 Habeas Review Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/28/2006 Military Commissions Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/28/2006 Oversight of CIA Interrogation and Detention Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/13/2006 National Security Amendment N Motion Rejected - Senate 09/06/2006 Cluster Munitions Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 06/22/2006 Troop Redeployment Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 02/02/2006 Military Funding and Tax Cuts Amendment N Motion Rejected - Senate 05/21/2004 Resolution Condemning Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners NV Resolution Passed - Senate 10/11/2002 Use of Military Force Against Iraq Y Joint Resolution Passed - Senate 07/18/2002 Military Construction Appropriations Act, Fiscal Year 2003 N Bill Passed - Senate 06/21/2002 Military Abortion Amendment N Amendment Adopted - Senate 12/07/2001 International Courts Amendment Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 09/14/2001 Military Force Authorization Y Joint Resolution Passed - Senate 06/30/1999 Foreign Operations FY2000 Appropriations bill Y Bill Passed - Senate 11/06/1997 Defense Department FY98-99 Authorization bill Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 09/25/1997 Defense Department FY98 Appropriations bill Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 09/10/1996 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 12/13/1995 Deployment of US Armed Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina Y Joint Resolution Passed - Senate 09/13/1994 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 N Conference Report Adopted - Senate 08/10/1994 Military Construction FY95 Appropriations bill N Conference Report Adopted - Senate 07/15/1994 Military Construction FY95 Appropriations Bill NV Bill Passed - Senate 06/29/1994 Military Operations in Haiti Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 05/12/1994 Bosnia-Herzegovina Policy Amendment N Amendment Adopted - Senate 11/17/1993 Defense FY94 Authorization Bill N Conference Report Adopted - Senate 11/10/1993 Defense Fiscal Year 1994 Appropriations Bill N Conference Report Adopted - Senate 10/21/1993 Restriction of Funding for Haiti Operations Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 10/19/1993 Military Construction Fiscal Year 1994 Appropriations Bill Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 10/15/1993 Ending Military Operations in Somalia N Amendment Tabled - Senate 09/09/1993 Homosexuals in the Military Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/09/1993 U.S. Policy Towards Somalia Amendment Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 08/06/1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 N Conference Report Adopted - Senate 06/25/1993 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993 N Bill Passed - Senate 02/04/1993 Homosexual Discrimination in the Military Amendment N Amendment Tabled - Senate
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Vote Key
Y
Selection and Descriptions of Key Votes Program Project Vote Smart provides easy access to Congressional and State
voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by
issue. Key votes typically include the initial passage of legislation
and final conference report votes versions (the compromised versions
of bills passed in separate House and Senate version). PVS uses a
criteria to select key votes:
1. The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue2. The vote should be clear for any person to understand3. The vote has received media attention4. The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin5. Occasionally, a specific bill is consistently inquired about on the PVS Hotline; the vote is added to the web siteDescriptions of the votes are written by PVS staff and based on
information included in the Congressional Record and or State House
and Senate Journals, with additional background information from
newspapers, magazines, etc. PVS provides summaries for each selected
key vote. The summary does not necessarily reflect the final version
of the bill.
Key votes selected by PVS staff go through an approval process before
web site posting, with political scientists and journalists of
opposing viewpoints reviewing both the selection and the content.
This is to ensure clarity, relevance, nonpartisanship and accuracy.
After the approval process is completed, the votes are ready to go
into the database and subsequently on-line.
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