Date Bill Title Vote Outcome 01/15/2009 Releasing Funds for Economic Stabilization Act N Joint Resolution Failed - Senate 10/01/2008 Second Economic Package Y Bill Passed - Senate 07/31/2008 Consumer Product Safety Commission Bill NV Conference Report Adopted - Senate 07/15/2008 Medicare Bill Y Veto Override Passed - Senate 07/09/2008 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 N Bill Passed - Senate 07/09/2008 Striking Telecom Immunity from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Bill Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 07/09/2008 Medicare Bill Y Cloture Invoked - Senate 06/18/2008 Second Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) NV Veto Override Passed - Senate 06/17/2008 Alternative Energy Tax Incentives NV Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 06/10/2008 Increasing Taxes on Profits, Rescinding Certain Tax Deductions, and Increasing Tax Incentives for Alternative Energy Programs for Oil Companies NV Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 06/06/2008 Carbon Emissions Cap and Trade Plan NV Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 05/22/2008 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) Y Veto Override Passed - Senate 05/15/2008 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) NV Conference Report Adopted - Senate 05/07/2008 Optional Wind Damage Insurance NV Amendment Rejected - Senate 04/10/2008 Housing Bill with Energy Tax Credit Extensions NV Bill Passed - Senate 04/10/2008 Energy Tax Credits Amendment NV Amendment Adopted - Senate 03/14/2008 Expressing the Sense of the Senate on the Legalization of Importing Certain Prescription Drugs Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 03/13/2008 Immigration Enforcement and Employer Sanctions Amendment Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 03/13/2008 Amendment on Certain Energy-Related Programs, Including the Development of Oil Shale and Offshore Natural Gas N Amendment Rejected - Senate 03/13/2008 Amendment on Certain Energy-Related Programs, Including the Development of Oil and Natural Gas in Coastal Areas Not Covered by a Moratorium Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 03/06/2008 Consumer Product Safety Commission Bill NV Bill Passed - Senate 02/12/2008 FISA Amendments Act of 2007 NV Bill Passed - Senate 02/12/2008 Striking Telecommunications Companies' Civil Immunity for Surveillance NV Amendment Rejected - Senate 02/12/2008 FISA as Exclusive Means for Conducting Electronic Surveillance NV Amendment Rejected - Senate 02/07/2008 Economic Stimulus Plan NV Bill Passed - Senate 12/18/2007 Inclusion of Consolidated Appropriations NV Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate 12/14/2007 Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) NV Bill Passed - Senate 12/13/2007 Energy Act of 2007 NV Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate 12/13/2007 Limit on Farm Subsidies Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 12/13/2007 Income Limit for Subsidies to Farmers NV Amendment Rejected - Senate 12/11/2007 Government Sponsored Farm Insurance Policies NV Amendment Rejected - Senate 10/30/2007 Amtrak Reauthorization NV Bill Passed - Senate 09/07/2007 Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants NV Conference Report Adopted - Senate 07/20/2007 Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants Y Bill Passed - Senate 06/26/2007 Union Organization Bill Y Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 06/21/2007 Energy Act of 2007 Y Bill Passed - Senate 06/21/2007 Alternative Energy Subsidies Y Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 06/14/2007 Clean Energy Achievement Criteria Y Amendment Tabled - Senate 06/06/2007 Denying Legal Status for Immigrants Convicted of Certain Crimes N Amendment Rejected - Senate 06/06/2007 Point Based Immigration Expiration Date Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 06/06/2007 Five Year Expiration for Guest Worker Program Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 05/24/2007 Emergency Departmental Supplemental Appropriations Bill of 2007 N Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate 05/23/2007 Guest Worker Number Reduction Amendment Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 05/07/2007 FDA Drug Import Certification Amendment N Amendment Adopted - Senate 12/07/2006 Andrew von Eschenbach, Commissioner of Food and Drugs Y Nomination Confirmed - Senate 09/19/2006 U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement Implementation Y Bill Passed - Senate 09/13/2006 Security of Cargo Containers Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/13/2006 National Security Amendment Y Motion Rejected - Senate 08/03/2006 Death/Estate Tax and Minimum Wage Bill N Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 08/01/2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 Y Bill Passed - Senate 06/29/2006 U.S. -Oman Free Trade Agreement Y Bill Passed - Senate 06/21/2006 Increasing Minimum Wage Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 06/21/2006 Minimum Wage Adjustment Amendment Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 05/25/2006 Immigration Reform Bill Y Bill Passed - Senate 05/23/2006 Employer Verification Amendment Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 05/17/2006 Employment-based Immigrant Visa Amendment N Amendment Adopted - Senate 05/11/2006 Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005 N Conference Report Adopted - Senate 03/16/2006 Education Funding Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 03/16/2006 LIHEAP Funding Amendment Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 02/02/2006 Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005 Y Bill Passed - Senate 11/17/2005 Price-Gouging During Emergencies Amendment Y Motion Rejected - Senate 11/03/2005 Targeted Case Management Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 07/26/2005 Corporate Financing of Terrorism Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 03/10/2005 Bankruptcy Reform Bill NV Bill Passed - Senate 03/08/2005 Violent Protestor Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 03/07/2005 Minimum Wage Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 03/07/2005 Minimum Wage Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 04/08/2004 Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 07/15/2002 Accounting Industry Reform bill Y Bill Passed - Senate 06/18/2002 Terrorism Insurance Bill Y Bill Passed - Senate
See All
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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