Date Bill Title Vote Outcome 10/01/2008 United States - India Nuclear Agreement Y Bill Passed - Senate 09/27/2008 Continuing Appropriations PY Concurrence Vote 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 02/13/2008 Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 NV Conference Report Adopted - 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 12/18/2007 Inclusion of Consolidated Appropriations NV Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate 11/16/2007 Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense and Timeline for Withdrawal from Iraq Y Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 11/16/2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense N Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 10/16/2007 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008 NV Bill Passed - Senate 10/03/2007 Border Fence and Customs Appropriations Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 09/26/2007 Expressing the Sense of Congress Regarding Federalism in Iraq Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 09/26/2007 Expressing the Sense of Congress Regarding Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 09/19/2007 Habeas Corpus for Detainees of the United States Y Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 09/11/2007 Limiting Mexican Trucks to Commercial Zones Near the Border Between the U.S. and Mexico Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 08/03/2007 Foreign Intelligence Acquisition N Bill Passed - Senate 07/26/2007 Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 07/26/2007 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Y Bill Passed - Senate 07/26/2007 Border Fence and Customs Appropriations Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 07/26/2007 REAL ID Funding Y Amendment Tabled - Senate 07/19/2007 Sense of the Senate on Guantanamo Bay Detainees Y Amendment Adopted - Senate 06/06/2007 Law Enforcement Review of Z Visa Applications N Amendment Adopted - Senate 03/13/2007 Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act Y Bill Passed - Senate 12/06/2006 Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense Y Nomination Confirmed - Senate 09/29/2006 Secure Fence Act of 2006 Y Bill Passed - Senate 09/28/2006 Military Commissions Act of 2006 N Bill Passed - Senate 09/28/2006 Military Commissions Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/28/2006 Oversight of CIA Interrogation and Detention Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/13/2006 Security of Cargo Containers Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 09/13/2006 National Security Amendment Y Motion Rejected - Senate 09/07/2006 Media in the Middle East Amendment N Bill Tabled - Senate 07/12/2006 Rail and Transit Security Amendment Y Motion Rejected - Senate 07/12/2006 Transit Security Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 07/11/2006 FEMA Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 07/11/2006 USEMA Amendment N Amendment Adopted - Senate 06/22/2006 Defense Department FY 2007 Authorization bill Y Bill Passed - Senate 06/22/2006 Troop Redeployment Amendment N Amendment Rejected - Senate 05/26/2006 Michael Hayden Confirmation N Nomination Confirmed - Senate 03/02/2006 PATRIOT Act Reauthorization Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 12/16/2005 PATRIOT Act Reauthorization N Cloture Not Invoked - Senate 07/14/2005 Disclosure of Classified Information Amendment Y Amendment Rejected - Senate 10/06/2004 National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 Y Bill Passed - Senate 11/19/2002 Establishing the Department of Homeland Security Y Bill Passed - Senate 07/24/2002 Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2002 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 06/18/2002 Terrorism Insurance Bill Y Bill Passed - Senate 12/13/2001 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 Y Conference Report Adopted - Senate 10/25/2001 USA Patriot Act of 2001 Y Bill Passed - Senate 09/14/2001 Military Force Authorization Y Joint Resolution Passed - 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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