Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. Our summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to our strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. They do not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill, but rather the version voted on in that stage. While many procedural votes take place before a full chamber vote, our voting stages reflect the final reading of each chamber vote. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
For more information about the legislative process, see here.
Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sept. 21, 2011 | National | S Amdt 642 | Modifies Eligibility Requirements for Trade Adjustment Assistance | Amendment Rejected - Senate (40 - 57) |
Sept. 21, 2011 | National | S Amdt 641 | Requires Extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance to be Contingent Upon Ratification of Free Trade Agreements with Columbia, Korea and Panama | Amendment Rejected - Senate (44 - 54) |
July 21, 2010 | National | HR 4380 | Temporary Tariff Suspensions and Reductions | Bill Passed - House (378 - 43) |
June 16, 2009 | SC | S 351 | State Ports Authority Amendments | Veto Override Passed - Senate (35 - 9) |
Feb. 18, 2009 | SC | S 351 | State Ports Authority Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 14) |
Feb. 4, 2009 | National | S Amdt 279 | Removing the Buy American Clause | Amendment Rejected - Senate (31 - 65) |
Jan. 27, 2009 | WI | AB 2 | Mandatory State Contracting with Domestic Companies | Bill Passed - House (69 - 30) |
Jan. 27, 2009 | WI | AB 1 | Wisconsin-Based Products and Services Purchasing Goals | Bill Passed - House (77 - 22) |
Aug. 5, 2008 | CA | SB 974 | Shipping Fee | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (22 - 10) |
July 15, 2008 | CA | SB 974 | Shipping Fee | Bill Passed - House (46 - 24) |
June 19, 2008 | National | HR 2642 | GI Bill, Funding for Midwest Flood Cleanup, Extension of Unemployment Benefits, and Other Provisions | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (416 - 12) |
May 22, 2008 | National | HR 2419 | Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) | Veto Override Passed - Senate (82 - 13) |
May 21, 2008 | National | HR 2419 | Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) | Veto Override Passed - House (316 - 108) |
May 15, 2008 | National | HR 2419 | Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (81 - 15) |
May 14, 2008 | National | HR 2419 | Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) | Conference Report Adopted - House (318 - 106) |
April 10, 2008 | National | H Res 1092 | Postponing the Consideration of the Trade Agreement with Colombia | Resolution Passed - House (224 - 195) |
March 14, 2008 | National | S Amdt 4299 | Expressing the Sense of the Senate on the Legalization of Importing Certain Prescription Drugs | Amendment Adopted - Senate (73 - 23) |
Feb. 4, 2008 | UT | HR 1 | North American Union Withdrawal | Resolution Passed - House (57 - 15) |
Dec. 4, 2007 | National | HR 3688 | United States-Peru Trade Agreement | Bill Passed - Senate (77 - 18) |
Nov. 14, 2007 | National | HR 3074 | Appropriations for the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development | Conference Report Adopted - House (270 - 147) |
Nov. 8, 2007 | National | HR 3688 | United States-Peru Trade Agreement | Bill Passed - House (285 - 132) |
Oct. 31, 2007 | National | HR 3920 | Trade and Globalization Act of 2007 | Bill Passed - House (264 - 157) |
Sept. 11, 2007 | National | S Amdt 2797 | Limiting Mexican Trucks to Commercial Zones Near the Border Between the U.S. and Mexico | Amendment Adopted - Senate (75 - 23) |
Aug. 2, 2007 | National | H Amdt 734 | Prescription Drug Imports | Amendment Rejected - House (146 - 283) |
July 27, 2007 | National | HR 2419 | Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) | Bill Passed - House (231 - 191) |