Key Votes

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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:

  1. The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue
  2. The vote should be clear for any person to understand
  3. The vote has received media attention
  4. The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin
  5. Occasionally, if a specific bill is consistently inquired about on the Voter's Research Hotline, the vote will be added

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.


results per page:
Date State Bill No. Title Outcome
Dec. 22, 1995 National HR 4 Welfare Reform Bill Conference Report Adopted - Senate (52 - 47)
Dec. 22, 1995 National HR 4 Welfare Reform Bill Conference Report Adopted - Senate (52 - 47)
Dec. 19, 1995 National HR 1530 Authorization bill FY96, Defense Department Conference Report Adopted - Senate (51 - 43)
Dec. 14, 1995 National HR 1977 Interior Department FY96 Appropriations bill Conference Report Adopted - Senate (58 - 40)
Dec. 13, 1995 National S J Res 44 Deployment of US Armed Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (69 - 30)
Dec. 6, 1995 National HR 660 Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 Bill Passed - Senate (94 - 3)
Nov. 15, 1995 National HR 2020 Appropriations bill FY96, Treasury, Postal Service Conference Report Adopted - Senate (63 - 35)
Sept. 19, 1995 National HR 4 Welfare Reform Bill Bill Passed - Senate (87 - 12)
Sept. 19, 1995 National HR 4 Welfare Reform Bill Bill Passed - Senate (87 - 12)
Sept. 14, 1995 National S Amdt 2478 Naturalized Citizen Amendment Amendment Rejected - Senate (37 - 61)
Sept. 14, 1995 National S Amdt 2478 Naturalized Citizen Amendment Amendment Rejected - Senate (37 - 61)
Sept. 6, 1995 National HR 1530 Authorization bill FY96, Defense Department Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 34)
June 22, 1995 National PN 245 Henry W. Foster Jr., Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (57 - 43)
June 7, 1995 National S 735 Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 8)
May 10, 1995 National HR 956 Product Liability bill Bill Passed - Senate (61 - 37)
March 23, 1995 National S 4 Line-Item Veto bill Bill Passed - Senate (69 - 29)
Jan. 5, 1995 National S Amdt 1 Filibuster Amendment Amendment Tabled - Senate (76 - 19)
Date No. Title Outcome
12/22 HR 4 Welfare Reform Bill Conference Report Adopted - Senate (52 - 47)
12/22 HR 4 Welfare Reform Bill Conference Report Adopted - Senate (52 - 47)
12/19 HR 1530 Authorization bill FY96, Defense Department Conference Report Adopted - Senate (51 - 43)
12/14 HR 1977 Interior Department FY96 Appropriations bill Conference Report Adopted - Senate (58 - 40)
12/13 S J Res 44 Deployment of US Armed Forces in Bosnia-Herzegovina Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (69 - 30)
12/06 HR 660 Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 Bill Passed - Senate (94 - 3)
11/15 HR 2020 Appropriations bill FY96, Treasury, Postal Service Conference Report Adopted - Senate (63 - 35)
9/19 HR 4 Welfare Reform Bill Bill Passed - Senate (87 - 12)
9/19 HR 4 Welfare Reform Bill Bill Passed - Senate (87 - 12)
9/14 S Amdt 2478 Naturalized Citizen Amendment Amendment Rejected - Senate (37 - 61)
9/14 S Amdt 2478 Naturalized Citizen Amendment Amendment Rejected - Senate (37 - 61)
9/06 HR 1530 Authorization bill FY96, Defense Department Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 34)
6/22 PN 245 Henry W. Foster Jr., Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (57 - 43)
6/07 S 735 Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 8)
5/10 HR 956 Product Liability bill Bill Passed - Senate (61 - 37)
3/23 S 4 Line-Item Veto bill Bill Passed - Senate (69 - 29)
1/05 S Amdt 1 Filibuster Amendment Amendment Tabled - Senate (76 - 19)

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