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 |
---|---|---|---|---|
May 8, 2008 | National | H Amdt 1045 | Undocumented Immigrants' Ineligibility for Certain Financial Assistance | Amendment Adopted - House (391 - 33) |
July 16, 2008 | National | H Amdt 1114 | Allowing the Use of Certain Terms in Within the Intelligence Community | Amendment Adopted - House (249 - 180) |
March 13, 2008 | National | H Amdt 972 | Substitute Amendment for the House Budget Resolution | Amendment Rejected - House (157 - 263) |
March 13, 2008 | National | H Con Res 312 | Concurrent Budget Resolution | Joint Resolution Passed - House (212 - 207) |
July 30, 2008 | National | HR 1108 | FDA Regulation of Tobacco | Bill Passed - House (326 - 102) |
July 31, 2008 | National | HR 1338 | Employment Discrimination Law Amendments | Bill Passed - House (247 - 178) |
Oct. 1, 2008 | National | HR 1424 | Financial Asset Purchase Authority and Tax Law Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (74 - 25) |
March 5, 2008 | National | HR 1424 | Mental Health Coverage Bill | Bill Passed - House (268 - 148) |
Oct. 3, 2008 | National | HR 1424 | Financial Asset Purchase Authority and Tax Law Amendments | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (263 - 171) |
March 11, 2008 | National | HR 2082 | Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 | Veto Override Failed - House (225 - 188) |
Feb. 13, 2008 | National | HR 2082 | Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (51 - 45) |
Oct. 1, 2008 | National | HR 2095 | Amtrak Reauthorization | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (74 - 24) |
June 25, 2008 | National | HR 2176 | Bay Mills Indian Community Land Claim Bill | Bill Failed - House (121 - 298) |
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 16, 2008 | National | HR 2634 | Expanding the List of Countries Eligible for Debt Forgiveness | Bill Passed - House (285 - 132) |
Sept. 27, 2008 | National | HR 2638 | Continuing Appropriations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (78 - 12) |
Sept. 24, 2008 | National | HR 2638 | Continuing Appropriations | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (370 - 58) |
June 19, 2008 | National | HR 2642 | GI Bill, Funding for Midwest Flood Cleanup, Extension of Unemployment Benefits, and Other Provisions | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (268 - 155) |
June 26, 2008 | National | HR 2642 | Iraq and Afghanistan War Funding, Unemployment Benefits Extension, and GI Bill | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (92 - 6) |
May 15, 2008 | National | HR 2642 | Iraq Related Provisions such as a Troop Withdrawal, a Permanent Base Ban, and Limiting Interrogation Techniques | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (227 - 196) |
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 15, 2008 | National | HR 2642 | Iraq Related Provisions such as a Troop Withdrawal, a Permanent Base Ban, and Limiting Interrogation Techniques | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (256 - 166) |