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 9, 2012 | National | H Amdt 1096 | Prohibits Use of Funds in Contravention with the Defense of Marriage Act | Amendment Adopted - House (245 - 171) |
May 17, 2012 | National | H Amdt 1103 | Limits Funding for War in Afghanistan to the Withdrawal of U.S. Forces | Amendment Rejected - House (113 - 303) |
May 18, 2012 | National | H Amdt 1127 | Repeals Indefinite Military Detention Provisions | Amendment Rejected - House (182 - 238) |
May 18, 2012 | National | H Amdt 1140 | Prohibits Reductions to Strategic Nuclear Arms Required by New START | Amendment Adopted - House (238 - 162) |
May 31, 2012 | National | H Amdt 1160 | Project Labor Agreements | Amendment Adopted - House (218 - 198) |
July 19, 2012 | National | H Amdt 1416 | Prohibits Use of Funds in Contravention of the Defense of Marriage Act | Amendment Adopted - House (247 - 166) |
March 29, 2012 | National | H Con Res 112 | Limits Federal Appropriations for Fiscal Years 2013-2022 ("Ryan Budget") | Joint Resolution Passed - House (228 - 191) |
Sept. 22, 2012 | National | H J Res 117 | Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013 | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (62 - 30) |
Sept. 20, 2012 | National | H J Res 118 | Congressional Disapproval of Department of Health and Human Services Rule to Waive Certain Requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (TANF) | Joint Resolution Passed - House (250 - 164) |
Jan. 26, 2012 | National | H J Res 98 | Disapproval of President's Authority to Raise the Debt Limit | Motion Rejected - Senate (44 - 54) |
Jan. 18, 2012 | National | H J Res 98 | Disapproval of President's Authority to Raise the Debt Limit | Joint Resolution Passed - House (239 - 176) |
Feb. 1, 2012 | National | HR 1173 | Repeals the CLASS Act | Bill Passed - House (267 - 159) |
Feb. 29, 2012 | National | HR 1837 | Water Resources in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley | Bill Passed - House (246 - 175) |
May 15, 2012 | National | HR 2072 | Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - Senate (78 - 20) |
May 9, 2012 | National | HR 2072 | Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (330 - 93) |
Feb. 28, 2012 | National | HR 2117 | Repeals Department of Education Regulations | Bill Passed - House (303 - 114) |
June 19, 2012 | National | HR 2578 | Conservation and Economic Growth Act | Bill Passed - House (232 - 188) |
Feb. 16, 2012 | National | HR 3408 | Authorizes Development of Oil Shale Resources | Bill Passed - House (237 - 187) |
Sept. 21, 2012 | National | HR 3409 | Stop the War on Coal Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (233 - 175) |
Feb. 8, 2012 | National | HR 3521 | Authorizes the President to Line-Item Veto Certain Legislation | Bill Passed - House (254 - 173) |
April 26, 2012 | National | HR 3523 | Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act | Bill Passed - House (248 - 168) |
May 31, 2012 | National | HR 3541 | Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA) of 2012 | Bill Failed - House (246 - 168) |
Feb. 3, 2012 | National | HR 3578 | Amends Budget Baseline | Bill Passed - House (235 - 177) |
Feb. 17, 2012 | National | HR 3630 | Extends Payroll Tax Cut | Conference Report Adopted - House (293 - 132) |
Feb. 17, 2012 | National | HR 3630 | Extends Payroll Tax Cut | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (60 - 36) |
July 31, 2012 | National | HR 3803 | District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act | Bill Failed - House (220 - 154) |
Feb. 1, 2012 | National | HR 3835 | Extends Pay Freeze for Congress and Non-Military Federal Workers | Bill Passed - House (309 - 117) |
July 26, 2012 | National | HR 4078 | Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act | Bill Passed - House (245 - 172) |
Dec. 21, 2012 | National | HR 4310 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (81 - 14) |
Dec. 20, 2012 | National | HR 4310 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 | Conference Report Adopted - House (315 - 107) |
May 18, 2012 | National | HR 4310 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 | Bill Passed - House (299 - 120) |
April 18, 2012 | National | HR 4348 | Extension of Surface Transportation Funding and Approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline | Bill Passed - House (293 - 127) |
June 7, 2012 | National | HR 436 | Repeals Excise Tax on Medical Devices | Bill Passed - House (270 - 146) |
July 12, 2012 | National | HR 4402 | National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (256 - 160) |
June 21, 2012 | National | HR 4480 | Domestic Energy and Jobs Act | Bill Passed - House (248 - 163) |
July 25, 2012 | National | HR 459 | Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (327 - 98) |
April 27, 2012 | National | HR 4628 | Extending Student Loan Interest Rates | Bill Passed - House (215 - 195) |
May 16, 2012 | National | HR 4970 | Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (222 - 205) |
May 10, 2012 | National | HR 5652 | Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (218 - 199) |
June 7, 2012 | National | HR 5855 | Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for 2013 | Bill Passed - House (234 - 182) |
July 19, 2012 | National | HR 5856 | Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2013 | Bill Passed - House (326 - 90) |
Sept. 19, 2012 | National | HR 5912 | Prohibits Public Funding for Political Party Conventions | Bill Passed - House (310 - 95) |
Dec. 28, 2012 | National | HR 5949 | FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - Senate (73 - 23) |
Sept. 12, 2012 | National | HR 5949 | FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (301 - 118) |
July 11, 2012 | National | HR 6079 | Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 | Bill Passed - House (244 - 185) |
July 25, 2012 | National | HR 6082 | Congressional Replacement of President Obama's Offshore Drilling Plan | Bill Passed - House (253 - 170) |
Nov. 16, 2012 | National | HR 6156 | Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (365 - 43) |
July 25, 2012 | National | HR 6168 | President Obama's Proposed 2012-2017 Offshore Drilling Lease Sale Plan Act | Bill Failed - House (164 - 261) |
Aug. 2, 2012 | National | HR 6169 | Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (232 - 189) |
Sept. 14, 2012 | National | HR 6213 | No More Solyndras Act | Bill Passed - House (245 - 161) |
Aug. 2, 2012 | National | HR 6233 | Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (223 - 197) |
Sept. 13, 2012 | National | HR 6365 | National Security and Job Protection Act | Bill Passed - House (223 - 196) |
Nov. 30, 2012 | National | HR 6429 | STEM Jobs Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (245 - 139) |
Sept. 20, 2012 | National | HR 6429 | STEM Jobs Act of 2012 | Bill Failed - House (257 - 158) |
Feb. 6, 2012 | National | HR 658 | Federal Aviation Administration Act of 2012 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (75 - 20) |
Feb. 3, 2012 | National | HR 658 | Federal Aviation Administration Act of 2012 | Conference Report Adopted - House (248 - 169) |
Dec. 20, 2012 | National | HR 6684 | Spending Reduction Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (215 - 209) |
Aug. 1, 2012 | National | HR 8 | Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (256 - 171) |
July 31, 2012 | National | HR 828 | Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (263 - 114) |
April 19, 2012 | National | HR 9 | Income Tax Deduction for Small Businesses | Bill Passed - House (235 - 173) |
April 25, 2012 | National | S 1789 | United States Postal Service Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (62 - 37) |
April 26, 2012 | National | S 1925 | Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act | Bill Passed - Senate (68 - 31) |
Feb. 9, 2012 | National | S 2038 | Prohibits Insider Trading by Government Officials | Bill Passed - House (417 - 2) |
Feb. 2, 2012 | National | S 2038 | Prohibits Insider Trading by Government Officials | Bill Passed - Senate (96 - 3) |
March 29, 2012 | National | S 2204 | Amends Energy-Related Tax Credits | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 47) |
April 16, 2012 | National | S 2230 | Establishes a Minimum 30 Percent Tax Rate for High-Income Taxpayers | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 45) |
July 12, 2012 | National | S 2237 | Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (53 - 44) |
May 24, 2012 | National | S 2343 | Extends Student Loan Interest Rates (Reid Bill) | Bill Failed - Senate (51 - 43) |
May 8, 2012 | National | S 2343 | Extends Student Loan Interest Rates (Reid Bill) | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 45) |
June 5, 2012 | National | S 3220 | Paycheck Fairness Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 47) |
June 21, 2012 | National | S 3240 | Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 35) |
July 19, 2012 | National | S 3364 | Bring Jobs Home Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (56 - 42) |
July 17, 2012 | National | S 3369 | DISCLOSE Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (53 - 45) |
July 25, 2012 | National | S 3412 | Middle Class Tax Cut Act | Bill Passed - Senate (51 - 48) |
Nov. 14, 2012 | National | S 3414 | Cybersecurity Act of 2012 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 47) |
Aug. 2, 2012 | National | S 3414 | Cybersecurity Act of 2012 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 46) |
July 31, 2012 | National | S 679 | Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011 | Bill Passed - House (261 - 116) |
Feb. 2, 2012 | National | S Amdt 1472 | Prohibits Consideration of Bills Containing Earmarks | Amendment Rejected - Senate (40 - 59) |
Feb. 2, 2012 | National | S Amdt 1491 | Requires Disclosure of Financial Transactions by Executive Branch Employees | Amendment Adopted - Senate (58 - 41) |
March 1, 2012 | National | S Amdt 1520 | Authorizes Moral and Religious Objections to Certain Health Care Items and Services | Amendment Tabled - Senate (51 - 48) |
March 8, 2012 | National | S Amdt 1537 | Approving the Keystone XL Pipeline Project | Amendment Rejected - Senate (56 - 42) |
March 20, 2012 | National | S Amdt 1836 | Reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank of the United States | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (55 - 44) |
May 24, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2107 | Authorizes Import of FDA-Approved Drugs from Canada | Amendment Rejected - Senate (43 - 54) |
May 24, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2108 | Prohibits FDA Approval of Genetically Engineered Fish | Amendment Rejected - Senate (46 - 50) |
May 24, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2111 | Prohibits Pharmaceutical Companies from Delaying the Release of Generic Drugs | Amendment Rejected - Senate (28 - 67) |
May 24, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2153 | Prohibits Increase in Interest Rates for Student Loans (Lamar Bill) | Amendment Rejected - Senate (34 - 62) |
June 19, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2156 | Increases Funding for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program | Amendment Rejected - Senate (33 - 66) |
June 19, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2172 | Rescinds Bonuses to States for Administering Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Amendment Rejected - Senate (41 - 58) |
June 19, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2174 | Limits Eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | Amendment Rejected - Senate (43 - 56) |
June 19, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2181 | Limits Farm Subsidies to Farmers with Incomes Under $250,000 | Amendment Rejected - Senate (15 - 84) |
June 21, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2310 | Requires Labels on Foods with Genetically Modified Ingredients | Amendment Rejected - Senate (26 - 73) |
June 21, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2372 | Prohibits the EPA from Conducting Aerial Surveillance of Agricultural Operations | Amendment Rejected - Senate (56 - 43) |
June 13, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2392 | Reduces Funding for Food Stamps | Amendment Tabled - Senate (65 - 33) |
June 13, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2393 | Repeals Sugar Subsidies | Amendment Tabled - Senate (50 - 46) |
June 20, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2454 | Prohibits Food Aid to North Korea Unless Waived by President | Amendment Adopted - Senate (59 - 40) |
July 25, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2573 | Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2012 | Amendment Rejected - Senate (45 - 54) |
Nov. 28, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2955 | Expands the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program | Amendment Adopted - Senate (85 - 11) |
Nov. 28, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2985 | Repeals the Limit on the Use of Funds to Procure Alternative Fuel | Amendment Adopted - Senate (62 - 37) |
Nov. 29, 2012 | National | S Amdt 3018 | Prohibits the Indefinite Detention of Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents | Amendment Adopted - Senate (67 - 29) |
Nov. 30, 2012 | National | S Amdt 3025 | Requires Sufficient Sizing of Civilian and Contract Services Workforces | Amendment Rejected - Senate (41 - 53) |