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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 25, 2025 | National | PN 11-1 | Nomination of Scott Bessent to be Secretary of the Treasury | Cloture Invoked - Senate (67 - 23) |
| Jan. 24, 2025 | National | PN 11-7 | Nomination of Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (50 - 50) |
| Jan. 24, 2025 | National | PN 11-11 | Nomination of Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security | Cloture Invoked - Senate (61 - 39) |
| Jan. 23, 2025 | National | PN 11-19 | Nomination of John Ratcliffe to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (74 - 25) |
| Jan. 23, 2025 | National | PN 11-19 | Nomination of John Ratcliffe to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Cloture Invoked - Senate (72 - 26) |
| Jan. 23, 2025 | National | PN 11-7 | Nomination of Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 49) |
| Jan. 22, 2025 | National | S 6 | Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 47) |
| Jan. 21, 2025 | National | PN 11-7 | Nomination of Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | Motion Agreed - Senate (53 - 47) |
| Jan. 21, 2025 | National | PN 11-19 | Nomination of John Ratcliffe to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Motion Agreed - Senate (54 - 46) |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 35) |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | National | PN 11-13 | Nomination of Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (99 - 0) |
| Jan. 17, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (61 - 35) |
| Jan. 13, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Motion Agreed - Senate (82 - 10) |
| Jan. 8, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (84 - 9) |
| Dec. 21, 2024 | National | HR 82 | Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 | Bill Passed - Senate (76 - 20) |
| Dec. 21, 2024 | National | HR 10545 | American Relief Act, 2025 | Bill Passed - Senate (85 - 11) |
| Dec. 19, 2024 | National | HR 82 | Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 | Motion Agreed - Senate (73 - 23) |
| Dec. 18, 2024 | National | HR 5009 | Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver (WILD) Reauthorization Act | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (85 - 14) |
| Dec. 18, 2024 | National | S 4367 | Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (97 - 1) |
| Dec. 18, 2024 | National | HR 82 | Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 | Cloture Invoked - Senate (73 - 27) |
| Dec. 16, 2024 | National | HR 5009 | Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver (WILD) Reauthorization Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (83 - 12) |
| Dec. 12, 2024 | National | PN 1980 | Nomination of Matthew James Marzano, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the term of five years expiring June 30, 2028 | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (50 - 45) |
| Dec. 11, 2024 | National | PN 1789 | Nomination of Lauren McGarity McFerran, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board for the term of five years expiring December 16, 2029 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (49 - 50) |
| Nov. 13, 2024 | National | PN 923 | Nomination of David Huitema to be Director of the Office of Government Ethics | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (50 - 46) |
| Sept. 25, 2024 | National | HR 9747 | Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 | Bill Passed - Senate (78 - 18) |