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. 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 5 | Laken Riley Act | Bill Passed - House (263 - 156) |
| 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. 21, 2025 | National | PN 11-7 | Nomination of Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | Motion Agreed - Senate (53 - 47) |
| 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. 16, 2025 | National | HR 30 | Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act | Bill Passed - House (274 - 145) |
| Jan. 16, 2025 | National | HR 30 | Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act | Bill Passed - House (274 - 145) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | National | HR 28 | Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act | Bill Passed - House (218 - 206) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | National | HR 28 | Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act | Bill Passed - House (218 - 206) |
| 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) |
| Jan. 7, 2025 | National | HR 29 | Laken Riley Act | Bill Passed - House (264 - 159) |
| Jan. 3, 2025 | National | H Res 5 | Adopting the Rules of the House of Representatives for the One Hundred Nineteenth Congress, and for other purposes. | Resolution Passed - House (215 - 209) |
| Dec. 21, 2024 | National | HR 82 | Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 | Bill Passed - Senate (76 - 20) |
| Dec. 19, 2024 | National | HR 82 | Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 | Motion Agreed - Senate (73 - 23) |
| Dec. 18, 2024 | National | HR 82 | Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 | Cloture Invoked - Senate (73 - 27) |
| Dec. 18, 2024 | National | S 3857 | Jamul Indian Village Land Transfer Act | Bill Passed - House (369 - 37) |
| Dec. 17, 2024 | National | HR 1101 | Lumbee Fairness Act | Bill Passed - House (311 - 96) |
| Dec. 16, 2024 | National | S 141 | Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act | Bill Passed - House (382 - 12) |
| Dec. 12, 2024 | National | S 4199 | Judicial Understaffing Delays Getting Emergencies Solved (JUDGES) Act | Bill Passed - House (236 - 173) |
| 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. 21, 2024 | National | H Res 915 | Urging the Government of Ukraine to review and modify its decision to suspend adoption by foreign nationals with a view to resuming such adoptions, particularly in cases where the mutual concerns of the Governments of Ukraine and of the United States can be substantially addressed. | Resolution Passed - House (372 - 6) |
| Nov. 18, 2024 | National | HR 8371 | Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act | Bill Passed - House (389 - 9) |