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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 6, 2025 | National | PN 11-8 | Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be Secretary of Health and Human Services | Motion Agreed - Senate (52 - 47) |
| Feb. 6, 2025 | National | PN 11-16 | Nomination of Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence | Motion Agreed - Senate (52 - 46) |
| Feb. 6, 2025 | National | PN 11-9 | Nomination of Howard Lutnick to be Secretary of Commerce | Motion Agreed - Senate (52 - 46) |
| Feb. 5, 2025 | National | PN 11-14 | Nomination of Eric Turner to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (55 - 44) |
| Feb. 5, 2025 | National | PN 11-22 | Nomination of Russell Vought to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget | Cloture Invoked - Senate (53 - 47) |
| Feb. 4, 2025 | National | PN 11-2 | Nomination of Pamela Bondi to be Attorney General | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (54 - 46) |
| Feb. 4, 2025 | National | PN 11-5 | Nomination of Douglas Collins to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (77 - 23) |
| Feb. 4, 2025 | National | PN 11-5 | Nomination of Douglas Collins to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (77 - 23) |
| Feb. 4, 2025 | National | PN 11-14 | Nomination of Eric Turner to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | Cloture Invoked - Senate (55 - 45) |
| Feb. 3, 2025 | National | PN 11-2 | Nomination of Pamela Bondi to be Attorney General | Cloture Invoked - Senate (52 - 46) |
| Feb. 3, 2025 | National | PN 11-22 | Nomination of Russell Vought to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget | Motion Agreed - Senate (51 - 46) |
| Jan. 30, 2025 | National | PN 11-15 | Nomination of Christopher Wright to be Secretary of Energy | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (59 - 38) |
| Jan. 30, 2025 | National | PN 11-3 | Nomination of Douglas Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (79 - 18) |
| Jan. 30, 2025 | National | PN 11-5 | Nomination of Douglas Collins to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Cloture Invoked - Senate (83 - 13) |
| Jan. 30, 2025 | National | PN 11-15 | Nomination of Christopher Wright to be Secretary of Energy | Cloture Invoked - Senate (62 - 35) |
| Jan. 30, 2025 | National | PN 11-5 | Nomination of Douglas Collins to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Cloture Invoked - Senate (83 - 13) |
| Jan. 29, 2025 | National | PN 11-23 | Nomination of Lee Zeldin to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (56 - 42) |
| Jan. 29, 2025 | National | PN 11-23 | Nomination of Lee Zeldin to be Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency | Cloture Invoked - Senate (56 - 42) |
| Jan. 28, 2025 | National | PN 11-6 | Nomination of Sean Duffy to be Secretary of Transportation | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (77 - 22) |
| Jan. 27, 2025 | National | PN 11-1 | Nomination of Scott Bessent to be Secretary of the Treasury | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (68 - 29) |
| Jan. 27, 2025 | National | PN 11-6 | Nomination of Sean Duffy to be Secretary of Transportation | Cloture Invoked - Senate (97 - 0) |
| Jan. 25, 2025 | National | PN 11-11 | Nomination of Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (59 - 34) |
| 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 11-7 | Nomination of Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | Cloture Invoked - Senate (51 - 49) |
| 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. 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. 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. 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. 24, 2024 | National | PN 1342 | Nomination of Michael Sfraga of Alaska to be Ambassador at Large for Arctic Affairs | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (55 - 36) |
| Sept. 17, 2024 | National | S 4445 | A bill to protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization. | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 44) |
| Aug. 1, 2024 | National | HR 7024 | Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (48 - 44) |
| July 10, 2024 | National | S 4554 | Reproductive Freedom for Women Act | Bill Passed - Senate (49 - 44) |
| June 13, 2024 | National | S 4445 | A bill to protect and expand nationwide access to fertility treatment, including in vitro fertilization. | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (48 - 47) |
| June 5, 2024 | National | S 4381 | Right to Contraception Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 39) |
| May 23, 2024 | National | S 4361 | Border Act of 2024 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (43 - 50) |
| March 7, 2024 | National | S 3853 | A bill to extend the period for filing claims under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and to provide for compensation under such Act for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste, and to improve compensation for workers involved in uranium mining. | Bill Passed - Senate (69 - 30) |
| May 17, 2023 | National | S J Res 18 | A joint resolution disapproving of the rule submitted by the Department of Homeland Security relating to "Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility". | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (50 - 47) |
| Dec. 1, 2022 | National | H Con Res 119 | Providing for a Correction in the enrollment of H.J. Res. 100. | Joint Resolution Failed - Senate (52 - 43) |