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, 2014 | National | HR 4438 | American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014 | Bill Passed - House (274 - 131) |
| Feb. 26, 2014 | National | HR 3865 | Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2014 | Bill Passed - House (243 - 176) |
| Dec. 18, 2013 | National | H J Res 59 | Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (64 - 36) |
| Dec. 12, 2013 | National | H J Res 59 | Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (332 - 94) |
| Sept. 30, 2013 | National | H J Res 59 | Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 | Motion Agreed - Senate (54 - 46) |
| Sept. 29, 2013 | National | H J Res 59 | Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (248 - 174) |
| Aug. 2, 2013 | National | H Amdt 448 | Requires Congressional Approval Prior to Establishing a Tax on Carbon Emissions | Amendment Adopted - House (237 - 176) |
| July 24, 2013 | National | S Amdt 1778 | Limits Interest Rates for Certain Federal Student Loans | Amendment Rejected - Senate (46 - 53) |
| May 6, 2013 | National | S 743 | Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 | Bill Passed - Senate (69 - 27) |
| April 25, 2013 | National | S 743 | Marketplace Fairness Act of 2013 | Cloture Invoked - Senate (63 - 30) |
| April 15, 2013 | National | HR 249 | Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act of 2013 | Bill Failed - House (250 - 159) |
| March 23, 2013 | National | S Con Res 8 | An Original Concurrent Resolution Setting Forth the Congressional Budget for the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2014, Revising the Appropriate Budgetary Levels for Fiscal Year 2013, and Setting Forth the Appropriate Budgetary Levels for Fiscal Years 2015 Through 2023 | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (50 - 49) |
| March 21, 2013 | National | H Con Res 25 | Establishing the Budget for the United States Government for Fiscal Year 2014 and Setting Forth Appropriate Budgetary Levels for Fiscal Years 2015 Through 2023 | Joint Resolution Passed - House (221 - 207) |
| Jan. 1, 2013 | National | HR 8 | Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012 | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (257 - 167) |
| Jan. 1, 2013 | National | HR 8 | Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - Senate (89 - 8) |
| Aug. 2, 2012 | National | HR 6169 | Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act of 2012 | Bill Passed - House (232 - 189) |
| 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) |
| July 25, 2012 | National | S Amdt 2573 | Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2012 | Amendment Rejected - Senate (45 - 54) |
| July 25, 2012 | National | S 3412 | Middle Class Tax Cut Act | Bill Passed - Senate (51 - 48) |
| July 19, 2012 | National | S 3364 | Bring Jobs Home Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (56 - 42) |
| July 12, 2012 | National | S 2237 | Small Business Jobs and Tax Relief Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (53 - 44) |
| June 7, 2012 | National | HR 436 | Repeals Excise Tax on Medical Devices | Bill Passed - House (270 - 146) |
| April 19, 2012 | National | HR 9 | Income Tax Deduction for Small Businesses | Bill Passed - House (235 - 173) |
| April 16, 2012 | National | S 2230 | Establishes a Minimum 30 Percent Tax Rate for High-Income Taxpayers | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 45) |