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	SENATE RATINGS
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National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, Feb. 27, 2004

Here are the 62 Senate votes on which National Journal's 2003 vote ratings are based. The Congressional Record roll-call number is followed by the bill number, a description of the vote, the date, the outcome, the prevailing side -- conservative (C) or liberal (L) -- and the weight given to each (from 1 for the lowest weight to 3 for the highest) based on how closely the vote fits the overall pattern.

The highlighted vote numbers below link to the complete roll call results for the vote in question on the Senate Web site.

SENATE
Economic Issues (32 votes)
11/HJRes2: Authorize the National Academy of Sciences to study the Environmental Protection Agency's rules regarding the "new-source review" section of the Clean Air Act. January 22. (51-45) C-3

25/HJRes2: Permit federal agencies to use quotas to expedite the hiring of private firms to replace federal workers. January 23. (50-48) C-3

59/SConRes23: Strike a provision in the fiscal 2004 budget resolution that would provide procedural protection for legislation authorizing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. March 19. (52-48) L-3

63/SConRes23: Table a proposal to increase spending on a Medicare prescription drug benefit for seniors from $400 billion to $619 billion over the next 10 years. March 20. (55-44) C-3

83/SConRes23: Eliminate most tax cuts in the fiscal 2004 budget resolution. March 25. (43-56) C-3

108/SConRes23: Approve the fiscal 2004 budget resolution, which allows $350 billion in new tax cuts during the next 10 years. March 26. (56-44) C-3

115/S762: Table a proposed $1 billion for port security included in the fiscal 2003 supplemental spending bill for the Iraq war. April 2. (52-47) C-3

134/HConRes95: Approve the conference report on the fiscal 2004 budget resolution, which allows up to $550 billion in new tax cuts during the next 10 years. April 11. (50-50; Vice President Cheney broke the tie) C-3

153/S1054: Waive procedural objection to a proposal to expand eligibility for a refundable child tax credit. May 15. (49-51) C-3

159/S1054: Waive procedural objection to a proposal to limit income-tax cuts until a Medicare prescription drug benefit for seniors is enacted. May 15. (44-56) C-3

165/S1054: Waive procedural objection to a proposal to reduce the corporate tax on overseas income if companies use the money to provide domestic jobs. May 15. (75-25) C-2

168/S1054: Waive procedural objection to a proposal to expand tax cuts for low-income individuals and eliminate dividend tax cuts. May 15. (44-56) C-3

179/HR2: Approve tax-cut package that would reduce taxes by $350 billion through 2013. May 15. (51-49) C-3

196/HR2: Approve the conference report on the tax-cut package that would reduce taxes by $350 billion through 2013. May 23. (50-50; Vice President Cheney broke the tie) C-3

199/HJRes51: Table a proposal for a 26-week extension of federal unemployment benefits. May 23. (50-49) C-3

214/S14: Strike a provision authorizing loan guarantees for the construction of new nuclear power plants. June 10. (48-50) C-2

221/S14: Strike a provision requiring an Interior Department inventory of offshore oil and natural gas sites. June 12. (45-53) C-2

222/S824: Prohibit the privatization of air traffic control operations. June 12. (56-41) L-3

235/S1: Table a requirement that pharmaceutical companies sell their products in the United States at roughly their most favorable prices in Canada. June 24. (66-31) C-2

244/S1: Reduce premiums for Medicare beneficiaries who incur substantial prescription drug costs. June 25. (39-56) C-3

245/S1: Provide prescription drug coverage to seniors as part of the current Medicare program. June 25. (39-56) C-3

259/S1: Require fallback plans for Medicare beneficiaries who might lose their current prescription drug coverage under the proposed legislation. June 26. (42-54) C-3

264/S11: Invoke cloture to limit debate on legislation capping awards in medical-malpractice lawsuits. July 9. (49-48; failed to receive the required 60 votes) L-3

310/S14: Restrict the Energy secretary's authority to raise federal fuel-economy standards for automobiles. July 29. (66-30) C-1

315/S14: Table a proposal to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to regulate transactions of utility companies. July 30. (50-48) C-2

331/HR2660: Waive procedural objection to providing an additional $2.2 billion for higher education. September 9. (49-46; failed to receive the required 60 votes) C-3

334/HR2660: Bar Labor Department implementation of a regulation to exempt certain workers from overtime pay requirements. September 10. (54-45) L-3

348/SJRes17: Disapprove the Federal Communications Commission's proposed rule to expand its broadcast ownership limits. September 16. (55-40) L-2

403/S1751: Invoke cloture to limit debate on legislation removing certain class-action lawsuits from state to federal courts. October 22. (59-39; failed to receive the required 60 votes) L-3

456/HR6: Invoke cloture to limit debate on the conference report on the comprehensive energy bill. November 21. (58-39; after the motion failed to receive the required 60 votes, Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., switched his vote in favor so that he might move to reconsider the vote later) L-2

458/HR1: Waive procedural objection to the conference report on Medicare prescription drug benefit legislation. November 24. (61-39) C-3

459/HR1: Approve the conference report on Medicare prescription drug benefit legislation. November 25. (54-44) C-2

Social Issues (15 votes)
48/S3: Express the sense of the Senate in support of the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion. March 12. (52-46) L-3

51/S3: Ban the procedure that opponents describe as "partial-birth" abortion, and impose criminal sanctions for those who perform the procedure. March 13. (64-33) C-2

54/ -- : Confirm Jay Bybee to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. March 13. (74-19) C-2

56/ -- : Invoke cloture to limit debate on the nomination of Miguel Estrada to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. March 18. (55-45; failed to receive the required 60 votes) L-3

113/ -- : Confirm Timothy Tymkovich to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. April 1. (58-41) C-3

135/ -- : Confirm Jeffrey Sutton to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. April 29. (52-41) C-3

139/ -- : Confirm Deborah Cook to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. May 5. (66-25) C-2

144/ -- : Invoke cloture to limit debate on the nomination of Priscilla Owen to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. May 8. (52-45; failed to receive the required 60 votes) L-3

145/S113: Permit, but not require, judges to authorize the surveillance of foreign citizens in the United States even if there is no evidence to establish a terrorist link. May 8. (35-59) C-3

192/S1050: Permit U.S. military facilities to perform abortions that are paid for privately. May 22. (48-51) C-3

267/S925: Table a proposal to repeal a policy that bars foreign organizations receiving U.S. aid to provide abortion services or counseling. July 9. (43-53) L-3

316/ -- : Invoke cloture to limit debate on the nomination of William Pryor to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. July 31. (53-44; failed to receive the required 60 votes) L-3

419/ -- : Invoke cloture to limit debate on the nomination of Charles Pickering to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. October 30. (54-43; failed to receive the required 60 votes) L-3

451/ -- : Invoke cloture to limit debate on the nomination of Carolyn Kuhl to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. November 14. (53-43; failed to receive the required 60 votes) L-3

452/ -- : Invoke cloture to limit debate on the nomination of Janice Brown to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. November 14. (53-43; failed to receive the required 60 votes) L-3

Foreign Policy (15 votes)
19/HJRes2: Restrict U.S. military support to Indonesia until President Bush certifies that it is pursuing anti-terrorist steps. January 23. (36-61) C-2

117/S762: Table a proposed $30 million for research and development of technology to protect commercial airlines from attack by surface-to-air missiles. April 3. (50-47) C-3

180/HR1298: Strike a requirement that one-third of aid to other nations for HIV/AIDS prevention is used for abstinence programs for unmarried individuals. May 15. (45-52) C-3

186/S1050: Table a proposal to strike a provision for nuclear weapons research. May 20. (51-43) C-3

187/S1050: Permit extended research on low-yield nuclear weapons. May 21. (59-38) C-3

189/S1050: Table a proposal to prohibit funds for nuclear earth-penetrator weapons. May 21. (56-41) C-3

279/HR2658: Table a proposal to require the Pentagon to report on individuals detained as enemy combatants. July 16. (52-42) C-3

287/HR2658: Table a proposal to withhold $50 million in intelligence funding until President Bush reports on the use of intelligence in the Iraq war. July 17. (62-34) C-3

318/HR2739: Approve a U.S. free-trade agreement with Singapore. July 31. (66-32) C-1

319/HR2738: Approve a U.S. free-trade agreement with Chile. July 31. (66-31) C-1

379/S1689: Table a proposal to reduce reconstruction aid to Iraq by $5 billion. October 14. (59-35) C-3

389/S1689: Provide $10 billion in reconstruction aid to Iraq as a grant, plus $10 billion in loans, which could be forgiven if other nations forgive debts owed to them by Iraq. October 16. (51-47) L-2

405/HR2989: Table a proposal to bar the enforcement of the ban on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba. October 23. (36-59) L-1

415/HR2800: Approve a procedural motion to express the sense of the Senate that President Bush should declassify a section of the congressional report on the September 11 terrorist attacks. October 29. (43-54) C-3

430/HR2800: Stipulate that the requirement in the Global AIDS authorization bill that one-third of prevention funds should be dedicated to abstinence programs applies only to funds for the prevention of transmission of HIV, not to all AIDS programs. October 30. (45-47) C-3

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