| Full Name: | Al Franken |
|---|---|
| Office: | U.S. Senate (MN) - Jr, Democratic/Farmer/Labor |
| First Elected: | 11/04/2008 |
| Next Election: | 2014 |
| Gender: | Male |
|---|---|
| Family: | Wife: Franni; 2 Children: Thomasin, Joe |
| Birth Date: | 05/21/1951 |
| Birth Place: | New York, NY |
| Religion: | Jewish |
Key Votes
Senator Al Franken's Voting Records
Issue
- down
- Abortion
- Abortion and Reproductive
- Agriculture and Food
- Animals and Wildlife
- Arts, Entertainment, and History
- Budget, Spending and Taxes
- Business and Consumers
- Campaign Finance and Elections
- Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
- Conservative
- Crime
- Death Penalty
- Defense
- Drugs
- Education
- Employment and Affirmative Action
- Energy
- Environment
- Executive Branch
- Federal, State and Local Relations
- Foreign Affairs
- Gambling and Gaming
- Government Operations
- Guns
- Health and Health Care
- Housing and Property
- Immigration
- Indigenous Peoples
- Judicial Branch
- Labor Unions
- Legislative Branch
- Liberal
- Marriage, Family, and Children
- Military Personnel
- National Security
- Science
- Senior Citizens
- Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
- Social
- Stem Cell Research
- Technology and Communication
- Trade
- Transportation
- Unemployed and Low-Income
- Veterans
- Women
National Key Votes
| Date | Bill No. | Bill Title | Outcome | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 22, 2011 | S Amdt 634 | Sale of F-16 Aircraft to Taiwan | Amendment Rejected - Senate (48 - 48) |
Nay |
| Sept. 21, 2011 | S Amdt 625 | Reducing and Extending Trade Adjustment Assistance | Amendment Rejected - Senate (46 - 53) |
Nay |
| Sept. 21, 2011 | S Amdt 642 | Modifies Eligibility Requirements for Trade Adjustment Assistance | Amendment Rejected - Senate (40 - 57) |
Nay |
| Sept. 21, 2011 | S Amdt 641 | Requires Extension of Trade Adjustment Assistance to be Contingent Upon Ratification of Free Trade Agreements with Columbia, Korea and Panama | Amendment Rejected - Senate (44 - 54) |
Nay |
| Sept. 21, 2011 | S Amdt 645 | Repeals the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program for Firms | Amendment Rejected - Senate (43 - 54) |
Nay |
| Sept. 15, 2011 | S Amdt 602 | Emergency Disaster Relief Appropriations | Amendment Adopted - Senate (62 - 37) |
Yea |
| Sept. 15, 2011 | S Amdt 613 | Reducing Appropriations for Foreign Assistance Programs | Amendment Rejected - Senate (20 - 78) |
Nay |
| Sept. 8, 2011 | HR 1249 | Patent Law Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (89 - 9) |
Yea |
| Aug. 2, 2011 | S 365 | Budget Control Act of 2011 | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (74 - 26) |
Yea |
| July 31, 2011 | S 627 | Increasing the Debt Ceiling (Reid Bill) | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (50 - 49) |
Yea |
| July 29, 2011 | S 627 | Increasing the Debt Ceiling (Boehner Bill) | Bill Tabled - Senate (59 - 41) |
Yea |
| July 22, 2011 | HR 2560 | Cut, Cap and Balance Act of 2011 | Bill Tabled - Senate (51 - 46) |
Yea |
| June 23, 2011 | S Amdt 499 | Prohibits the Appointment of Presidential "Czars" Without Senate Approval | Amendment Rejected - Senate (47 - 51) |
Nay |
| June 21, 2011 | S 782 | Economic Development Revitalization Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (49 - 51) |
Yea |
| June 14, 2011 | S Amdt 436 | Repeals the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (40 - 59) |
Nay |
| June 9, 2011 | S Amdt 390 | Amending Small Business Regulations | Amendment Rejected - Senate (53 - 46) |
Nay |
| June 8, 2011 | S Amdt 392 | Debit Card Transactions | Amendment Rejected - Senate (54 - 45) |
Nay |
| May 26, 2011 | S 990 | Patriot Act Extension | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (72 - 23) |
Nay |
| May 25, 2011 | H Con Res 34 | 2011-2012 Budget | Motion Rejected - Senate (40 - 57) |
Nay |
| May 25, 2011 | S Con Res 21 | 2012 Budget | Motion Rejected - Senate (42 - 55) |
Nay |
| May 23, 2011 | S 1038 | Patriot Act Extension | Cloture Invoked - Senate (74 - 8) |
Yea |
| May 18, 2011 | S 953 | Offshore Production and Safety Act | Motion Rejected - Senate (42 - 57) |
Nay |
| May 17, 2011 | S 940 | Amending Oil Company Tax Laws | Motion Rejected - Senate (52 - 48) |
Yea |
| April 14, 2011 | HR 1473 | 2011 Budget | Bill Passed - Senate (81 - 19) |
Yea |
| April 5, 2011 | HR 4 | Repeals the Form 1099 Provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | Bill Passed - Senate (87 - 12) |
Yea |
| March 17, 2011 | H J Res 48 | Additional Continuing Appropriations | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (87 - 13) |
Yea |
| March 9, 2011 | S Amdt 149 | Department of Defense funding and Continuing Appropriations | Amendment Rejected - Senate (42 - 58) |
Yea |
| March 9, 2011 | HR 1 | Continuing Appropriations | Bill Failed - Senate (44 - 56) |
Nay |
| March 2, 2011 | H J Res 44 | Continuing Appropriations Amendments | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (91 - 9) |
Yea |
| March 2, 2011 | S Amdt 115 | Calling for a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (58 - 40) |
Nay |
| March 1, 2011 | S Amdt 112 | Prioritizing Payment of Public Debt | Amendment Tabled - Senate (52 - 47) |
Yea |
| Feb. 15, 2011 | HR 514 | Extension of Various Patriot Act Provisions | Bill Passed - Senate (86 - 12) |
Yea |
| Feb. 15, 2011 | S Amdt 14 | Prohibiting Transportation Security Administration Employees from Collective Bargaining | Amendment Rejected - Senate (47 - 51) |
Nay |
| Feb. 15, 2011 | S Amdt 21 | Reducing Federal Aviation Administration Appropriations | Amendment Tabled - Senate (51 - 47) |
Yea |
| Feb. 2, 2011 | S Amdt 13 | Repealing the Federal Health Care Law | Motion Rejected - Senate (47 - 51) |
Nay |
| Feb. 2, 2011 | S Amdt 9 | Repealing the IRS 1099 Provision from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act | Motion Agreed - Senate (81 - 17) |
Nay |
| Feb. 2, 2011 | S Amdt 28 | Repealing the IRS 1099 Provision from the Health Care Law | Amendment Rejected - Senate (44 - 54) |
Yea |
| Dec. 22, 2010 | Treaty Doc. 111-5 | Treaty with Russia to Reduce and Limit Offensive Arms | Treaty Ratification Passed - Senate (71 - 26) |
Yea |
| Dec. 21, 2010 | HR 3082 | Continuing Appropriations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (79 - 16) |
Yea |
| Dec. 18, 2010 | HR 2965 | Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (65 - 31) |
Yea |
| Dec. 15, 2010 | HR 4853 | Temporary Extension of Tax Relief | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (81 - 19) |
Yea |
| Dec. 9, 2010 | HR 847 | 9/11 Health and Compensation Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (57 - 42) |
Yea |
| Dec. 8, 2010 | S 3991 | Allowing Collective Bargaining for Public Safety Officers | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (55 - 43) |
Yea |
| Dec. 8, 2010 | S 3985 | Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (53 - 45) |
Yea |
| Dec. 4, 2010 | S Amdt 4727 | Extension of Tax Cuts for Those Making Under $250,000 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (53 - 36) |
Yea |
| Dec. 4, 2010 | S Amdt 4728 | Extension of Tax Cuts for Those Making Under $1 Million | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (53 - 37) |
Yea |
| Nov. 30, 2010 | S Amdt 4697 | Prohibiting Earmarks | Motion Rejected - Senate (39 - 56) |
Nay |
| Nov. 30, 2010 | S 510 | FDA Food Safety Modernization Act | Bill Passed - Senate (73 - 25) |
Yea |
| Nov. 17, 2010 | S 3772 | Paycheck Fairness Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (58 - 41) |
Yea |
| Sept. 29, 2010 | S Amdt 4676 | Reducing "Continuing Appropriation" Amounts by 5 Percent | Amendment Rejected - Senate (48 - 51) |
Nay |
About the Selection and Descriptions of Key Votes
Project Vote Smart provides easy access to Congressional and State voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Key votes typically include the initial passage of legislation and final conference report vote versions (the compromised versions of bills passed in separate House and Senate versions). Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
- The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue
- The vote should be clear for any person to understand
- The vote has received media attention
- The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin
- Occasionally, if a specific bill is consistently inquired about on the Voter's Research Hotline, the vote will be added
Descriptions of the votes are written by Vote Smart staff and based on information included in the Congressional Record, State House Journals, or Senate Journals, with additional background information from newspapers, magazines, etc. Vote Smart provides summaries for each selected key vote. The summary does not necessarily reflect the final version of the bill.
The Key Votes Program follows Project Vote Smart's strict policies, procedures and structure that guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. In order to ensure that all Key Votes are non-partisan in their selection and language, each is approved by a group of over 160 political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
