| Full Name: | Arlen Specter |
|---|
| Gender: | Male |
|---|---|
| Family: | Wife: Joan; 2 Children: Shanin, Stephen |
| Birth Date: | 02/12/1930 |
| Birth Place: | Wichita, KS |
| Home City: | Philadephia, PA |
| Religion: | Jewish |
Key Votes
Arlen Specter's Voting Records
Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
Issue
- Civil Liberties and Civil Rights 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
(clear issue)
National Key Votes
| Date | Bill No. | Bill Title | Outcome | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 22, 2009 | S 181 | Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 | Bill Passed - Senate (61 - 36) |
Yea |
| April 23, 2008 | HR 2831 | Equal Pay Bill | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (56 - 42) |
Yea |
| Feb. 13, 2008 | HR 2082 | Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (51 - 45) |
Nay |
| Feb. 12, 2008 | S 2248 | FISA Amendments Act of 2007 | Bill Passed - Senate (68 - 29) |
Yea |
| Dec. 18, 2007 | HR 2764 | Inclusion of Consolidated Appropriations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (76 - 17) |
Yea |
| Oct. 16, 2007 | HR 3093 | Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008 | Bill Passed - Senate (75 - 19) |
Yea |
| Sept. 20, 2007 | S Amdt 2947 | Expressing Support for All Men and Women in the U.S. Armed Forces | Amendment Rejected - Senate (50 - 47) |
Yea |
| Sept. 20, 2007 | S Amdt 2934 | Expressing Support for General Petraeus and All Members of the Armed Forces | Amendment Adopted - Senate (72 - 25) |
Yea |
| Sept. 19, 2007 | S Amdt 2022 | Habeas Corpus for Detainees of the United States | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (56 - 43) |
Yea |
| Sept. 18, 2007 | S 1257 | District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (57 - 42) |
Yea |
| Aug. 3, 2007 | S 1927 | Foreign Intelligence Acquisition | Bill Passed - Senate (60 - 28) |
Yea |
| July 26, 2007 | S Amdt 2405 | REAL ID Funding | Amendment Tabled - Senate (50 - 44) |
Nay |
| July 26, 2007 | HR 1 | Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (85 - 8) |
Yea |
| July 19, 2007 | S Amdt 2351 | Sense of the Senate on Guantanamo Bay Detainees | Amendment Adopted - Senate (94 - 3) |
Yea |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1250 | Law Enforcement Review of Z Visa Applications | Amendment Adopted - Senate (57 - 39) |
Yea |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1384 | English as the Common Language | Amendment Adopted - Senate (58 - 39) |
Yea |
| March 13, 2007 | S 4 | Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act | Bill Passed - Senate (60 - 38) |
Yea |
| Sept. 28, 2006 | S Amdt 5087 | Habeas Review Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (48 - 51) |
Yea |
| Sept. 28, 2006 | S Amdt 5095 | Oversight of CIA Interrogation and Detention Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (46 - 53) |
Nay |
| Sept. 28, 2006 | S 3930 | Military Commissions Act of 2006 | Bill Passed - Senate (65 - 34) |
Yea |
| Sept. 13, 2006 | S Amdt 4936 | National Security Amendment | Motion Rejected - Senate (41 - 57) |
Nay |
| June 27, 2006 | S J Res 12 | Flag Desecration Constitutional Amendment | Resolution Failed - Senate (66 - 34) |
Yea |
| June 7, 2006 | S J Res 1 | Same Sex Marriage Resolution | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (49 - 48) |
Nay |
| May 25, 2006 | S AMDT 4097 | Confidentiality Requirement Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (49 - 49) |
Nay |
| March 2, 2006 | HR 3199 | PATRIOT Act Reauthorization | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (89 - 10) |
Yea |
| Dec. 16, 2005 | HR 3199 | PATRIOT Act Reauthorization | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 47) |
Yea |
| June 11, 2002 | S 625 | Hate Crimes Bill | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (54 - 43) |
Nay |
| Oct. 25, 2001 | HR 3162 | USA Patriot Act of 2001 | Bill Passed - Senate (98 - 1) |
Yea |
| March 29, 2000 | S J Res 14 | Flag Desecration amendment | Joint Resolution Failed - Senate (63 - 37) |
Yea |
| May 18, 1999 | S Amdt 351 | Religious Memorials at Schools Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (85 - 13) |
Yea |
| July 22, 1998 | S Amdt 3263 | Phone Recording Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (50 - 50) |
Nay |
| Sept. 10, 1996 | S 2056 | Employment Nondiscrimination Act of 1996 | Bill Failed - Senate (49 - 50) |
Yea |
| Sept. 10, 1996 | HR 3396 | Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) | Bill Passed - Senate (85 - 14) |
Yea |
| April 17, 1996 | S 735 | Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (91 - 8) |
Yea |
| Dec. 12, 1995 | S J Res 31 | Flag Desecration | Joint Resolution Failed - Senate (63 - 36) |
Yea |
| June 20, 1995 | S Amdt 1437 | Motorcycle Helmet Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (44 - 53) |
Yea |
| June 7, 1995 | S 735 | Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act | Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 8) |
Yea |
| June 6, 1995 | S Amdt 1215 | Anti-terrorism Wiretaps Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (77 - 19) |
Nay |
| July 27, 1994 | S Amdt 2416 | Voluntary Prayer Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (47 - 53) |
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.
