| 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
Education
Issue
- Education 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug. 5, 2010 | HR 1586 | Aid To States for Medicaid, Teacher Employment, and Other Purposes | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (61 - 39) |
Yea |
| March 25, 2010 | HR 4872 | Health Care Reconciliation Act | Bill Passed - Senate (56 - 43) |
Yea |
| March 26, 2009 | HR 1388 | National Volunteer Program Expansion | Bill Passed - Senate (79 - 19) |
Yea |
| Feb. 13, 2009 | HR 1 | Appropriations, Tax Law Amendments, and Unemployment Benefit Amendments ("Stimulus Bill") | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (60 - 38) |
Yea |
| Feb. 10, 2009 | HR 1 | Appropriations, Tax Law Amendments, and Unemployment Benefit Amendments ("Stimulus Bill") | Bill Passed - Senate (61 - 37) |
Yea |
| July 31, 2008 | HR 4137 | Higher Education Act Amendments and Extensions | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (83 - 8) |
Yea |
| May 22, 2008 | S Amdt 4803 | GI Bill and Other Domestic Provisions | Amendment Adopted - Senate (75 - 22) |
Yea |
| Dec. 18, 2007 | HR 2764 | Inclusion of Consolidated Appropriations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (76 - 17) |
Yea |
| Oct. 24, 2007 | S 2205 | DREAM Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 44) |
Nay |
| Sept. 7, 2007 | HR 2669 | Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (79 - 12) |
Yea |
| July 20, 2007 | HR 2669 | Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants | Bill Passed - Senate (78 - 18) |
Yea |
| Aug. 3, 2006 | HR 5970 | Death/Estate Tax and Minimum Wage Bill | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (56 - 42) |
Yea |
| July 25, 2006 | S AMDT 4689 | Teen Pregnancy Education Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (48 - 51) |
Yea |
| May 18, 2006 | S AMDT 4072 | "State Criminal Alien Assistance Program" Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (43 - 52) |
Yea |
| March 16, 2006 | S Con Res 83 | 2007 Budget Resolution | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (51 - 49) |
Yea |
| March 16, 2006 | S AMDT 3071 | Education Funding Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (49 - 51) |
Nay |
| Feb. 2, 2006 | HR 4297 | Tax Relief Extension Reconciliation Act of 2005 | Bill Passed - Senate (66 - 31) |
Yea |
| Oct. 26, 2005 | S AMDT 2275 | Elementary and Secondary Education Act Amendment | Motion Rejected - Senate (44 - 51) |
Nay |
| Oct. 26, 2005 | S AMDT 2292 | Individuals with Disabilities Education Amendment | Motion Rejected - Senate (46 - 53) |
Nay |
| Oct. 25, 2005 | S AMDT 2213 | Federal Pell Grant Increase Amendment | Motion Rejected - Senate (48 - 51) |
Nay |
| May 13, 2004 | HR 1350 | Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act | Bill Passed - Senate (95 - 3) |
Yea |
| Aug. 1, 2002 | HR 3009 | Andean Trade Preference Act Extension | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (64 - 34) |
Yea |
| Dec. 18, 2001 | HR 1 | No Child Left Behind Act | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (87 - 10) |
Yea |
| Nov. 6, 2001 | HR 3061 | Labor, HHS and Education Appropriations Act, 2002 | Bill Passed - Senate (89 - 10) |
Yea |
| June 28, 2000 | S Amdt 3655 | Funding for Special Education Amendment | Amendment Tabled - Senate (51 - 47) |
Yea |
| March 2, 2000 | S 1134 | Education Savings Accounts | Bill Passed - Senate (61 - 37) |
Yea |
| April 21, 1999 | HR 800 | Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (98 - 1) |
Yea |
| March 11, 1999 | HR 800 | Education Flexibility Partnership Act of 1999 | Bill Passed - Senate (98 - 1) |
Yea |
| Sept. 29, 1998 | HR 6 | Higher Education Programs Authorization Extension bill | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (96 - 0) |
Yea |
| July 9, 1998 | HR 6 | Higher Education Programs Authorization Extension bill | Bill Passed - Senate (96 - 1) |
Yea |
| June 24, 1998 | HR 2646 | Education Savings Accounts bill | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (59 - 36) |
Did Not Vote |
| May 5, 1998 | HR 1385 | Training Programs bill | Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 7) |
Yea |
| April 23, 1998 | HR 2646 | Education Savings Accounts bill | Bill Passed - Senate (56 - 43) |
Nay |
| Nov. 8, 1997 | HR 2264 | Appropriations bill FY98, Labor, HHS, Education | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (91 - 4) |
Yea |
| Sept. 11, 1997 | S Amdt 1122 | Education Funding Amendment | Amendment Not Tabled - Senate (49 - 51) |
Yea |
| May 23, 1997 | S Amdt 357 | Violent Crime Victims Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (51 - 49) |
Nay |
| April 25, 1996 | S Amdt 3670 | Foreign Student Program Amendment | Amendment Tabled - Senate (53 - 47) |
Yea |
| April 25, 1996 | S Amdt 3669 | Foreign Student Public Education Amendment | Amendment Tabled - Senate (53 - 46) |
Yea |
| Oct. 28, 1995 | HR 2491 | Budget Reconciliation Bill | Bill Passed - Senate (52 - 47) |
Yea |
| Sept. 27, 1994 | HR 4606 | Appropriations Bill FY95, Labor, HHS, Education | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (83 - 16) |
Yea |
| Aug. 10, 1994 | HR 4606 | Appropriations Bill FY95, Labor, HHS, Education | Bill Passed - Senate (87 - 13) |
Yea |
| July 27, 1994 | S Amdt 2417 | Demonstration Program Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (45 - 53) |
Nay |
| July 27, 1994 | S Amdt 2416 | Voluntary Prayer Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (47 - 53) |
Nay |
| March 26, 1994 | HR 1804 | Goals 2000: Educate America Act | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (63 - 22) |
Yea |
| Feb. 8, 1994 | S Amdt 1390 | Contraceptives Distribution Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (34 - 59) |
Nay |
| Oct. 18, 1993 | HR 2518 | Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (80 - 15) |
Yea |
| Sept. 29, 1993 | HR 2518 | Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill | Bill Passed - Senate (82 - 17) |
Yea |
| Sept. 8, 1993 | HR 2010 | National Service Bill | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (57 - 40) |
Yea |
| Aug. 3, 1993 | HR 2010 | National Service Bill | Bill Passed - Senate (58 - 41) |
Yea |
| July 22, 1993 | S Amdt 608 | National Service Educational Awards Amendment | Amendment Tabled - Senate (55 - 44) |
NA |
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.
