| 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
Judicial Branch
Issue
- Judicial Branch 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 | PN 1768 | Elena Kagan, Associate Justice | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (63 - 37) |
Yea |
| Nov. 19, 2009 | PN 187-111 | David F. Hamilton, Seventh Circuit Judge | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (59 - 39) |
Yea |
| Oct. 6, 2009 | S Amdt 2588 | Prohibiting Federal Funding of Mandatory Arbitration Contracts | Amendment Adopted - Senate (68 - 30) |
Did Not Vote |
| Aug. 6, 2009 | PN 506-111 | Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (68 - 31) |
Yea |
| July 9, 2008 | S Amdt 5064 | Striking Telecom Immunity from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Bill | Amendment Rejected - Senate (32 - 66) |
Nay |
| July 9, 2008 | HR 6304 | Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments | Bill Passed - Senate (69 - 28) |
Yea |
| March 14, 2008 | S Amdt 4233 | Codifying the Definition of a Child Eligible for SCHIP | Amendment Rejected - Senate (46 - 52) |
Nay |
| March 13, 2008 | S Amdt 4231 | Immigration Enforcement and Border Fence Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (61 - 37) |
Yea |
| Feb. 13, 2008 | HR 2082 | Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (51 - 45) |
Nay |
| Feb. 12, 2008 | S Amdt 3907 | Striking Telecommunications Companies' Civil Immunity for Surveillance | Amendment Rejected - Senate (31 - 67) |
Nay |
| Feb. 12, 2008 | S 2248 | FISA Amendments Act of 2007 | Bill Passed - Senate (68 - 29) |
Yea |
| Feb. 12, 2008 | S Amdt 3910 | FISA as Exclusive Means for Conducting Electronic Surveillance | Amendment Rejected - Senate (57 - 41) |
Yea |
| Nov. 8, 2007 | PN 958 | Michael B. Mukasey, Attorney General | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (53 - 40) |
Yea |
| Sept. 19, 2007 | S Amdt 2022 | Habeas Corpus for Detainees of the United States | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (56 - 43) |
Yea |
| June 19, 2007 | S Amdt 1519 | Preventing Petroleum Export Organizations (NOPEC Act of 2007) | Amendment Adopted - Senate (70 - 23) |
Yea |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1333 | Barring Immigrants with Certain Criminal Histories | Amendment Adopted - Senate (66 - 32) |
Yea |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1151 | Declaring English the National Language | Amendment Adopted - Senate (64 - 33) |
Yea |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1184 | Denying Legal Status for Immigrants Convicted of Certain Crimes | Amendment Rejected - Senate (46 - 51) |
Nay |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1384 | English as the Common Language | Amendment Adopted - Senate (58 - 39) |
Yea |
| March 20, 2007 | S 214 | United States Attorneys Act of 2007 | Bill Passed - Senate (94 - 2) |
Yea |
| Sept. 28, 2006 | S 3930 | Military Commissions Act of 2006 | Bill Passed - Senate (65 - 34) |
Yea |
| Sept. 28, 2006 | S Amdt 5095 | Oversight of CIA Interrogation and Detention Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (46 - 53) |
Nay |
| Sept. 28, 2006 | S Amdt 5104 | Military Commissions Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (47 - 52) |
Yea |
| 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 |
| May 23, 2006 | S AMDT 4087 | Orange Card Program Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (37 - 61) |
Nay |
| May 18, 2006 | S AMDT 4073 | English as Unifying Language Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (58 - 39) |
Yea |
| May 18, 2006 | S AMDT 4064 | English As National Language Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (62 - 35) |
Yea |
| March 2, 2006 | HR 3199 | PATRIOT Act Reauthorization | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (89 - 10) |
Yea |
| Jan. 31, 2006 | PN 1059 | Samuel Alito, Associate Justice | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (58 - 42) |
Yea |
| Dec. 16, 2005 | HR 3199 | PATRIOT Act Reauthorization | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 47) |
Yea |
| Feb. 10, 2005 | S 5 | Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 | Bill Passed - Senate (72 - 26) |
Yea |
| April 22, 2004 | S 2329 | Victims' Rights Bill | Bill Passed - Senate (96 - 1) |
Did Not Vote |
| March 25, 2004 | HR 1997 | Unborn Victims of Violence Act 2004 | Bill Passed - Senate (61 - 38) |
Yea |
| June 11, 2002 | S 625 | Hate Crimes Bill | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (54 - 43) |
Nay |
| Dec. 7, 2001 | S Amdt 2336 | International Courts Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (78 - 21) |
Nay |
| Sept. 18, 1998 | HR 1122 | Partial-Birth/Late-Term Abortion bill | Veto Override Failed - Senate (64 - 36) |
Yea |
| May 13, 1998 | S 1260 | Securities Litigation | Bill Passed - Senate (79 - 21) |
Yea |
| May 20, 1997 | HR 1122 | Partial-Birth/Late-Term Abortion bill | Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 36) |
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 |
| March 21, 1996 | HR 956 | Product Liability bill | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (59 - 40) |
Nay |
| Dec. 22, 1995 | HR 1058 | Legal Reform bill | Veto Override Passed - Senate (68 - 30) |
Nay |
| Dec. 5, 1995 | HR 1058 | Legal Reform bill | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (65 - 30) |
Nay |
| June 28, 1995 | HR 1058 | Legal Reform bill | Bill Passed - Senate (69 - 30) |
Nay |
| June 7, 1995 | S 735 | Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act | Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 8) |
Yea |
| May 10, 1995 | HR 956 | Product Liability bill | Bill Passed - Senate (61 - 37) |
Nay |
| Aug. 19, 1994 | HR 4603 | Appropriations Bill FY95, Commerce, Justice, State | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (88 - 10) |
Yea |
| June 29, 1994 | S 687 | Product Liability Bill | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (57 - 41) |
Yea |
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.
