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John Kerry's Voting Records on Issue:
Issue
- down
- Abortion
- Abortion and Reproductive
- Agriculture and Food
- Animals and Wildlife
- Arts, Entertainment, and History
- Business and Consumers
- Campaign Finance and Elections
- Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
- Constitution
- Crime
- Death Penalty
- Defense
- Drugs
- Economy and Fiscal
- Education
- Employment and Affirmative Action
- Energy
- Entitlements and the Safety Net
- Environment
- Executive Branch
- Federal, State and Local Relations
- Finance and Banking
- Food Processing and Sales
- Foreign Affairs
- Foreign Aid
- Gambling and Gaming
- Government Budget and Spending
- Government Operations
- Guns
- Health and Health Care
- Health Insurance
- Higher Education
- Housing and Property
- Immigration
- Indigenous Peoples
- Infrastructure
- Judicial Branch
- K-12 Education
- Labor Unions
- Legal
- Legislative Branch
- Marijuana Legalization
- Marriage
- Marriage, Family, and Children
- Military Personnel
- Minors and Children
- Monetary Policy
- National Security
- Natural Resources and Energy
- Oil and Gas
- Religion
- Science
- Senior Citizens
- Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
- Stem Cell Research
- Taxes
- Technology and Communication
- Trade
- Transportation
- Unemployed and Low-Income
- Veterans
- Women
(clear issue)
National Key Votes
| Date | Bill No. | Bill Title | Outcome | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2010 | S Amdt 4214 | National Guard Deployment on Southern U.S. Land Border | Motion Rejected - Senate (51 - 46) |
Nay |
| July 8, 2009 | S Amdt 1399 | Requiring Completion of Reinforced Border Fencing | Amendment Adopted - Senate (54 - 44) |
Nay |
| March 13, 2008 | S Amdt 4231 | Immigration Enforcement and Border Fence Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (61 - 37) |
Nay |
| March 13, 2008 | S Amdt 4259 | Immigration Enforcement and Employer Sanctions Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (53 - 45) |
Yea |
| March 13, 2008 | S Amdt 4309 | Restriction of Federal Assistance Based on Compliance with Federal Immigration Laws | Amendment Tabled - Senate (58 - 40) |
Yea |
| Oct. 24, 2007 | S 2205 | DREAM Act | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 44) |
Yea |
| Oct. 3, 2007 | S Amdt 3117 | Border Fence and Customs Appropriations | Amendment Adopted - Senate (95 - 1) |
Yea |
| July 26, 2007 | S Amdt 2405 | REAL ID Funding | Amendment Tabled - Senate (50 - 44) |
Yea |
| July 26, 2007 | S Amdt 2480 | Border Fence and Customs Appropriations | Amendment Adopted - Senate (89 - 1) |
Yea |
| June 28, 2007 | S 1639 | Second Immigration Act of 2007 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (46 - 53) |
Yea |
| June 7, 2007 | S 1348 | Immigration Act of 2007 | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (34 - 61) |
Did Not Vote |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1151 | Declaring English the National Language | Amendment Adopted - Senate (64 - 33) |
Nay |
| 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 1202 | Point Based Immigration Expiration Date | Amendment Rejected - Senate (42 - 55) |
Yea |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1250 | Law Enforcement Review of Z Visa Applications | Amendment Adopted - Senate (57 - 39) |
Did Not Vote |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1316 | Five Year Expiration for Guest Worker Program | Amendment Adopted - Senate (49 - 48) |
Nay |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1333 | Barring Immigrants with Certain Criminal Histories | Amendment Adopted - Senate (66 - 32) |
Yea |
| June 6, 2007 | S Amdt 1384 | English as the Common Language | Amendment Adopted - Senate (58 - 39) |
Yea |
| May 23, 2007 | S Amdt 1169 | Guest Worker Number Reduction Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (74 - 24) |
Yea |
| Sept. 29, 2006 | HR 6061 | Secure Fence Act of 2006 | Bill Passed - Senate (80 - 19) |
Nay |
| Aug. 2, 2006 | S Amdt 4775 | Triple-Layered Fencing Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (94 - 3) |
Yea |
| July 13, 2006 | S Amdt 4659 | Double-Layered Fencing Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (29 - 71) |
Nay |
| May 25, 2006 | S 2611 | Immigration Reform Bill | Bill Passed - Senate (62 - 36) |
Yea |
| May 25, 2006 | S Amdt 4097 | Confidentiality Requirement Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (49 - 49) |
Nay |
| May 24, 2006 | S Amdt 4095 | H-2C Visa Program Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (48 - 49) |
Nay |
| May 23, 2006 | S Amdt 4087 | Orange Card Program Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (37 - 61) |
Yea |
| May 23, 2006 | S Amdt 4177 | Employer Verification Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (59 - 39) |
Yea |
| May 18, 2006 | S Amdt 4064 | English As National Language Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (62 - 35) |
Nay |
| May 18, 2006 | S Amdt 4072 | "State Criminal Alien Assistance Program" Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (43 - 52) |
Yea |
| May 18, 2006 | S Amdt 4073 | English as Unifying Language Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (58 - 39) |
Yea |
| May 17, 2006 | S Amdt 3965 | Employment-based Immigrant Visa Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (50 - 48) |
Nay |
| July 14, 2005 | S Amdt 1171 | Detention Beds Increase Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (42 - 56) |
Nay |
| May 10, 2005 | HR 1268 | Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2005 | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (100 - 0) |
Yea |
| April 21, 2005 | HR 1268 | Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2005 | Bill Passed - Senate (99 - 0) |
Yea |
| Oct. 3, 2000 | S 2045 | American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act, 2000 | Bill Passed - Senate (96 - 1) |
Yea |
| July 23, 1998 | S Amdt 3258 | Temporary Farm Workers Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (68 - 31) |
Nay |
| May 18, 1998 | S 1723 | Non-Immigrant Specialty Workers bill | Bill Passed - Senate (78 - 20) |
Nay |
| May 18, 1998 | S Amdt 2417 | U.S. Citizen Recruitment Amendment | Amendment Tabled - Senate (59 - 39) |
Nay |
| March 20, 1997 | S Amdt 25 | U.S.- Mexico Drug Trafficking Prevention Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (94 - 5) |
Yea |
| May 2, 1996 | HR 2202 | Immigration Reform bill | Bill Passed - Senate (97 - 3) |
Yea |
| May 2, 1996 | S Amdt 3840 | Public Assistance to Legal Immigrants Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (40 - 60) |
Yea |
| May 1, 1996 | S Amdt 3752 | Citizen Verification Pilot Program Amendment | Amendment Tabled - Senate (54 - 46) |
Yea |
| May 1, 1996 | S Amdt 3780 | Asylum Seeker Amendment | Amendment Adopted - Senate (51 - 49) |
Yea |
| April 30, 1996 | S Amdt 3820 | Legal Immigrants Assistance Eligibility Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (46 - 53) |
Yea |
| April 25, 1996 | S Amdt 3669 | Foreign Student Public Education Amendment | Amendment Tabled - Senate (53 - 46) |
Nay |
| April 25, 1996 | S Amdt 3670 | Foreign Student Program Amendment | Amendment Tabled - Senate (53 - 47) |
Nay |
| April 17, 1996 | S 735 | Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (91 - 8) |
Yea |
| Sept. 14, 1995 | S Amdt 2478 | Naturalized Citizen Amendment | Amendment Rejected - Senate (37 - 61) |
Yea |
| June 7, 1995 | S 735 | Comprehensive Terrorism Prevention Act | Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 8) |
Yea |
| Feb. 18, 1993 | S Amdt 39 | Prohibiting Immigrants with AIDS from entering the United States | Amendment Adopted - Senate (76 - 23) |
Yea |
About the Selection and Description of Key Votes
Vote Smart provides easy access to Congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. 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
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. The summary does not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill. Summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to the project's strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
