Updated: December 22, 2007
Consolidated Appropriations, FY2008 - Vote Agreed to (76-17, 1 Present, 6 Not Voting) - The Senate passed H.R. 2764, a 2008 fiscal year omnibus appropriations bill that provides additional war funding.
CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 - Vote Agreed to (86-8, 6 Not Voting) - The Senate passed a pared-down version of the energy bill that the House passed last week.
FHA Modernization Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (93-1, 6 Not Voting) - The Senate passed legislation to ease the burden of mushrooming interest rates on homeowners by allowing them to transfer their finances into federally insured loans.
National Defense Authorization Act, FY2008 - Vote Agreed to (90-3, 7 Not Voting) - On Friday, the Senate gave final approval to this bill authorizing defense spending for fiscal year 2008.
Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (79-14, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate approved this $288 billion, five-year bill that sets agricultural policy and authorizes funding for agricultural related programs such as commodity support, conservation, and nutrition.
United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act - Vote Passed (77-18, 5 Not Voting) - The Senate gave final approval to this bill to improve the United States’ trade relationship with Peru.
Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (88-5, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this House bill to fix the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for one year, without introducing new tax revenues that would pay for it.
Improving Head Start Act - Vote Agreed to (95-0, 5 Not Voting) - The Senate unanimously passed this bill boosting funding for the Head Start program.
Overriding the Veto of the Water Resources Development Act - Vote Passed (79-14, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate voted to override the President’s veto of the Water Resources Development Act.
Nomination of Michael B. Mukasey of New York to be Attorney General - Vote Confirmed (53-40, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate confirmed former federal judge Michael Mukasey to be Attorney General of the United States.
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (70-22, 8 Not Voting) - In a bipartisan effort, the Senate passed this $11.4 billion bill reauthorizing Amtrak for six years.
Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act - Vote Passed (64-30, 6 Not Voting) - The Senate passed a new bill to reauthorize and expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Act, FY2008 - Vote Passed (75-19, 6 Not Voting) - The Senate voted in favor of this $605.5 billion bill funding the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education for the 2008 fiscal year.
Nomination of Leslie Southwick to be U.S. Circuit Judge - Vote Confirmed (59-38, 3 Not Voting) - The Senate confirmed Mississippi Appeals Court Judge Leslie Southwick to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.
Commerce/Justice/Science Appropriations Act, FY2008 - Vote Passed (75-19, 6 Not Voting) - The Senate approved this $55.4 billion bill that would fund the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, NASA and other science agencies.
National Defense Authorization Act for FY2008 - Vote Passed (92-3, 5 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this legislation authorizing $648 billion in defense spending, including military construction and Department of Energy defense-related programs, for the 2008 fiscal year.
Conference Report for Water Resources Development Act of 2007 - Vote Agreed to (81-12, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate approved the conference report for this bill that would reauthorize the Water Resources Development Act.
Biden Amendment: To express the sense of Congress on federalism in Iraq - Vote Agreed to (75-23, 2 Not Voting) - The Senate passed the Biden Amendment calling for the partition of Iraq into three semi-autonomous regions.
Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act - Vote Agreed to (67-29, 4 Not Voting) - The Senate voted to increase spending on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, by $5 billion to $12 billion per year over the next five years.
Increasing the statutory limit on the public debt - Vote Agreed to (53-42, 5 Not Voting) - The Senate voted in favor of this resolution to raise the debt limit from $9 trillion to $9.8 trillion.
Making continuing appropriations for FY2008 - Vote Agreed to (94-1, 5 Not Voting) - The Senate almost unanimously passed the continuing resolution that funds government operations at its current levels until November 16, while Congress continues to work on the new spending bills.
Motion to Invoke Cloture: District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2007 - Vote Rejected (57-42, 1 Not Voting) - The Senate failed to move forward with this bill that would create a new seat for the District of Columbia in the House of Representatives.
Levin Amendment: To provide for a reduction and transition of United States forces in Iraq - Vote Rejected (47-47, 6 Not Voting) - The Senate voted against setting a nine month deadline to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.
Transportation/HUD Appropriations Act, FY2008 - Vote Passed (88-7, 5 Not Voting) - The Senate voted to provide $104.6 billion to fund programs at the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development.
State/Foreign Operations Appropriations Act, FY 2008 - Vote Passed (81-12, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this measure that would provide $34 billion to fund foreign aid and U.S. diplomacy for the upcoming fiscal year.
College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 - Vote Agreed to (79-12, 9 Not Voting) - This bill will trim over $20 billion in federal subsidies to institutions that create student loans in order to increase financial aid to college students.
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 - Vote Agreed to (83-14, 3 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill that would provide greater transparency in the legislative process.
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (68-31, 1 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill that would add 3 million lower-income children to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Protect America Act - Vote Passed (60-28, 12 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill which would temporarily expand the executive branch’s authority to spy on suspected foreign terrorists without a court order, when communications are passing through the U.S.
Higher Education Amendments of 2007 - Vote Passed (95-0, 5 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill that would increase the amount of the Pell Grant a low-income student can receive, make the federal financial aid application easier to complete and eliminate some conflicts of interest for student loan businesses.
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2008 - Vote Passed (89-4, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this $40.6 billion appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security.
Improving America's Security Act of 2007 - Vote Agreed to (85-8, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill which would implement recommendations from the 9/11 Commission.
Troop Withdrawal Amendment - Vote Rejected (52-47, 1 Not Voting) - During the Defense Authorization bill debate, the Senate failed to invoke cloture on this amendment that would have set a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
College Cost Reduction Act - Vote Passed (78-18, 4 Not Voting) - The Senate approved this bill to increase the amount of aid to college students.
Dorgan Amendment-Bringing Osama bin Laden and Other Leaders of al Qaeda to Justice - Vote Agreed to (87-1, 12 Not Voting) - This amendment to the defense authorization bill calls for quarterly classified reports on the Bush administration’s work to capture al Qaeda leaders.
Employee Free Choice Act - Vote Rejected (51-48, 1 Not Voting) - The Senate did not have the necessary 60 votes to close debate and proceed to a vote on this labor bill, which would allow workers to form unions by signing union cards rather than by secret ballot elections.
Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act - Vote Rejected (46-53, 1 Not Voting) - After six weeks of working toward a compromise on immigration reform, the Senate failed to reach the 60 votes needed to close debate and vote on this bill.
CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (65-27, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate passed the first energy bill under the new Democratic majority.
S.RES.242 - A resolution celebrating the accomplishments of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, also known as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, and recognizing the need to continue pursuing the goal of educational opportunities for women and girls.
Cloture Motion; Gonzales Resolution - Vote Rejected (53-38, 1 Present, 7 Not Voting) - The Senate failed to invoke cloture and move to a final vote on a resolution that said the chamber had lost confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Cloture Motion; Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act - Vote Rejected (45-50, 4 Not Voting) - The weeklong debate over this comprehensive immigration reform bill ended with a failed cloture motion to end debate and proceed to a final vote.
Supplemental Appropriations bill - Vote Agreed to (80-14, 6 Not Voting) The Senate approved this $120 billion bill funding military operations in Iraq.
Water Resources Development Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (91-4, 5 Not Voting) - The Senate approved this $13.9 billion bill that would fund Army Corps of Engineers projects related to water supply, flood control and waterways navigation.
Budget Resolution, FY2008 - Vote Agreed to (52-40, 8 Not Voting) - The Senate passed the conference report for this $2.9 trillion budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year.
Prescription Drug User Fee Amendments - Vote Passed (93-1, 6 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill that would renew a Food and Drug Administration program requiring pharmaceutical companies to contribute to the costs of testing new medicines.
U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 - Vote Agreed to (51-46, 3 Not Voting) - The Senate gave final approval to this $124 billion bill that funds military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and sets a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.
Cloture Motion, Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act - Vote Rejected (55-42, 3 Not Voting) - The Senate rejected this motion to take up a bill that would have allowed the federal government to negotiate Medicare prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies.
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (63-34, 3 Not Voting) - The Senate voted to reverse President Bush's 2001 decision prohibiting government funds from being spent to create new lines of embryonic stem cells.
HOPE Act - Vote Passed (70-28, 2 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill that would increase funding for adult stem cell research.
U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act - Vote Passed (51-47, 2 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this $122 million emergency supplemental bill that provides funds for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and sets a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
Budget Resolution, FY2008 - Vote Agreed to (52-47, 1 Not Voting) - The Senate approved this $2.9 trillion budget resolution that sets spending priorities for the 2008 fiscal year.
Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (94-2, 4 Not Voting) The Senate passed this bill that would prohibit the attorney general from filling U.S. attorney vacancies for an indefinite time period.
Improving America’s Security Act - Vote Passed (60-38, 2 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill that would implement several 9/11 Commission recommendations.
U.S. Policy on Iraq - Vote Rejected (48-50, 2 Not Voting) - The Senate rejected this resolution that called for beginning the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq within four months.
Airport Screener Amendment - Vote Agreed to (51-48, 1 Not Voting) - During consideration of the 9/11 Commission bill, the Senate approved this amendment that would give Transportation Security Administration airport screeners the right to unionize.
Confirmation of Gen. George Casey to be Chief of Staff, U.S. Army - Vote Confirmed (83-14, 3 Not Voting) - The Senate confirmed Gen. George Casey to be the U.S. Army chief of staff.
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (94-3, 3 Not Voting) - The Senate passed this bill that would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 over the next two years.
Confirmation of Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus - Vote Confirmed (81-0, 19 Not Voting) - The Senate unanimously approved the nomination of Lt. General David Petraeus to oversee U.S. troops in Iraq.
Ethics Reform bill - Vote Passed (96-2, 2 Not Voting). This Senate ethics and lobbying reform bill is intended to bring transparency to lawmakers' dealings with lobbyists.