109th Congress / Key Votes

washingtonpost.com tracks key Congressional votes on the most important bills, nominations, and resolutions to come before the House and Senate. The following are the key votes of the 109th Congress, based on an analysis of their potential impact on policy and politics.

Date	Chamber	Result	Vote
9/29/06	Senate	Passed	Roll call 262: On Passage of the Bill H.R. 6061; Secure Fence Act of 2006
9/29/06	House	Passed	Roll call 508: On Passage Military Commissions Act
9/28/06	House	Passed	Roll call 502: On Passage Electronic Surveillance Modernization Act
9/28/06	Senate	Passed	Roll call 259: On Passage of the Bill S. 3930 As Amended; Military Commissions Act of 2006
9/14/06	House	Passed	Roll call 446: On Passage Secure Fence Act of 2006
8/3/06	Senate	Rejected	Roll call 229: On the Cloture Motion Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to Consider H.R.5970; Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act of 2006
7/29/06	House	Passed	Roll call 425: On Passage Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act
7/18/06	Senate	Passed	Roll call 206: On Passage of the Bill This legislation would allow federal funding for research on stem cell lines derived from embryos that would otherwise be destroyed.
6/27/06	Senate	Defeated	Roll call 189: On the Joint Resolution This vote would have given Senate approval to a proposed constitutional amendment that would give Congress the authority to ban 'desecration of the American flag.'
6/22/06	Senate	Rejected	Roll call 182: On the Amendment This amendment called on the president to withdraw troops from Iraq, but set no firm deadline.
6/22/06	Senate	Rejected	Roll call 181: On the Amendment This amendment to the annual defense appropriations bill would have set a firm deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
6/16/06	House	Passed	Roll call 288: On Agreeing to the Resolution This vote pledged support for the War in Iraq and rejected a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops.
6/7/06	Senate	Rejected	Roll call 163: On the Cloture Motion A Senate cloture vote on the gay marriage amendment failed, effectively killing the amendment.
5/25/06	Senate	Passed	Roll call 157: On Passage of the Bill Would tighten border security and establish guest worker and "path to citizenship" programs
5/11/06	Senate	Agreed to	Roll call 118: On the Conference Report Extended the Bush tax cuts.
5/10/06	House	Passed	Roll call 135: On Agreeing to the Conference Report Extended the Bush tax cuts.
3/2/06	Senate	Agreed to	Roll call 29: On the Conference Report Reauthorized a slightly modified version of the 2001 USA Patriot Act.
2/1/06	House	Passed	Roll call 4: On Agreeing to the Resolution Cut nearly $40 billion from the federal budget by imposing substantial changes on welfare, child support and student lending programs.
1/31/06	Senate	Confirmed	Roll call 2: On the Nomination Confirmation of Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to be an Associate Supreme Court Justice.
12/21/05	Senate	Agreed to	Roll call 363: On the Motion Cut nearly $40 billion from the federal budget by imposing substantial changes on welfare, child support and student lending programs.
12/16/05	House	Passed	Roll call 661: On Passage This bill would clamp down on illegal immigration and toughen border security. It does not include any new avenue for current illegal immigrants to gain legal status.
12/14/05	House	Passed	Roll call 630: On Motion to Instruct Conferees Supported a ban on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees held by U.S. forces and to requires the military to follow the Army field manual for interrogations.
10/5/05	Senate	Agreed to	Roll call 249: On the Amendment Supported a ban on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees held by U.S. forces and to requires the military to follow the Army field manual for interrogations.
9/29/05	House	Passed	Roll call 506: On Passage Would have forced the government to compensate property owners if development plans were stymied by attempts to protect endangered species and would have given political appointees more power to make decisions about which species and areas would be subject to government intervention aimed at protecting plant and wildlife.
9/29/05	Senate	Confirmed	Roll call 245: On the Nomination Confirmation of John G. Roberts, Jr., to be Chief Justice of the United States.
7/29/05	Senate	Agreed to	Roll call 213: On the Conference Report Offered tax breaks and incentives in what supporters said was an effort to spur oil and gas companies to provide innovative wasy to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, conserve resources and reduce pollution.
7/28/05	House	Passed	Roll call 445: On Agreeing to the Conference Report Offered tax breaks and incentives in what supporters said was an effort to spur oil and gas companies to provide innovative wasy to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, conserve resources and reduce pollution.
7/28/05	House	Passed	Roll call 443: On Passage Established a free trade zone between the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Gautemala, Honduras and Nicaragua; a separate agreement with the Dominican Republican was also included in the measure.
6/30/05	Senate	Passed	Roll call 170: On Passage of the Bill Established a free trade zone between the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua; a separate agreement with the Dominican Republican was also included in the measure.
6/22/05	House	Passed	Roll call 296: On Passage This vote approved the proposal of a Constitutional amendment to ban the desecration of the American flag. The same bill was later defeated in the Senate.
6/20/05	Senate	Rejected	Roll call 142: On the Cloture Motion Blocked, for the second time, the confirmation President Bush's choice for U.N. Ambassador, John Bolton. Those opposed to the confirmation voted "no" on a measure to limit debate. Those in favor of the confirmation fell short of the 60 votes needed to limit debate and move the nomination process forward.
6/15/05	House	Agreed to	Roll call 258: On Agreeing to the Amendment Temporarily stopped federal law enforcement officials from being able to easily seize library and bookstore records.
5/24/05	House	Passed	Roll call 204: On Passage Would have repealed restrictions on federal spending on embryonic stem cell research.
3/21/05	House	Passed	Roll call 90: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass Gave federal courts jurisdiction in the Terri Schiavo dispute.
3/10/05	Senate	Passed	Roll call 44: On Passage of the Bill Made it harder for people to erase debt by declaring bankruptcy.
2/10/05	Senate	Passed	Roll call 9: On Passage of the Bill Sought to curtail the ability of plaintiffs to file class-action lawsuits against corporations by making cases that were filed in multiple states the responsibility of federal courts.
1/4/05	House	Passed	Roll call 6: On Agreeing to the Resolution Instituted a number of changes in the ethics rules that govern the conduct of individual members of Congress.