The U.S. Congress Votes Database

Members of Congress / Bernard Sanders

Biographical Information

SANDERS, Bernard, a Representative and a Senator from Vermont; born in Brooklyn, Kings County, N.Y., September 8, 1941; graduated from Madison High School, Brooklyn, N.Y.; B.S., University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., 1964; faculty, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1989; faculty, Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y., 1990; carpenter; journalist; unsuccessful independent candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1972 and 1974; unsuccessful independent candidate for election for governor of Vermont in 1972, 1976 and 1986; mayor of Burlington, Vt., 1981-1989; unsuccessful independent candidate to the One Hundred First Congress in 1988; elected as an independent to the One Hundred Second and to the seven succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1991-January 3, 2007); was not a candidate for reelection to the House of Representatives but was elected as an Independent to the United States Senate in 2006 for the term ending January 3, 2013. (Source.)

More coverage of Bernard Sanders on washingtonpost.com

Roles in Congress

· 111th Congress: Senator, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 2009, to Jan. 3, 2011.
· 110th Congress: Senator, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 4, 2007, to Jan. 3, 2011.
· 109th Congress: Representative, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 2005, to Jan. 3, 2007.
· 108th Congress: Representative, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 2003, to Jan. 3, 2005.
· 107th Congress: Representative, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 2001, to Jan. 3, 2003.
· 106th Congress: Representative, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 1999, to Jan. 3, 2001.
· 105th Congress: Representative, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 1997, to Jan. 3, 1999.
· 104th Congress: Representative, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 1995, to Jan. 3, 1997.
· 103rd Congress: Representative, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 1993, to Jan. 3, 1995.
· 102nd Congress: Representative, Vermont, Independent. Jan. 3, 1991, to Jan. 3, 1993.

Key Votes

See how Bernard Sanders voted on key votes -- the most important bills, nominations and resolutions that have come before Congress, as determined by washingtonpost.com.

Missed Votes

Bernard Sanders has missed 3 votes (0.7%) during the current Congress. See a list of his missed votes since 1991 or see a full list of vote missers.

Voting with Party

Bernard Sanders has voted with a majority of his Independent colleagues 92.5% of the time during the current Congress. This percentage does not include votes in which Sanders did not vote. See a list of his votes against his party since 1991, a list of all Senators in the 111th Congress with a similar score, or a full list of party voters.

  Bernard Sanders

» Official Web site

» E-mail Bernard Sanders

State Information

Vermont demographic profile (2000 Census)

Financial Disclosure

View Bernard Sanders's official financial disclosure statements, which describe the sources, types and amounts of income earned in a given year. (See more disclosure reports.)

Latest Votes

Get notified via RSS whenever Bernard Sanders votes: RSS feed (Help, and more feeds)

DateVotePositionGOP opinionDEM opinion
2/4/10 Vote 20: On the Nomination: Nomination: Martha N. Johnson, of Maryland, to be Administrator of General Services Yes Yes Yes
2/4/10 Vote 19: On the Cloture Motion: Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Martha A. Johnson to be Administrator of General Services Administration Yes Yes Yes
2/4/10 Vote 18: On the Nomination: Confirmation M. Patricia Smith, of New York, to be Solicitor for the Department of Labor. Yes No Yes
2/1/10 Vote 17: On the Cloture Motion: Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of M. Patricia Smith, to be Solicitor for the Department of Labor Yes No Yes
1/28/10 Vote 16: On the Nomination: Confirmation Ben S. Bernanke To Be Chairman Of The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System No Yes Yes
1/28/10 Vote 15: On the Cloture Motion: Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of Ben S. Bernanke, to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve No Yes Yes
1/28/10 Vote 14: H J RES 45: H. J. Res. 45 As Amended; A joint resolution increasing the statutory limit on the public debt. Yes No Yes
1/28/10 Vote 13: H J RES 45: Reid Amdt. No. 3299 As Amended; In the nature of a substitute. Yes No Yes
1/28/10 Vote 12: H J RES 45: Reid Amdt. No. 3305; To reimpose statutory pay-as-you-go. Yes No Yes
1/28/10 Vote 11: H J RES 45: Sessions Amdt. No. 3308; To reduce the deficit by establishing 5-year discretionary spending caps. No Yes No
1/28/10 Vote 10: H J RES 45: Brownback Amdt. No. 3309; To establish a Commission on Congressional Budgetary Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies. No Yes No
1/26/10 Vote 9: H J RES 45: Coburn Amdt. No. 3303, Division IV; To rescind $120 billion in Federal spending by consolidating duplicative government programs, cutting wasteful Washington spending, and returning billions of dollars of unspent money. No Yes No
1/26/10 Vote 8: H J RES 45: Coburn Amdt. No. 3303, Division III; To rescind $120 billion in Federal spending by consolidating duplicative government programs, cutting wasteful Washington spending, and returning billions of dollars of unspent money. No Yes No
1/26/10 Vote 7: H J RES 45: Coburn Amdt. No. 3303, Division II; To rescind $120 billion in Federal spending by consolidating duplicative government programs, cutting wasteful Washington spending, and returning billions of dollars of unspent money. No Yes No
1/26/10 Vote 6: H J RES 45: Coburn Amdt. No. 3303, Division I; To rescind $120 billion in Federal spending by consolidating duplicative government programs, cutting wasteful Washington spending, and returning billions of dollars of unspent money. Yes Yes Yes
1/26/10 Vote 5: H J RES 45: Conrad Amdt. No. 3302; To establish a Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action, to assure the long-term fiscal stability and economic security of the Federal Government of the United States, and to expand future prosperity and growth for all Americans. No No Yes
1/26/10 Vote 4: H J RES 45: Baucus Amdt. No. 3300 as Modified; To protect Social Security. Yes Yes Yes
1/25/10 Vote 3: On the Nomination: Confirmation Rosanna Malouf Peterson, of Washington, to be U.S. District Judge Yes Yes Yes
1/21/10 Vote 2: H J RES 45: Thune Amdt. No. 3301; To terminate authority under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and for other purposes. No Yes No
1/20/10 Vote 1: On the Nomination: Confirmation Beverly Baldwin Martin, of Georgia, to be U.S. Circuit Judge Yes Yes Yes

Full list of votes by Bernard Sanders

© The Washington Post Company