The U.S. Congress Votes Database

Members of Congress / Richard Shelby

Biographical Information

SHELBY, Richard C., a Representative and a Senator from Alabama; born in Birmingham, Ala., May 6, 1934; attended the public schools; graduated, University of Alabama 1957; graduated, University of Alabama School of Law 1963; admitted to the Alabama bar in 1961 and commenced practice in Tuscaloosa; city prosecutor, Tuscaloosa 1963-1971; United States Commissioner, Northern District of Alabama 1966-1970; member, Alabama State senate 1970-1978; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-sixth Congress in 1978; reelected to the three succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1979, to January 3, 1987; was not a candidate for reelection to the House of Representatives in 1986, but was elected to the United States Senate; reelected in 1992, 1998 and in 2004 for the term ending January 3, 2011; changed from the Democratic to the Republican Party in 1994; chair, Select Committee on Intelligence (One Hundred Fifth and One Hundred Sixth Congresses, One Hundred Seventh Congress [January 20, 2001-June 6, 2001]); chair, Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (One Hundred Eighth and One Hundred Ninth Congresses). (Source.)

More coverage of Richard Shelby on washingtonpost.com

Roles in Congress

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

Key Votes

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

Missed Votes

Richard Shelby has missed 0 votes (0.0%) during the current Congress. See a list of his missed votes since 1991 or see a full list of vote missers.

Voting with Party

Richard Shelby has voted with a majority of his Republican colleagues 84.2% of the time during the current Congress. This percentage does not include votes in which Shelby 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.

  Richard Shelby

» Official Web site

» E-mail Richard Shelby

State Information

Alabama demographic profile (2000 Census)

Financial Disclosure

View Richard Shelby'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 Richard Shelby 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 No 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. No 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 No 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. No No Yes
1/28/10 Vote 13: H J RES 45: Reid Amdt. No. 3299 As Amended; In the nature of a substitute. No No Yes
1/28/10 Vote 12: H J RES 45: Reid Amdt. No. 3305; To reimpose statutory pay-as-you-go. No 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. Yes 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. Yes 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. Yes 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. Yes 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. Yes 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. Yes 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 Richard Shelby

© The Washington Post Company