On Ordering the Previous Question: H RES 299 Providing for the Consideration of H.R. 1, Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003 and H.R. 2596, Health Savings and Affordability Act of 2003

Number:
House Vote #321 [primary source: house.gov]
Date:
Jun 26, 2003 (108th Congress)
Result:
Passed
Related Bill:
H.Res. 299 (108th): Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1) to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a voluntary program for prescription drug coverage under the Medicare Program, to modernize the Medicare Program, and for o
Introduced by Rep. Deborah Pryce [R-OH15, 1993-2009] on June 25, 2003
Current Status: Agreed To (Simple Resolution)

This was a procedural vote.

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Totals     Republican     Democrat     Independent
  Yea 226
 
 
 
52%
225 1 0
  Nay 203
 
 
 
47%
1 201 1
Not Voting 6
 
 
 
1%
3 3 0
Required: Simple Majority

Vote Details

Notes

Where is the Speaker’s vote?

According to current House rules, the Speaker of the House is not required to vote in “ordinary legislative proceedings, except when such vote would be decisive.” In practice, this means the Speaker of the House rarely votes and only does so when it is politically useful. When the Speaker declines to vote, he or she is simply omitted from the roll call by the House Clerk.

What’s the difference between aye and yea?

There is no meaningful difference between aye and yea (and nay and no), but the terms are used in different sorts of votes based on Congress’s long tradition of parliamentary procedure. The House and Senate follow the U.S. Constitution strictly when it says that bills should be decided on by the “yeas and nays” (Article I, Section 7). The House sometimes operates under a special set of rules called the “Committee of the Whole on the State of the Union” (or “Committee of the Whole” for short), which is a sort of pseudo-committee that is made up of every congressman. During this mode of operation, the House uses the terms “aye” and “no” instead. (See the Rules of the House, Rule XX, and House Practice in the section Voting.)