On Ordering the Previous Question: H RES 594 Providing for the consideration of H.R. 3162, Children’s Health and Medicare Protection Act

Number:
House Vote #784 [primary source: house.gov]
Date:
Aug 01, 2007 (110th Congress)
Result:
Passed
Related Bill:
H.Res. 594 (110th): Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3162) to amend titles XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Social Security Act to extend and improve the children’s health insurance program, to improve beneficiary protections under the Medicare, Me
Introduced by Rep. Kathy Castor [D-FL14] on July 31, 2007
Current Status: Agreed To (Simple Resolution)

This was a procedural vote.

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Totals     Democrat     Republican
  Yea 228
 
 
53%
228 0
  Nay 190
 
 
44%
1 189
Not Voting 14
 
 
3%
1 13
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.)