H.R. 5987 (111th): Seniors Protection Act of 2010 (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended)

Number:
House Vote #611 [primary source: house.gov]
Date:
Dec 08, 2010 (111th Congress)
Result:
Failed
Bill:
H.R. 5987 (111th): Seniors Protection Act of 2010
Introduced by Rep. Earl Pomeroy [D-ND0, 1993-2010] on July 30, 2010
Current Status: Failed Under Suspension

This was a vote to pass a bill or agree to a resolution. It was taken under a procedure called “suspension of the rules” which is typically used to pass non-controversial bills. Votes under suspension require a 2/3rds majority. A failed vote under suspension can be taken again.

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Totals     Democrat     Republican
  Yea 254
 
 
59%
228 26
  Nay 153
 
 
35%
12 141
Not Voting 27
 
 
6%
15 12
Required: 2/3

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.)