H.R. 398 (112th): To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll, ... (On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass)

Number:
House Vote #684 [primary source: house.gov]
Date:
Aug 01, 2011 (112th Congress)
Result:
Passed
Bill:
H.R. 398 (112th): To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll, during active-duty service abroad in the Armed Forces, the periods of time to file a petition and appear for an interview to remove the conditional basis for permanent resident status
Introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren [D-CA19] on January 24, 2011
Current Status: Signed by the President

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     Republican     Democrat
  Yea 426
 
 
99%
238 188
  Nay 0
 
 
0%
0 0
Not Voting 6
 
 
1%
1 5
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.)