On Motion to Recommit with Instructions: H R 4970 To reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act of 1994

Number:
House Vote #257 [primary source: house.gov]
Date:
May 16, 2012 (112th Congress)
Result:
Failed
Related Bill:
H.R. 4970 (112th): Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2012
Introduced by Rep. Sandy Adams [R-FL24, 2011-2013] on April 27, 2012
Current Status: Passed House

This was a procedural vote.

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Totals     Republican     Democrat
  Yea 187
 
 
43%
2 185
  Nay 236
 
 
55%
236 0
Not Voting 8
 
 
2%
3 5
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.)