Edward “Ted” Kennedy, former Senator for Massachusetts

Kennedy was a senator from Massachusetts and was a Democrat. He served from 1962 to 2009.

Misconduct

On July 18, 1969, Kennedy faced an allegation of leaving the scene of an accident after driving a car into the Poucha Pond inlet while his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne drowned. On Jul. 25, 1969, he pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence.

Jul. 25, 1969

Pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence.

Photo of Sen. Edward “Ted” Kennedy [D-MA, 1962-2009]

Analysis

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Kennedy is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the Senate in 2010 positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).

The chart is based on the bills Kennedy sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 24, 2005 to Dec 22, 2010. See full analysis methodology.

Enacted Legislation

Kennedy was the primary sponsor of 115 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

View All »

Does 115 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.

We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110^th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Kennedy sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:

Government Operations and Politics (19%) Economics and Public Finance (14%) Health (13%) Labor and Employment (12%) Law (12%) Social Welfare (11%) Education (9%) Families (9%)

Recent Bills

Some of Kennedy’s most recently sponsored bills include...

View All » | View Cosponsors »

Voting Record

Key Votes

Kennedy voted Not Voting

On the Nomination PN64-6: Timothy F. Geithner, of New York, to be Secretary of the Treasury

Nomination Confirmed 60/34 on Jan 26, 2009.

Kennedy voted Not Voting

S.J.Res. 5 (111th): A joint resolution relating to the disapproval of obligations under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

Joint Resolution Defeated 42/52 on Jan 15, 2009.

Kennedy voted Yea

H.R. 2419 (110th): Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008

Bill Passed 79/14 on Dec 14, 2007.

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub.L. 110–234, H.R. 2419, 122 Stat. 923, enacted May 22, 2008, also known as the 2008 U.S. ...

Kennedy voted Nay

H.R. 2206 (110th): U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007

Motion Agreed to 80/14 on May 24, 2007.

The U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, (Pub.L. 110–28, 121 Stat. 112, enacted May 25, 2007), is an ...

Kennedy voted Yea

On the Nomination PN177: Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., in the Army, to be General

Nomination Confirmed 83/14 on Feb 8, 2007.

Missed Votes

From Jan 1963 to Aug 2009, Kennedy missed 2,831 of 18,069 roll call votes, which is 15.7%. This is much worse than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of senators serving in Aug 2009. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.

Show the numbers...

Time Period	Votes Eligible	Missed Votes	Percent	Percentile
1963 Jan-Mar	8	2	25.0%	67^th
1963 Apr-Jun	73	8	11.0%	67^th
1963 Jul-Sep	61	12	19.7%	67^th
1963 Oct-Dec	87	13	14.9%	33^rd
1964 Jan-Mar	60	7	11.7%	67^th
1964 Apr-Jun	138	38	27.5%	67^th
1964 Jul-Sep	106	60	56.6%	67^th
1964 Oct-Oct	1	1	100.0%	67^th
1965 Jan-Mar	32	11	34.4%	67^th
1965 Apr-Jun	106	13	12.3%	0^th
1965 Jul-Sep	106	8	7.5%	67^th
1965 Oct-Oct	15	5	33.3%	67^th
1966 Jan-Mar	28	4	14.3%	33^rd
1966 Apr-Jun	56	10	17.9%	33^rd
1966 Jul-Sep	119	12	10.1%	67^th
1966 Oct-Oct	35	13	37.1%	67^th
1967 Jan-Mar	53	7	13.2%	33^rd
1967 Apr-Jun	70	12	17.1%	33^rd
1967 Jul-Sep	81	3	3.7%	67^th
1967 Oct-Dec	111	22	19.8%	33^rd
1968 Jan-Mar	69	16	23.2%	67^th
1968 Apr-Jun	96	69	71.9%	67^th
1968 Jul-Sep	89	81	91.0%	67^th
1968 Oct-Oct	27	6	22.2%	33^rd
1969 Jan-Mar	17	0	0.0%	0^th
1969 Apr-Jun	26	0	0.0%	0^th
1969 Jul-Sep	44	5	11.4%	33^rd
1969 Oct-Dec	158	36	22.8%	67^th
1970 Jan-Mar	100	29	29.0%	67^th
1970 Apr-Jun	92	26	28.3%	67^th
1970 Jul-Sep	123	47	38.2%	67^th
1970 Oct-Dec	106	24	22.6%	33^rd
1971 Feb-Mar	25	11	44.0%	67^th
1971 Apr-Jun	89	15	16.9%	33^rd
1971 Jul-Sep	109	19	17.4%	33^rd
1971 Oct-Dec	202	28	13.9%	33^rd
1972 Jan-Mar	119	25	21.0%	33^rd
1972 Apr-Jun	130	10	7.7%	33^rd
1972 Jul-Sep	206	34	16.5%	67^th
1972 Oct-Oct	75	36	48.0%	67^th
1973 Jan-Mar	67	2	3.0%	25^th
1973 Apr-Jun	192	25	13.0%	25^th
1973 Jul-Sep	167	23	13.8%	75^th
1973 Oct-Dec	168	32	19.0%	75^th
1974 Jan-Mar	94	13	13.8%	50^th
1974 Apr-Jun	179	28	15.6%	50^th
1974 Jul-Sep	138	13	9.4%	50^th
1974 Oct-Dec	133	31	23.3%	75^th
1975 Jan-Mar	118	28	23.7%	80^th
1975 Apr-Jun	141	34	24.1%	60^th
1975 Jul-Sep	170	10	5.9%	20^th
1975 Oct-Dec	182	24	13.2%	40^th
1976 Jan-Mar	109	6	5.5%	20^th
1976 Apr-Jun	263	18	6.8%	40^th
1976 Jul-Sep	315	85	27.0%	80^th
1976 Oct-Oct	13	13	100.0%	60^th
1977 Jan-Mar	92	21	22.8%	57^th
1977 Apr-Jun	178	23	12.9%	57^th
1977 Jul-Sep	233	12	5.2%	43^rd
1977 Oct-Dec	133	14	10.5%	29^th
1978 Jan-Mar	78	6	7.7%	43^rd
1978 Apr-Jun	119	4	3.4%	43^rd
1978 Jul-Sep	237	25	10.5%	57^th
1978 Oct-Oct	86	23	26.7%	86^th
1979 Feb-Mar	32	7	21.9%	90^th
1979 Apr-Jun	121	14	11.6%	80^th
1979 Jul-Sep	171	18	10.5%	70^th
1979 Oct-Dec	184	93	50.5%	90^th
1980 Jan-Mar	67	63	94.0%	90^th
1980 Apr-Jun	216	205	94.9%	90^th
1980 Jul-Sep	179	141	78.8%	90^th
1980 Oct-Dec	84	37	44.0%	90^th
1981 Jan-Mar	57	5	8.8%	69^th
1981 Apr-Jun	125	8	6.4%	85^th
1981 Jul-Sep	122	14	11.5%	85^th
1981 Oct-Dec	193	33	17.1%	85^th
1982 Feb-Mar	79	0	0.0%	0^th
1982 Apr-Jun	127	8	6.3%	62^nd
1982 Jul-Sep	177	19	10.7%	77^th
1982 Oct-Dec	86	16	18.6%	85^th
1983 Feb-Mar	54	9	16.7%	93^rd
1983 Apr-Jun	122	12	9.8%	73^rd
1983 Jul-Sep	92	14	15.2%	93^rd
1983 Oct-Nov	103	15	14.6%	80^th
1984 Jan-Mar	45	9	20.0%	87^th
1984 Apr-Jun	144	24	16.7%	93^rd
1984 Jul-Sep	68	6	8.8%	73^rd
1984 Oct-Oct	34	7	20.6%	87^th
1985 Jan-Mar	22	0	0.0%	0^th
1985 Apr-Jun	116	6	5.2%	84^th
1985 Jul-Sep	60	2	3.3%	53^rd
1985 Oct-Dec	183	33	18.0%	89^th
1986 Jan-Mar	51	3	5.9%	63^rd
1986 Apr-Jun	103	8	7.8%	68^th
1986 Jul-Sep	149	7	4.7%	89^th
1986 Oct-Oct	56	0	0.0%	0^th
1987 Jan-Mar	50	4	8.0%	80^th
1987 Apr-Jun	123	23	18.7%	92^nd
1987 Jul-Sep	120	6	5.0%	56^th
1987 Oct-Dec	127	15	11.8%	84^th
1988 Jan-Mar	84	16	19.0%	92^nd
1988 Apr-Jun	137	15	10.9%	92^nd
1988 Jul-Sep	127	8	6.3%	72^nd
1988 Oct-Oct	31	5	16.1%	68^th
1989 Jan-Mar	26	0	0.0%	0^th
1989 Apr-Jun	77	3	3.9%	78^th
1989 Jul-Sep	118	2	1.7%	67^th
1989 Oct-Nov	91	2	2.2%	78^th
1990 Jan-Mar	48	4	8.3%	93^rd
1990 Apr-Jun	95	5	5.3%	82^nd
1990 Jul-Sep	114	3	2.6%	86^th
1990 Oct-Oct	69	1	1.4%	75^th
1991 Jan-Mar	41	0	0.0%	0^th
1991 Apr-Jun	74	1	1.4%	68^th
1991 Jul-Sep	96	1	1.0%	61^st
1991 Oct-Nov	69	1	1.4%	54^th
1992 Jan-Mar	61	3	4.9%	75^th
1992 Apr-Jun	74	0	0.0%	0^th
1992 Jul-Sep	117	0	0.0%	0^th
1992 Oct-Oct	18	1	5.6%	82^nd
1993 Feb-Mar	93	1	1.1%	63^rd
1993 Apr-Jun	99	2	2.0%	56^th
1993 Jul-Sep	109	0	0.0%	0^th
1993 Oct-Nov	94	2	2.1%	56^th
1994 Jan-Mar	86	2	2.3%	53^rd
1994 Apr-Jun	92	6	6.5%	89^th
1994 Jul-Sep	136	6	4.4%	78^th
1994 Oct-Dec	15	4	26.7%	95^th
1995 Jan-Mar	125	14	11.2%	95^th
1995 Apr-Jun	171	8	4.7%	85^th
1995 Jul-Sep	184	1	0.5%	36^th
1995 Oct-Dec	133	1	0.8%	51^st
1996 Jan-Mar	60	2	3.3%	78^th
1996 Apr-Jun	122	0	0.0%	0^th
1996 Jul-Sep	121	0	0.0%	0^th
1996 Oct-Oct	3	0	0.0%	0^th
1997 Jan-Mar	35	0	0.0%	0^th
1997 Apr-Jun	125	0	0.0%	0^th
1997 Jul-Sep	103	6	5.8%	88^th
1997 Oct-Nov	35	3	8.6%	86^th
1998 Jan-Mar	52	4	7.7%	84^th
1998 Apr-Jun	131	4	3.1%	76^th
1998 Jul-Sep	109	3	2.8%	71^st
1998 Oct-Oct	22	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Jan-Mar	81	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Apr-Jun	111	2	1.8%	58^th
1999 Jul-Sep	112	17	15.2%	96^th
1999 Oct-Nov	70	9	12.9%	95^th
2000 Feb-Mar	51	5	9.8%	93^rd
2000 Apr-Jun	120	0	0.0%	0^th
2000 Jul-Sep	89	6	6.7%	82^nd
2000 Oct-Dec	38	14	36.8%	95^th
2001 Jan-Mar	63	2	3.2%	80^th
2001 Apr-Jun	157	0	0.0%	0^th
2001 Jul-Sep	68	3	4.4%	74^th
2001 Oct-Dec	92	6	6.5%	93^rd
2002 Jan-Mar	59	7	11.9%	87^th
2002 Apr-Jun	107	2	1.9%	48^th
2002 Jul-Sep	61	1	1.6%	46^th
2002 Oct-Nov	26	7	26.9%	98^th
2003 Jan-Mar	112	3	2.7%	71^st
2003 Apr-Jun	150	9	6.0%	90^th
2003 Jul-Sep	108	7	6.5%	94^th
2003 Oct-Nov	89	2	2.2%	66^th
2004 Jan-Mar	64	3	4.7%	87^th
2004 Apr-Jun	88	0	0.0%	0^th
2004 Jul-Sep	42	1	2.4%	57^th
2004 Oct-Dec	22	2	9.1%	74^th
2005 Jan-Mar	81	0	0.0%	0^th
2005 Apr-Jun	89	5	5.6%	82^nd
2005 Jul-Sep	76	1	1.3%	42^nd
2005 Oct-Dec	120	4	3.3%	79^th
2006 Jan-Mar	83	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Apr-Jun	107	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Jul-Sep	73	7	9.6%	92^nd
2006 Nov-Dec	16	2	12.5%	84^th
2007 Jan-Mar	126	4	3.2%	76^th
2007 Apr-Jun	112	1	0.9%	40^th
2007 Jul-Sep	119	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Oct-Dec	85	33	38.8%	94^th
2008 Jan-Mar	85	3	3.5%	79^th
2008 Apr-Jun	77	36	46.8%	97^th
2008 Jul-Sep	47	46	97.9%	98^th
2008 Oct-Dec	6	5	83.3%	99^th
2009 Jan-Mar	118	113	95.8%	99^th
2009 Apr-Jun	96	92	95.8%	99^th
2009 Jul-Sep	56	56	100.0%	99^th

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:

unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
Congressional Pictorial Directory for the photo
GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills

Sen. Edward “Ted” Kennedy

Links

Follow GovTrack on social media for more updates:

On GovTrack Insider:

Misconduct

I have an opinion I want to share.

I need help, have a question, or want to schedule a tour.

Analysis

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Enacted Legislation

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Recent Bills

Voting Record

Key Votes

Kennedy voted Not Voting

Kennedy voted Not Voting

Kennedy voted Yea

Kennedy voted Nay

Kennedy voted Yea

Missed Votes

Primary Sources