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H.R. 267: Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013

On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass in the House

Number:
House Vote #40 [primary source: house.gov]
Date:
Feb 13, 2013 (113th Congress)
Result:
Passed
Track Votes

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.

Bill:
H.R. 267: Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013
Introduced by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers [R-WA5] on January 15, 2013
Totals     Republican     Democrat
  Yea 422
 
 
98%
228 194
  Nay 0
 
 
0%
0 0
Not Voting 9
 
 
2%
3 6
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). So they literally say “yea” and “nay” when voting on bills. In the Senate, they always use these words.

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, but the meaning is the same. (See the Rules of the House, Rule XX, and House Practice in the section Voting.)