What is the ACT! for America Congressional Scorecard?
(Before looking at the voting records of Members of the House and Senate, it is recommended you read the following information to understand how the congressional scorecard works.)
ACT! for America has reviewed hundreds of votes related to national security and the threat of Islamofascism cast in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House between 2003 and 2008. The House and Senate votes we have chosen to highlight reflect a broad range of issues, including…
Intelligence gathering and protection of classified information Detention, trial and punishment of terrorists Financing of terrorism Dealing with Iran and Iraq Protecting American citizens who report suspicious activity Grounds for deportation of suspected terrorists Energy proposals to reduce American dependence on oil produced by countries unfriendly to the United States How are congressional votes organized?
The votes are organized by House and Senate sessions of Congress. Each session of Congress covers two years, and each session of Congress is numbered (e.g., the 110th Congress).
The House 108th Congress covers House of Representatives votes in 2003 and 2004.
The House 109th Congress covers House of Representatives votes in 2005 and 2006.
The House 110th Congress covers House of Representatives votes in 2007 and 2008.
The Senate 108th Congress covers Senate votes in 2003 and 2004.
The Senate 109th Congress covers Senate votes in 2005 and 2006.
The Senate 110th Congress covers Senate votes in 2007 and 2008.
Thus, if you were interested in votes by your two U.S. Senators in 2005, you would go to the scorecard titled “Senate 109th Congress.” On that scorecard you would find votes that occurred in both 2005 and 2006.
It should be noted that a member who is in the House or Senate during a particular session may not be in the House or Senate during a previous or subsequent session. Members retire, run for other offices, or are defeated at election time. Thus, if you find a House member’s votes reported in the House 108th session scorecard, but can’t find that member in the House 109th session scorecard, that member was no longer in the House after the 108th session.
How to understand the votes
Click a session of the House or Senate in the box to the left entitled “Vote Descriptions and Scorecards”. Once there you will find a description of each vote included on the scorecard for that session, and ACT! for America’s position on that vote. Read the description of the vote you are interested in, then scroll down the scorecard to see whether or not your House or Senate member voted in agreement with the position of ACT! for America.
The ACT! for America position on each vote is specified in two different places – in the vote description and directly above the list of Members of Congress, where it says “Chosen Favorable Position.”
How to read the congressional scorecard
For each vote cast by a House or Senate member, you will see one of several symbols. The two most important are the plus symbol (+) and the minus symbol (-).
A plus symbol means the House or Senate member voted in agreement with the position of ACT! for America on that vote. A minus symbol means the House or Senate member voted against the position of ACT! for America on that vote.
It’s important to understand that a plus does not necessarily mean a member voted for a bill, and a minus does not necessarily mean a member voted against it. The plus and minus symbols indicate whether or not the member voted in agreement with the position of ACT! for America.
For example, if the position of ACT! for America was to oppose a bill, then a plus symbol for a House or Senate member on that bill means that member voted against the bill, because the member voted in agreement with the ACT! for America position. A minus symbol means that member voted for the bill, because the member voted against the position of ACT! for America on that bill.
There are other symbols, such as “A” (absent) which are defined at the very bottom of each scorecard.
In addition to finding out how a House or Senate member voted on a particular vote, you can also learn what percentage of the time that member voted with the position of ACT! for America during that session of Congress.
For instance, to find out how frequently your two Senators voted in agreement with the position of ACT! for America during the 109th Congress, go to the Senate 109th Congress scorecard. Find your two Senators (they are grouped by state, and the states are arranged in alphabetical order). Go to the far right and read the percentages. The higher the percentage, the more often the member voted in agreement with the positions of ACT! for America during that session of Congress.
A final note
Nothing contained in this congressional scorecard should be construed as ACT! for America endorsing or not endorsing any member of the House and Senate, or favoring or not favoring any member of the House and Senate. The information provided is intended for informational and educational purposes only.
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What is the ACT! for America Congressional Scorecard?
(Before looking at the voting records of Members of the House and Senate, it is recommended you read the following information to understand how the congressional scorecard works.)
ACT! for America has reviewed hundreds of votes related to national security and the threat of Islamofascism cast in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House between 2003 and 2008. The House and Senate votes we have chosen to highlight reflect a broad range of issues, including…
Intelligence gathering and protection of classified information
Detention, trial and punishment of terrorists
Financing of terrorism
Dealing with Iran and Iraq
Protecting American citizens who report suspicious activity
Grounds for deportation of suspected terrorists
Energy proposals to reduce American dependence on oil produced by countries unfriendly to the United States
How are congressional votes organized?
The votes are organized by House and Senate sessions of Congress. Each session of Congress covers two years, and each session of Congress is numbered (e.g., the 110th Congress).
The House 108th Congress covers House of Representatives votes in 2003 and 2004.
The House 109th Congress covers House of Representatives votes in 2005 and 2006.
The House 110th Congress covers House of Representatives votes in 2007 and 2008.
The Senate 108th Congress covers Senate votes in 2003 and 2004.
The Senate 109th Congress covers Senate votes in 2005 and 2006.
The Senate 110th Congress covers Senate votes in 2007 and 2008.
Thus, if you were interested in votes by your two U.S. Senators in 2005, you would go to the scorecard titled “Senate 109th Congress.” On that scorecard you would find votes that occurred in both 2005 and 2006.
It should be noted that a member who is in the House or Senate during a particular session may not be in the House or Senate during a previous or subsequent session. Members retire, run for other offices, or are defeated at election time. Thus, if you find a House member’s votes reported in the House 108th session scorecard, but can’t find that member in the House 109th session scorecard, that member was no longer in the House after the 108th session.
How to understand the votes
Click a session of the House or Senate in the box to the left entitled “Vote Descriptions and Scorecards”. Once there you will find a description of each vote included on the scorecard for that session, and ACT! for America’s position on that vote. Read the description of the vote you are interested in, then scroll down the scorecard to see whether or not your House or Senate member voted in agreement with the position of ACT! for America.
The ACT! for America position on each vote is specified in two different places – in the vote description and directly above the list of Members of Congress, where it says “Chosen Favorable Position.”
How to read the congressional scorecard
For each vote cast by a House or Senate member, you will see one of several symbols. The two most important are the plus symbol (+) and the minus symbol (-).
A plus symbol means the House or Senate member voted in agreement with the position of ACT! for America on that vote. A minus symbol means the House or Senate member voted against the position of ACT! for America on that vote.
It’s important to understand that a plus does not necessarily mean a member voted for a bill, and a minus does not necessarily mean a member voted against it. The plus and minus symbols indicate whether or not the member voted in agreement with the position of ACT! for America.
For example, if the position of ACT! for America was to oppose a bill, then a plus symbol for a House or Senate member on that bill means that member voted against the bill, because the member voted in agreement with the ACT! for America position. A minus symbol means that member voted for the bill, because the member voted against the position of ACT! for America on that bill.
There are other symbols, such as “A” (absent) which are defined at the very bottom of each scorecard.
In addition to finding out how a House or Senate member voted on a particular vote, you can also learn what percentage of the time that member voted with the position of ACT! for America during that session of Congress.
For instance, to find out how frequently your two Senators voted in agreement with the position of ACT! for America during the 109th Congress, go to the Senate 109th Congress scorecard. Find your two Senators (they are grouped by state, and the states are arranged in alphabetical order). Go to the far right and read the percentages. The higher the percentage, the more often the member voted in agreement with the positions of ACT! for America during that session of Congress.
A final note
Nothing contained in this congressional scorecard should be construed as ACT! for America endorsing or not endorsing any member of the House and Senate, or favoring or not favoring any member of the House and Senate. The information provided is intended for informational and educational purposes only.
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