| Local 32BJ Local 1199 District Council 37 - N.Y. Senate - N.Y. Senate - N.Y. Senate - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - N.Y. Assembly - President, Borough of Bronx - President, Borough of Queens - New York City Council - New York City Council - New York City Council - New York City Council - New York City Council - Founder of the Arab American Institute (D) |
Campaign financeCampaign finance disclosures through March 31, 2018, showed the following: - Joseph Crowley had raised almost $2.8 million and had almost $1.6 million in cash on hand.
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had raised $126,896 and had $48,524 in cash on hand.
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date | | | Democratic Party, Working Families Party | $4,007,216 | $5,119,793 | $8,779 | As of December 31, 2018 | | | Democratic Party | $2,147,896 | $1,782,302 | $365,237 | As of December 31, 2018 | | | Republican Party | $8,161 | $2,500 | $5,662 | As of November 15, 2018 | | | Conservative Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** | | Source: , "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* , "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** , a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.
| Campaign themesBallotpedia survey responses. See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asking her to fill out the survey . If you are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey . Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey? Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 19,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here . You can ask Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing [email protected].  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey. The following themes were found on Ocasio-Cortez's official campaign website. | “ |
Improved and Expanded Medicare for All is the ethical, logical, and affordable path to ensuring no person goes without dignified healthcare. Medicare for All will reduce the existing costs of healthcare (and make Medicare cheaper, too!) by allowing all people in the US to buy into a universal healthcare system. What’s even better is that Improved and Expanded Medicare for All includes full vision, dental, and mental healthcare - because we know that true healthcare is about the whole self, not just your yearly physical. Almost every other developed nation in the world has universal healthcare. It’s time the United States catch up to the rest of the world in ensuring all people have real healthcare coverage that doesn’t break the bank. This is very different than universal “access” to healthcare, which is lobbyist talk for more for-profit plans. You can count on Alexandria to fight for people-centered healthcare more than any other candidate, because she’s the ONLY candidate that doesn’t accept money from Pharmaceutical lobbyists or private insurance companies. Extending single payer to the American public has rippling positive effects: people will take less time off work, have more money in their pocket, and other issues - like mass incarceration, homelessness, and more - will also be alleviated with an increase in the number of people getting the mental and physical healthcare they need. At this point in the US, we’ve tried almost every other system of healthcare, and we know it doesn’t work. The Affordable Care Act was a great step forward to insure the previously “uninsurable,” but for many Americans, costs are still far too high. The prices of co-pays, premiums, and deductibles are skyrocketing. We’re paying more for less every year. Improving Medicare and extending it to all Americans can fix these problems. Alexandria Endorses: Improved and Expanded Medicare for All Act (H.R. 676)
Housing in the United States has become a playground for wealthy developers instead of a leg up towards the American Dream. In New York City specifically, money from luxury real estate developers have taken over our political establishment - leading to luxury rezonings that push out small businesses and working families, and leave a wake of empty units in their place. Working New Yorkers can’t afford to stay in the communities their families have called home for generations. Families are rent burdened, and the city is experiencing the highest levels of homelessness since the Great Depression. While shelters go up, housing actually remains empty - there are three times the amount of empty luxury units as there are people experiencing homelessness in New York City. So, what do we do? Alexandria believes that housing is a right, and that Congress must tip the balance away from housing as a gambling chip for Wall Street banks and fight for accessible housing that’s actually within working families’ reach. Congress has allowed most of our existing housing investments to go towards benefitting the wealthy. Alexandria supports extending tax benefits to working and middle-class homeowners, expanding the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, housing (not sheltering) the homeless, and permanently funding the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. By refusing money from luxury real estate developers, Alexandria can be trusted to fight for fair, inclusive housing policies that upend the overdevelopment that real estate speculators have imposed on New Yorkers. Alexandria Endorses: The Common Sense Housing Investment Act (H.R.948)
Alexandria endorses a Federal Jobs Guarantee, because anyone who is willing and able to work shouldn’t struggle to find employment. A Federal Jobs Guarantee would create a baseline quality for employments that guarantees a minimum $15 wage (pegged to inflation), full healthcare, and paid child and sick leave for all. This proposal would dramatically upgrade the quality of employment in the United States, by providing training and experience to workers while bringing much-needed public services to our communities in areas such as parks service, childcare and environmental conservation. Furthermore, a federal jobs guarantee program would establish a floor for wages and benefits for the nation’s workforce. This program would provide a baseline minimum wage of $15 an hour and guarantee for public workers a basic benefits package, including healthcare and childcare. By investing in our own workforce, we can lift thousands of American families out of poverty.
It is time to reform our criminal justice system to be safer for everyone. Alexandria believes in ending mass incarceration and the war on drugs, and closing the school-to-prison pipeline. Alexandria supports the federal legalization of marijuana, ending for-profit prisons/detention centers, releasing individuals sentenced for nonviolent drug offenses, ending cash bail, and automatic, independent investigations in instances where individuals are killed in exchanges with law enforcement. We must also fully fund the offices of public defenders, decriminalize poverty, end arbitration clauses that shield corporate abuses of everyday Americans, and provide comprehensive mental health care to both incarcerated communities and law enforcement. Mass incarceration is the latest iteration of a long line of policies (Jim Crow, redlining, etc) rooted in the marginalization of African Americans and people of color. Comprehensive criminal justice reform is part of the work that must be done to heal our past and pursue racial justice in the United States. Alexandria Endorses: The Pretrial Integrity and Safety Act of 2017 (S. 1593/H.R. 4019) The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2017 (H.R. 1374) The Justice is Not For Sale Act of 2017 (H.R.3227)
It’s time to abolish ICE, clear the path to citizenship, and protect the rights of families to remain together. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was created in 2003, in the same suite of post-9/11 legislation as the Patriot Act and the Iraq War. It’s founding was part of an unchecked expansion of executive powers that led to the widespread erosion of Americans’ civil rights. Unlike prior immigration enforcement under the INS, ICE operates outside the scope of the Department of Justice and is unaccountable to our nation’s standards of due process. Now we see the consequences: young children are being ripped from their parents and kept in detention centers without due process and without accountability to Congress. As overseen by the Trump administration, ICE operates with virtually no accountability, ripping apart families and holding our friends and neighbors indefinitely in inhumane detention centers scattered across the United States. Alex believes that if we are to uphold civic justice, we must abolish ICE and see to it that our undocumented neighbors are treated with the dignity and respect owed to all people, regardless of citizenship status. Alexandria Endorses: DREAM Act of 2017
Months after Hurricane Maria, which ravaged Puerto Rico, our fellow Americans still suffer for want of basic utilities and billions in federal aid that they are entitled to as citizens. In that time the United States has allowed its own citizens to go without reliable electricity, potable water, and open schools. That includes Alexandria’s own family. Our friends and family in Puerto Rico thus suffer the double humiliation of being denied disaster relief from their own government on the basis of their disenfranchisement. As a member of Congress, Alex commits to championing justice for Puerto Rico on the House floor. The US Government has done nothing while Puerto Ricans have suffered an island-wide blackout, seen public tuition double for all aspiring collegiate students, and been deprived of their humanity with under-reporting of hurricane-related deaths. A recent Harvard report stating that the real numbers are approaching 5,000, more than 70 times what is being reported. Americans would not stand for this in any other city or state, and we can’t stand for it now. Our government has a responsibility to act and pursue a just recovery in Puerto Rico. As a Congresswoman, Alexandria intends to fight for sweeping change in the way that the United States relates to Puerto Rico, including 5 main policy priorities: 1) A Marshall Plan for Puerto Rico, helping the island not only recover from Hurricane Maria, but thrive with modern infrastructure and renewable energy systems. 2) A community-led, sustainable, and just recovery - including protections for Puerto Rico’s public education system from kindergarten to college and trade school. 3) An immediate waiver and full review of the Jones Act, which hamstrings the Puerto Rican economy with restrictions that other American communities do not have to face. 4) Cancellation of Puerto Rico’s Wall Street debt: this debt has been accrued by vulture funds using irresponsible and unjust behavior reminiscent of the 2008 financial crisis. 5) Condemnation of the PROMESA Act, which handed over the island to “La Junta,” a corporate governance board installed with the support of my opponent and his private equity donors. These issues just scrape the surface of the long and difficult history of the U.S. in Puerto Rico. In fact, many of our most pressing issues of justice today - from Puerto Rico, to Standing Rock, to Riker’s Island - are extensions of the dark histories that our nation has never fully remedied: whether that be slavery, Jim Crow, and the War on Drugs; the genocide of native peoples and the plight of modern-day reservations; or the colonization and continued disenfranchisement of Puerto Ricans and people in U.S. territories. To move forward, we must recognize that our present-day issues have deep-past roots. That healing feat is both emotionally and legislatively difficult, but ultimately, it’s the right thing to do. Over time, we hope to continue our work with activists, community leaders, and policymakers to figure out what social, economic, and racial justice looks like in the modern day. As your Congresswoman, Alexandria will seek to make sure that everyone in the United States is treated fairly by our government, and that the unequal, traumatic relationships of the past are replaced with the true spirit of this great nation: liberty and justice for all.
n order to address runaway global climate change, Alexandria strongly supports transitioning the United States to a carbon-free, 100% renewable energy system and a fully modernized electrical grid by 2035. She believes renewable fuels must be produced in a way that achieves our environmental and energy security goals, so we can move beyond oil responsibly in the fight against climate change. By encouraging the electrification of vehicles, sustainable home heating, distributed rooftop solar generation, and the conversion of the power grid to zero-emissions energy sources, Alexandria believes we can be 100% free of fossil fuels by 2035. Furthermore, Alex believes in recognizing the relationship between economic stability and environmental sustainability. It’s time to shift course and implement a Green New Deal – a transformation that implements structural changes to our political and financial systems in order to alter the trajectory of our environment. Right now, the economy is controlled by big corporations whose profits are dependent on the continuation of climate change. This arrangement benefits few, but comes at the detriment of our planet and all its inhabitants. Its effects are life-threatening, and are especially already felt by low-income communities, both in the U.S. and globally. Even in NY-14, areas like Throgs Neck, College Point, and City Island are being affected by erosion and rising sea levels. Rather than continue a dependency on this system that posits climate change as inherent to economic life, the Green New Deal believes that radically addressing climate change is a potential path towards a more equitable economy with increased employment and widespread financial security for all. Climate change is the single biggest national security threat for the United States and the single biggest threat to worldwide industrialized civilization, and the effects of warming can be hard to predict and self-reinforcing. We need to avoid a worldwide refugee crisis by waging a war for climate justice through the mobilization of our population and our government. This starts with the United States being a leader on the actions we take both globally and locally.
Alexandria believes that the only way for real reform to happen in Washington is for the means by which elections are funded to be overhauled from the bottom up. In 2010, as a result of a disastrous Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. FEC, 5 out of the 9 Justices gave the wealthiest people in this country the opportunity to purchase the U.S. Government, the White House, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, Governors’ seats, State legislatures, and State judicial branches with unaccountable dark money. The Citizens United ruling is centered around the notion that money is speech and that corporations are people. This idea is far from any reasonable interpretation of the Constitution, and is deeply harmful to the institutions of social democracy. Not only does this situation favor those with extreme wealth, but also discourages those who are less privileged from even considering a run. After growing up in a working class family and working in Senator Ted Kennedy’s office as college student, Alexandria left thinking there wasn’t a place in politics for someone like her. As someone unable to fund her own campaign and without the connections to wealthy individuals willing to invest, she felt as though her party, the Democratic Party, had no place for her. The first pledge Alexandria made to voters in this election was to commit herself to clean campaign finance. As a candidate, Alexandria recognizes the corrupting influence of corporate fundraising on legislative policy. Where she stands farthest apart from her primary opponent Joe Crowley is in her steadfast refusal to allow her campaign to be underwritten by lobbyist contributions. If elected, Alexandria vows to reform campaign finance laws that undermine democracy for the benefit of corporate interests. This is not a progressive or a conservative issue. It is an issue that should concern all Americans, regardless of their political point of view, who wish to preserve the longest standing democracy in the world, and a government that represents all of the people and not a handful of powerful and wealthy special interests. Campaign finance reform can’t happen soon enough. That is why Alexandria is supportive of big ideas like the overturning, through a constitutional amendment, of the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, along with other disruptive rulings such as the Buckley v. Valeo decision and SpeechNOW.org v. FEC. Sweeping legislation that moves us toward the public funding of elections is the ultimate goal. However, Alexandria knows that constitutional amendments and the overturning of Supreme Court decisions are a long process. In the meantime, Alexandria will insist on legislation to require wealthy individuals and corporations who make large campaign contributions to disclose where their money is going. This will be enforced via legislation, action by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Election Commission, and Federal Communication Commission, and federal legislation requiring government contractors to disclose their political spending.
Roughly every 100 years, the United States expands its public education system to match its increasingly advanced economy. It’s now time to expand our national education system to include tuition-free public college and trade school. In fact, we’ve had this system before: The University of California system offered free tuition at its schools until the 1980s. In 1965, average tuition at a four-year public university was just $243 and many of the best colleges – including the City University of New York – did not charge any tuition at all. Alexandria’s plan would make tuition free at public colleges and universities throughout the country. In tandem with making public colleges tuition-free, Alexandria supports a one-time policy of student debt cancellation, in which the federal government cancels the loans it holds directly and buys back the financing of privately owned loans on behalf of borrowers to liberate generations of Americans trapped in student loan debt and holding back from participating in the greater US economy. A policy of debt cancellation could boost real GDP by an average of $86 billion to $108 billion per year. Over the 10-year forecast, the policy generates between $861 billion and $1,083 billion in real GDP (2016 dollars).
Alexandria believes that Women’s Rights are Human Rights, and that all women deserve equal access to workplace safety, equal pay, paid parental leave, full access to healthcare, and more. She wants to create a society in which women - which includes Black women, Native women, poor women, immigrant women, disabled women, Muslim women, lesbian queer and trans women - are free and able to care for and nurture their families in safe and healthy environments free from structural impediments. Reproductive freedom is especially essential for all individuals of marginalized genders, including cisgender women and trans people. Alexandria does not accept any federal, state or local rollbacks, cuts or restrictions on the ability of individuals to access quality reproductive healthcare services, birth control, HIV/AIDS care and prevention, or medically accurate sexuality education. This means open access to safe, legal, affordable abortion, birth control, and family planning services, as well as access to adequate, affordable pre- and post-natal care, for all people, regardless of income, location or education. Alexandria is a firm believer in equal pay for all genders. The pay and hiring discrimination that women, particularly mothers, women of color, Indigenous women, lesbian, queer and trans women still face each day in our nation, as well as discrimination against workers with disabilities, is atrocious and must end. Equal pay for equal work will provide families with upward mobility and boost the economy. Alexandria is a proponent of labor legislation that reduces the discrimination and exploitation of working women. She believes we should be creating workforce opportunities for caregivers and parents; and stands in opposition to gun laws that allow those convicted of domestic abuse to have firearms and the criminalization of sex work, both of which increase violence against women. In Congress she will support legislation that promotes caregiving and basic workplace protections—including benefits like paid family leave, access to affordable childcare, sick days, healthcare, fair pay, vacation time, and healthy work environments—benefit society as a whole.
Given the current administration’s attacks on LGBTQIA+ rights, one thing is clear: support for and solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community is more important than ever. At the federal level, our President has rescinded guidance protecting the rights of trans students in federally funded schools, and wants to take away the rights of trans people to serve in the United States military. Republicans at every level of government are eager to make trans and non-binary people targets for persecution, and routinely draft legislation that would deny many people their rights to basic employment, housing, healthcare and education on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation. This legislation especially affects queer people from low-income communities of color. Discrimination at both the local and federal level concretely impacts queer and trans people from an early age – among LGBTQIA+ youth, rates of homelessness, incarceration, and substance abuse are all disproportionately high. Clearly, we must do more to end intolerance and bigotry throughout our nation. Alexandria believes in the urgency of acting to safeguard the livelihoods of LGBTQIA+ people. To this end, Alex will advocate for legislation such as the Equality Act, which would expand existing civil rights law to make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity illegal. As we advocate for Universal Healthcare, we must also do more to provide affordable healthcare coverage that is gender-affirming and conscientious of the unique medical struggles faced by LGBTQIA+ patients. The issues facing the LGBTQIA+ community are not isolated from the issues facing many of us regarding race and class. It is critical in times like these that we stand together in solidarity, to build just public policy that works for all of us, not just some of us. Alexandria Endorses: Equality Act (H.R.2282) Every Child Deserves a Family Act (H.R. 2640) Student Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 5374)
Alexandria is a strong supporter of Social Security, which is the most successful program for social uplift and social justice in the history of this country. She believes that everyone should be able to retire with dignity. She believes that Social Security should be expanded and that benefits should be linked to inflation. This includes raising the cap on taxable income so that everyone who makes over $250,000 a year pays the same percentage of their income into Social Security as the middle class and working families. Legislation to that effect would not only extend the solvency of Social Security for the next 50 years, but also bring in enough revenue to expand benefits by an average of $65 a month; increase cost-of-living-adjustments; and lift more seniors out of poverty by increasing the minimum benefits paid to low-income seniors. Additionally, Alexandria believes that funds borrowed from Social Security by Congress must be paid back to ensure its solvency. Without Social Security, more than 40% of seniors would have incomes below the poverty line. With this program running to full effect, only 8.8% of American seniors live in poverty, which is a number that is still too high and that Alexandria will work to reduce. Until comprehensive universal healthcare is a reality in this country, Alexandria believes Medicaid needs expansion. It is a vital lifeline for 72 million Americans, and two-thirds of Medicaid spending supports senior citizens and the disabled. Expanding Medicaid to provide quality long term services, nursing home care, and home healthcare support is how we can best help our seniors. Alexandria believes affordable housing should be within the means of all full-time working Americans. For the seniors who have retired, they should be able to stay in their homes without getting priced out. Seniors who are more financially secure in retirement and don’t have to contend with rising rent costs will be able to choose for themselves whether to move in with their children and families, not be forced to do so by economic realities.
Systemic risk in our banking system leads to the concentration of wealth and power into fewer and fewer hands and also leads to increased risk that individuals will lose their savings due to the irresponsible decisions of bank management. We should restore Glass-Steagall to make sure our banks can’t gamble with our money. We also should make sure that no bank is allowed to become “too-big-to-fail” and that oversized banks are broken up to reduce the likelihood of a financial crash. Finally, we need to make postal banking a reality in the United States, which will revitalize the United States Postal Service, provide a low-cost source of basic banking services for disenfranchised communities, and increase competition in the banking industry. | ” | | | Anti-establishment campaignAccording to The Independent Voter Network, Ocasio-Cortez's success is partially attributable to her successful anti-establishment campaign against Crowley, a long-time incumbent. [19] Campaign finance summaryAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaign contribution history | Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
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| 2024* | U.S. House New York District 14 | On the Ballot general | $8,979,438 | $10,836,465 | | 2022 | U.S. House New York District 14 | Won general | $12,513,213 | $11,350,203 | | 2020 | U.S. House New York District 14 | Won general | $21,166,404 | $17,506,285 | | 2018 | U.S. House New York District 14 | Won general | $2,147,896 | $1,782,302 | | Grand total | $44,806,951 | $41,475,254 | | Sources: , | | | Notable endorsementsThis section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope . Notable candidate endorsements by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | Endorsee | Election | Stage | Outcome |
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| (D, Working Families Party) | | Primary | Withdrew in Convention | (D, Working Families Party) | | Primary | Lost Primary | (D) | | Primary | Lost Primary | (D) | | Primary, Primary Runoff | Lost General | (D) | | Primary | Withdrew in Convention Noteworthy eventsTested positive for coronavirus on january 9, 2022. Ocasio-Cortez announced on January 9, 2022, that she tested positive for COVID-19. She said she was vaccinated at the time she contracted the virus. [20] Netflix documentary about 2018 campaignNetflix aired a documentary on May 1, 2019, called "Knock Down the House," which follows the campaigns of four women who ran for Congress in 2018. The women profiled are Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former House candidates Amy Vilela (Nevada) and Cori Bush (Missouri), as well as former Senate candidate Paula Jean Swearengin (West Virginia). The documentary also shows how the political action committees Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress operate when they recruit and help candidates run for office. [21] [22] Staffing support for Senate challengerAfter winning the 2018 Democratic primary , Ocasio-Cortez announced that she would send three members of her campaign staff to assist Kerri Evelyn Harris (D), who was running for U.S. Senate in Delaware against three-term incumbent Thomas Carper (D). An Ocasio-Cortez campaign spokesman said the campaign was sending the staffers as a gesture of thanks to the Harris campaign for its support of Ocasio-Cortez's candidacy. [23] Harris was among a series of candidates aligned with Justice Democrats who Ocasio-Cortez endorsed after unseating Crowley, including Brent Welder of Kansas , Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan , and Julia Salazar of New York . [23] Carper defeated Harris , winning 65% of the vote to Harris' 35%. Ballotpedia monitors legislation that receives a vote and highlights the ones that we consider to be key to understanding where elected officials stand on the issues. To read more about how we identify key votes, click here . Key votes: 118th Congress, 2023The 118th United States Congress began on January 3, 2023, at which point Republicans held the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (222-212), and Democrats held the majority in the U.S. Senate (51-49). Joe Biden (D) was the president and Kamala Harris (D) was the vice president. We identified the key votes below using Congress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia. | | | Vote | Bill and description | Status | | Nay | | | |
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| The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (H.R. 2670) was a bill passed by the and signed into law by President (D) on December 22, 2023, authorizing activities and programs for fiscal year 2024. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to pass the bill as amended by a Senate and House conference report. |
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| H.R. 185 (To terminate the requirement imposed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for proof of COVID-19 vaccination for foreign travelers, and for other purposes.) was a bill approved by the that sought to nullify a (CDC) order restricting the entry of foreign citizens to the United States unless the individual was vaccinated against the coronavirus or attested they would take public health measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 (H.R. 2811) was a bill approved by the that sought to raise the federal debt limit before a June 5, 2023, deadline. The bill also sought to repeal certain green energy tax credits, increase domestic natural gas and oil production, expand work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, and nullify President 's (D) proposed student loan debt cancellation program. This bill was not taken up in the Senate, and the debt limit was instead raised through the . This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| H.Con.Res. 9 (Denouncing the horrors of socialism.) was a resolution approved by the denouncing socialism and opposing the implementation of socialist policies in the United States. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Lower Energy Costs Act (H.R. 1) was a bill approved by the that sought to increase domestic energy production and exports by increasing the production of oil, natural gas, and coal, reducing permitting restrictions for pipelines, refineries, and other energy projects, and increase the production of minerals used in electronics, among other energy production-related policies. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| H.J.Res. 30 (Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to "Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights".) was a joint resolution of disapproval under the terms of the (CRA) passed by the and by President (D) on March 20, 2023. This was Biden's first veto of his presidency. The resolution sought to nullify a rule that amended the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow retirement plans to consider certain factors in investment-related decisions. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| H.J.Res. 7 (Relating to a national emergency declared by the President on March 13, 2020.) was a joint resolution of disapproval under the terms of the (CRA) passed by the and signed into law by President (D) on April 10, 2023. The resolution ended the , which began on March 13, 2020. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| The (H.R. 3746) was a bill passed by the and signed into law by President (D) on June 3, 2023. The bill raised the federal debt limit until January 2025. The bill also capped non-defense spending in fiscal year 2024, rescinded unspent coronavirus relief funding, rescinded some Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding, enhanced work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program (TANF), simplified environmental reviews for energy projects, and ended the student loan debt repayment pause in August 2023. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| In January 2023, the held its for Speaker of the House at the start of the . Voting began on January 3, and ended on January 7. Rep. (R-Calif.) was elected speaker of the House in a 216-212 vote during the 15th round of voting. In order to elect a Speaker of the House, a majority of votes cast for a person by name was required. to read more. |
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| H.Res. 757 (Declaring the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives to be vacant.) was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that removed Rep. (R-Calif.) from his position as Speaker of the House. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| In October 2023, following Rep. 's (R-Calif.) removal as Speaker of the House, the held for the position. Voting began on October 17 and ended on October 25. Rep. (R-La.) was elected Speaker of the House in a 220-209 vote in the fourth round of voting. In order to elect a Speaker of the House, a majority of votes cast for a person by name was required. to read more. |
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| H.Res. 918 (Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Joseph Biden, President of the United States of America, and for other purposes.) was a resolution passed by the that formally authorized an into President (D). The inquiry focused on allegations that Biden used his influence as vice president from 2009 to 2017 to improperly profit from his son Hunter Biden's business dealings. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| H.Res. 878 (Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives.) was a resolution passed by the House of Representatives that removed Rep. (R-N.Y.) from office following a investigation that determined there was substantial evidence that Santos violated the law during his 2020 and 2022 campaigns. The resolution required a simple majority vote in the House. |
Key votes: Previous sessions of Congress| Key votes |
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| Key votes: 117th Congress, 2021-2023 The began on January 3, 2021 and ended on January 3, 2023. At the start of the session, Democrats held the majority in the (222-213), and the had a 50-50 makeup. Democrats assumed control of the Senate on January 20, 2021, when President (D) and Vice President (D), who acted as a tie-breaking vote in the chamber, assumed office. We identified the key votes below using and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia. | | | Vote | Bill and description | Status | | Nay | | | |
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| The (H.R. 3684) was a federal infrastructure bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on November 15, 2021. Among other provisions, the bill provided funding for new infrastructure projects and reauthorizations, Amtrak maintenance and development, bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation, clean drinking water, high-speed internet, and clean energy transmission and power infrastructure upgrades. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| The (H.R. 1319) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on March 11, 2021, to provide economic relief in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key features of the bill included funding for a national vaccination program and response, funding to safely reopen schools, distribution of $1,400 per person in relief payments, and extended unemployment benefits. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| The (H.R. 5376) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on August 16, 2022, to address climate change, healthcare costs, and tax enforcement. Key features of the bill included a $369 billion investment to address energy security and climate change, an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, allowing Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices, a 15% corporate minimum tax, a 1% stock buyback fee, and enhanced Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement, and an estimated $300 billion deficit reduction from 2022-2031. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (H.R. 3617) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to decriminalize marijuana, establish studies of legal marijuana sales, tax marijuana imports and production, and establish a process to expunge and review federal marijuana offenses. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The (H.R. 1) was a federal election law and government ethics bill approved by the House of Representatives. The Congressional Research Service said the bill would "expand voter registration (e.g., automatic and same-day registration) and voting access (e.g., vote-by-mail and early voting). It [would also limit] removing voters from voter rolls. ... Further, the bill [would address] campaign finance, including by expanding the prohibition on campaign spending by foreign nationals, requiring additional disclosure of campaign-related fundraising and spending, requiring additional disclaimers regarding certain political advertising, and establishing an alternative campaign funding system for certain federal offices." The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| The Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 (H.R. 1808) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives that sought to criminalize the knowing import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of semiautomatic assault weapons (SAW) or large capacity ammunition feeding devices (LCAFD). The bill made exemptions for grandfathered SAWs and LCAFDs. It required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (S. 1605) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 27, 2021, authorizing acitivities and programs for fiscal year 2022. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (H.R. 7776) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 23, 2022, authorizing Department of Defense activities and programs for fiscal year 2023. The bill required a 2/3 majority in the House to suspend rules and pass the bill as amended. |
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| The American Dream and Promise Act of 2021 (H.R. 6) was an immigration bill approved by the House of Representatives that proposed a path to permanent residence status for unauthorized immigrants eligible for Temporary Protected Status or Deferred Enforced Departure, among other immigration-related proposals. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (S. 3373) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on August 10, 2022, that sought to address healthcare access, the presumption of service-connection, and research, resources, and other matters related to veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during military service. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Chips and Science Act (H.R. 4346) was a bill approved by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on August 9, 2022, which sought to fund domestic production of semiconductors and authorized various federal science agency programs and activities. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Women's Health Protection Act of 2021 (H.R. 3755) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives. The bill proposed prohibiting governmental restrictions on the provision of and access to abortion services and prohibiting governments from issuing some other abortion-related restrictions. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The SAFE Banking Act of 2021 (H.R. 1996) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives that proposed prohibiting federal regulators from penalizing banks for providing services to legitimate cannabis-related businesses and defining proceeds from such transactions as not being proceeds from unlawful activity, among other related proposals. Since the House moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill in an expedited process, it required a two-thirds majority vote in the House. |
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| The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (H.R. 2471) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on March 15, 2022, providing for the funding of federal agencies for the remainder of 2022, providing funding for activities related to Ukraine, and modifying or establishing various programs. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Equality Act (H.R. 5) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that proposed prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system, among other related proposals. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The (H.R. 8404) was a bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 13, 2022. The bill codified the recognition of marriages between individuals of the same sex and of different races, ethnicities, or national origins, and provided that the law would not impact religious liberty or conscience protections, or provide grounds to compel nonprofit religious organizations to recognize same-sex marriages. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| The Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023 (H.R. 6833) was a bill approved by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on September 30, 2022. It provided for some fiscal year 2023 appropriations, supplemental funds for Ukraine, and extended several other programs and authorities. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act (H.R. 7688) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to prohibit individuals from selling consumer fuels at excessive prices during a proclaimed energy emergency. It would have also required the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether the price of gasoline was being manipulated. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021 (H.R. 8) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to prohibit the transfer of firearms between private parties unless a licensed firearm vendor conducted a background check on the recipient. The bill also provided for certain exceptions to this requirement. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The was a federal elections bill approved by the House of Representatives and voted down by the Senate in a failed cloture vote that sought to, among other provisions, make Election Day a public holiday, allow for same-day voter registration, establish minimum early voting periods, and allow absentee voting for any reason, restrict the removal of local election administrators in federal elections, regulate congressional redistricting, expand campaign finance disclosure rules for some organizations, and amend the Voting Rights Act to require some states to obtain clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before implementing new election laws. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| The (S. 2938) was a firearm regulation and mental health bill passed by the 117th Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on June 25, 2022. Provisions of the bill included expanding background checks for individuals under the age of 21, providing funding for mental health services, preventing individuals who had been convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor or felony in dating relationships from purchasing firearms for five years, providing funding for state grants to implement crisis intervention order programs, and providing funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| This was a resolution before the 117th Congress setting forth an saying that (R) incited an insurrection against the government of the United States on January 6, 2021. The House of Representatives approved the article of impeachment, and the Senate adjudged that Trump was not guilty of the charges. The article of impeachment required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
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| The was a bill passed by the 117th Congress in the form of an amendment to a year-end omnibus funding bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden (D) on December 23, 2022. The bill changed the procedure for counting electoral votes outlined in the Electoral Count Act of 1887. Elements of the bill included specifying that the vice president's role at the joint session of congress to count electoral votes is ministerial, raising the objection threshold at the joint session of congress to count electoral votes to one-fifth of the members of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, identifying governors as the single official responsible for submitting the certificate of ascertainment identifying that state’s electors, and providing for expedited judicial review of certain claims about states' certificates identifying their electors. The bill required a simple majority vote in the House. to read more. |
Key votes: 116th Congress, 2019-2021The 116th United States Congress began on January 9, 2019, and ended on January 3, 2021. At the start of the session, Democrats held the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (235-200), and Republicans held the majority in the U.S. Senate (53-47). Donald Trump (R) was the president and Mike Pence (R) was the vice president. We identified the key votes below using Congress' top-viewed bills list and through marquee coverage of certain votes on Ballotpedia. | | | Vote | Bill and description | Status | | Yea | | | |
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| The Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2020 (H.R. 1044) was a bill passed by the House of Representatives seeking to increase the cap on employment-based visas, establish certain rules governing such visas, and impose some additional requirements on employers hiring holders of such visas. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. |
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| The HEROES Act (H.R. 6800) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to address the COVID-19 outbreak by providing $1,200 payments to individuals, extending and expanding the moratorium on some evictions and foreclosures, outlining requirements and establishing finding for contact tracing and COVID-19 testing, providing emergency supplemental appropriations to federal agencies for fiscal year 2020, and eliminating cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatments. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The For the People Act of 2019 (H.R.1) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to protect election security, revise rules on campaign funding, introduce new provisions related to ethics, establish independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions, and establish new rules on the release of tax returns for presidential and vice presidential candidates. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (H.R. 748) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on March 27, 2020, that expanded benefits through the joint federal-state unemployment insurance program during the coronavirus pandemic. The legislation also included $1,200 payments to certain individuals, funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and funds for businesses, hospitals, and state and local governments. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House. |
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| The Equality Act (H.R. 5) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to ban discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity by expanding the definition of establishments that fall under public accomodation and prohibiting the denial of access to a shared facility that is in agreement with an indiviual's gender indenitity. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 (H.R. 8) was a bill approved by the House that sought to ban firearm transfers between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The American Dream and Promise Act of 2019 (H.R.6) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to protect certain immigrants from removal proceedings and provide a path to permanent resident status by establishing streamlined procedures for permanant residency and canceling removal proceedings against certain qualifed individuals. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (S. 1790) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on December 20, 2019, setting policies and appropriations for the Department of Defense. Key features of this bill include appropriations for research/development, procurement, military construction, and operation/maintenence, as well as policies for paid family leave, North Korea nuclear sanctions, limiting the use of criminal history in federal hiring and contracting, military housing privatization, and paid family leave for federal personnel. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on March 18, 2020, addressing the COVID-19 pandemic by increasing access to unemployment benefits and food assistance, increasing funding for Medicaid, providing free testing for COVID-19, and requiring employers to provide paid sick time to employees who cannot work due to COVID-19. The bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House. |
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| The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (H.R. 1994) was a bill passed by the House Representatives that sought to change the requirements for employer provided retirement plans, IRAs, and other tax-favored savings accounts by modfying the requirements for things such as loans, lifetime income options, required minimum distributions, the eligibility rules for certain long-term, part-time employees, and nondiscrimination rules. The bill also sought to treat taxable non-tuition fellowship and stipend payments as compensation for the purpose of an IRA, repeal the maximum age for traditional IRA contributions, increase penalties for failing to file tax returns, allow penalty-free withdrawals from retirement plans if a child is born or adopted, and expand the purposes for which qualified tuition programs may be used. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) was a bill approved by the House Representatives that sought to address the price of healthcare by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate prices for certain drugs, requiring drug manufactures to issue rebates for certain drugs covered under Medicare, requiring drug price transparency from drug manufacturers, expanding Medicare coverage, and providing funds for certain public health programs. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 1865) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on December 20, 2019, providing appropriations for federal agencies in fiscal year 2020. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (S. 1838) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) on November 27, 2019, directing several federal departments to assess Hong Kong's unique treatment under U.S. law. Key features of the bill include directing the Department of State to report and certify annually to Congress as to whether Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous from China to justify its unique treatment, and directing the Department of Commerce to report annually to Congress on China's efforts to use Hong Kong to evade U.S. export controls and sanctions. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House. |
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| The MORE Act of 2020 (H.R. 3884) was a bill approved by the House of Representatives that sought to decriminalize marijuana by removing marijuana as a scheduled controlled substance and eliminating criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana. This bill required a simple majority vote from the House. |
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| The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 6074) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 6, 2020, providing emergency funding to federal agencies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Key features of the bill include funding for vaccine research, small business loans, humanitarian assistance to affected foreign countries, emergency preparedness, and grants for public health agencies and organizations. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill. |
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| The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (H.J.Res. 31) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on February 15, 2019, providing approrations for Fiscal Year 2019. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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| The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (S. 47) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Doanld Trump on March 12, 2019. This bill sought to set provisions for federal land management and conservation by doing things such as conducting land exchanges and conveyances, establishing programs to respond to wildfires, and extending and reauthorizing wildlife conservation programs. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House. |
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| The William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (H.R. 6395) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and vetoed by President Donald Trump on December 23, 2020. Congress voted to override Trump's veto, and the bill became law on January 1, 2021. The bill set Department of Defense policies and appropriations for Fiscal Year 2021. Trump vetoed the bill due to disagreement with provisions related to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the renaming of certain military installations, limits on emergency military construction fund usage, and limits on troop withdrawals. This bill required a simple majority vote in the House on passage, and a two-thirds majority vote in the House to override Trump's veto. |
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| The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 (S.24) was a bill passed by the 116th Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on January 16, 2019, that requires federal employees who were furloughed or compelled to work during a lapse in government funding to be compensated for that time. The bill also required those employees to be compensated as soon as the lapse in funding ends, irregardless of official pay date. This bill required a two-thirds majority vote in the House to suspend the rules and pass the bill. |
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| The 2020 impeachment of Donald Trump (R) was a resolution before the 116th Congress to set forth two articles of impeachment saying that Trump abused his power and obstructed congress. The first article was related to allegations that Trump requested the Ukrainian government investigate former Vice President Joe Biden (D) and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid, and the second was related to Trump's response to the impeachment inquiry. The House of Representatives approved both articles of impeachment, and the Senate adjudged that Trump was not guilty of either charge. The articles of impeachment required a simple majority vote in the House. |
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