By Thomas Voting Reports, Inc. Founded 1973
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John McCain, R-Ariz., vs. Barack Obama, D-Ill.
Key Senate Votes 2008
$170 BILLION STIMULUS: Voting 81-16, senators
on Feb. 7, 2008, approved $170 billion in tax rebates,
cash payments and business tax breaks designed to
jump-start the U.S. economy. A yes vote was to pass a bill
(HR 5140) that also sent cash to disabled veterans and
Social Security recipients.
McCain voted YES. Obama did not vote.
TORTURE BAN, SPY BUDGET: Senators on
Feb. 13, 2008, approved, 51-45, the conference report on
a bill (HR 2082) requiring the CIA to obey the Army Field
Manual ban on prisoner torture such as waterboarding. A
yes vote backed a bill that also authorized a fiscal 2008
intelligence budget estimated at $48 billion.
McCain voted NO. Obama did not vote.
ATTORNEY’S FEES DISPUTE: Senators on
March 6, 2008, voted, 56-39, to table (kill) a Republican
amendment giving judges discretion to require the losing
side to pay legal fees in product-safety litigation brought
by state attorneys general. A yes vote was to kill the
amendment to a bill (S 2663) expanding Consumer
Product Safety Commission powers.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
BAN ON EARMARKS: Senators on March 13, 2008,
voted, 29-71, to ban earmarks from the fiscal 2009 budget
(S Con Res 70). A yes vote was to impose a one-year ban
on earmarks, which are the pet projects lawmakers slip
into spending bills, without review, to benefit constituents
or campaign donors.
McCain voted YES. Obama voted YES.
CAPITAL GAINS INDEXING: Senators on April 3,
2008, refused, 41-44, to index for inflation the profits on
home sales excluded from capital gains taxation. Singles
usually can exclude $250,000 in profits from taxes and
couples $500,000, but those sums do not rise with
inflation. A yes vote backed the amendment to a pending
housing bill (HR 3221).
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
SUBPRIME MORTGAGES, BANKRUPTCY:
Senators on April 3, 2008, killed, 58-36, a bid to give
bankruptcy judges authority to redo subprime mortgages
on primary residences. The amendment to HR 3221
sought to give these problem loans the same protection
that the bankruptcy code accords loans for second homes,
farms and yachts. A yes vote opposed the amendment.
PAYDAY EQUALITY: Senators on April 23, 2008,
failed, 56-42, to reach 60 votes needed to overcome GOP
blockage of a bill making it easier for plaintiffs to file suits
alleging pay discrimination based on gender, disability or
race. A yes vote backed a bill (HR 2831) allowing such
suits to be filed within 180 days of the date of the latest
paycheck.
McCain did not vote. Obama voted YES.
OFFSHORE, ARCTIC DRILLING: Senators
on May 13, 2008, defeated, 42-56, a Republican bid to
add drilling proposals to a bill concerning the Strategic
Petroleum Reserve (S 2284). A yes vote was to open the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and tracts off the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts to drilling, among other policies to
increase U.S. energy production.
McCain did not vote. Obama voted NO.
POLICE, FIREFIGHTER UNIONS: Senators on
May 13, 2008, agreed, 69-29, to begin debating a bill
granting limited union rights to police, firefighters and other
public-safety personnel in all states. A yes vote was to
take up a bill that authorized bargaining over wages and
benefits but not the right to strike. (HR 980)
McCain did not vote. Obama voted YES.
FARM-BILL VETO: Voting 82-13, the Senate on
May 22, 2008, joined the House in overriding President
Bush’s veto of a $289 billion farm bill that renewed
subsidies for growers of major crops while also funding
fruit and vegetable growers and requiring country-of-origin
food labeling. A yes vote was to enact HR 2419.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
WAR-FUNDING APPROVAL: Voting 70-26,
senators on May 22, 2008, approved $165 billion for war
costs in Iraq and Afghanistan that would fund the conflicts
well into the first year of the next U.S. presidency. A yes
vote backed the war spending. (HR 2642)
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
21st CENTURY GI BILL: Senators on May 22,
2008, passed, 75-22, a GI Bill for veterans with at least
three years’ duty who enlisted after 9/11, which would pay
four years’ tuition at a level up to the top public tuition in
their state. A yes vote was to adopt the plan over
arguments it could deplete the volunteer force. (HR 2642)
McCain did not vote. Obama voted YES.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
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Copyright 2008, Thomas Voting Reports, Inc. All rights reserved to the publisher. No reproduction or distribution of the Thomas Voting Reports
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McCain vs. Obama
Key Senate Votes 2008
page 2 of 2
IRAQ TROOP WITHDRAWALS: Senators on
MEDICARE DOCTOR PAYMENTS: Senators on
McCain did not vote. Obama voted NO.
McCain did not vote. Obama voted YES.
GLOBAL WARMING: Senators on June 2, 2008,
OIL-FUTURES SPECULATION: Senators on
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
WINDFALL-PROFITS TAX: Senators on June 10,
U.S. HOUSING RESCUE: Senators on July 26,
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
RENEWABLE-ENERGY TAX BREAKS:
JOURNALISTS’ SOURCES: Senators on July 30,
May 22, 2008, defeated, 34-63, an amendment to a warfunding bill (HR 2642) requiring the administration to start
withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq within 30 days of the
bill’s enactment but setting no deadline for finishing the
pullout. A yes vote opposed the amendment.
voted, 74-14, to start debate on a bill (S 3036) that would
establish a cap-and-trade system to reduce the U.S. share
of the emissions thought to cause global warming. A yes
vote was to debate a bill requiring the 2,100 worst U.S.
polluters to cut emissions by 67 percent by 2050.
2008, failed, 51-43, to reach 60 votes needed to end GOP
blockage of a bill (S 3044) that would levy a 25 percent tax
on oil-company profits judged unreasonable by historical
standards. A yes vote backed a bill that also would repeal
$17 billion in oil-industry tax breaks.
Senators on June 10, 2008, failed, 50-44, to reach 60
votes needed to end GOP blockage of a bill granting $55.5
billion in tax breaks for purposes such as developing
renewable fuels, aiding the working poor and spurring
business research. A yes vote was to advance a bill (HR
6049) also raising hedge-fund taxes.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
WAR FUNDING, GI BILL: Senators on June 26,
2008, voted, 92-6, to appropriate $162.5 billion for
additional war costs in Afghanistan and Iraq, establish a
new GI Bill for veterans who enlisted after 9/11 and fund
13 more weeks of unemployment checks for the long-term
jobless. A yes vote was to pass HR 2642.
McCain did not vote. Obama voted YES.
U.S. SPY POWERS: Senators on July 9, 2008,
sent President Bush, 69-28, a bill to renew the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act and grant immunity to
telecom companies. A yes vote backed a bill (HR 6304)
to allow spying without specific warrants on foreign
communications passing through the United States.
McCain did not vote. Obama voted YES.
July 9, 2008, voted, 69-30, to overcome GOP blockage of
a bill that would rescind the administration’s 10.6 percent
cut in Medicare payments to doctors that took effect July
1. The bill was sent to President Bush on a non-record
vote. A yes vote backed HR 6331.
July 25, 2008, failed, 50-43, to end GOP blockage of a bill
(S 3268) ordering tougher Commodity Futures Trading
Commission oversight of speculation in oil futures, in part
by requiring more public disclosure and setting higher
margin requirements. A yes vote was to advance the bill.
2008, voted, 72-13, to pass a bill to potentially bail-out
the mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at an
estimated cost of $25 billion. A yes vote was to advance
a bill (HR 3221) that also helped homeowners and
communities deal with mounting foreclosures
2008, failed, 51-43, to end GOP blockage of a bill to
protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources in federal
court cases. The protection would be waived for reasons
such as guarding national security or solving crimes. A yes
vote backed S 2035.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION: Voting 89-3,
the Senate on July 31, 2008, sent President Bush a bill
to expand the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s
powers, staff and budget. A yes vote was to approve a
measure (HR 4040) that would nearly double the agency’s
budget to $130 million in fiscal 2014.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
HIGHER EDUCATION ACT: Senators on July 31,
2008, sent the White House, 83-8, a higher education bill
that, along with provisions cited above, would raise the
value of Pell Grants, penalize states that cut student aid
and seek to curb rising textbook costs. A yes vote was to
pass the conference report on HR 4137.
McCain did not vote. Obama did not vote.
TELECOMS’ IMMUNITY: Senators on July 9,
2008, refused, 32-66, to strip a bill renewing the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act (HR 6304) of retroactive
immunity for companies such as AT&T, Sprint Nextel
and Verizon that had been sued over their helping the
administration spy on Americans without court warrants
after 9/11. A yes vote opposed retroactive immunity.
McCain did not vote. Obama voted YES.
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Copyright 2008, Thomas Voting Reports, Inc. All rights reserved to the publisher. No reproduction or distribution of the Thomas Voting Reports
editorial product in any form, paper or electronic, is permitted for any commercial purpose without the prior written consent of the publisher.