Summary Of George Allen\’s Voting Record

24 May, 2006. 1,002 words.

In my continuing effort to figure out what the heck to do with my votes in June and November, here is my home grown summary of some of George Allen’s Voting Record, as reported by Project Vote Smart. I just picked categories that seemed interesting to me.

I would just like to go on record as saying it’s a tremendous pain in the butt to fully document a Senator’s voting record. This is probably less than half of what was on the site. If anyone from vote-smart.org is reading this, please add a feature to pick a Senator and print a long, neatly formatted table showing his voting record for all categories, sorted by date.

Disclaimer: Again I must reiterate that I don’t know anything about politics, and due to the generally confusing nature of legislation language, I may have gotten some or all of this wrong. So don’t take my word on any of this stuff; go research it yourself if you’re interested. Or, just base your decision on what Allen says on television. It’s much simpler that way.

2001-03-20: Voted for a Campaign Reform Act amendment to “increase contribution limits for individuals running against self-financed candidates.”
2001-03-21: Voted against killing (tabling) a Campaign Reform Act amendment that “requires that unions and corporations disclose to and obtain permission from their members and shareholders for the use of funds for political activities.”
2001-03-26: Voted against a Campaign Reform Act amendment that “prohibits the use of funds from tax-exempt organizations and labor unions for broadcast ads that mention a federal candidate’s name 60 days prior to a general election and 30 days before a primary election.”
2001-04-02: Voted against the Campaign Reform Act of 2001, “a bill that would implement reforms in the ways that politicians can raise money and regulate how unions, state political parties, and national political parties can distribute money to individual politicians.”
2002-02-27: Voted for killing an amendment allowing “individuals who register to vote by mail to use a signature or personal mark to verify their identity,” instead of requiring photo id.
2002-03-20: Voted against the Campaign Reform Act of 2001 (again).
2002-04-11: Voted for the Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act of 2001, “a bill that would significantly overhaul election procedures and require states to adopt uniform provisions related to their implementation.” Every other senator but one also voted for it.
2002-06-11: Voted against adding “sexual orientation, gender and disability to list of people affected by hate crimes.”
2002-06-21: Voted against “an amendment that would ensure that military personnel have access to abortion services in military hospitals.”
2002-10-16: Voted for the Help America Vote Act of 2002, “a bill to require States and localities to meet uniform and nondiscriminatory election technology and administration requirements,” and some other stuff.
2002-11-19: Voted for the Homeland Security Act of 2002.
2003-09-16: Voted against a bill criticizing the FCC for loosening rules that ban “common ownership of radio and television outlets in the same market.”
2003-09-25: Voted for enforcing the “do not call” list (with every other senator).
2003-10-21: Voted for “a bill to prohibit the procedure commonly known as partial-birth abortion.”
2003-10-22: Voted for regulating spam email (with every other senator).
2003-10-23: Voted for an amendment denying Congressmen a cost-of-living pay raise in 2004. (The amendment was eventually killed.)
2003-10-30: Voted for authorizing money to “reduce forest fires, and limit judicial reviews of environmental protection rules.” Whatever that means.
2004-03-25: Voted for “a bill that would make it a criminal offense if a fetus is injured or killed while carrying out a violent crime on a pregnant woman.”
2004-07-14: Voted for “a motion to invoke cloture [limiting further debate to 30 hours] on an amendment to the Constitution to define a marriage as a union between only a man and a woman.”
2005-03-16: Voted against removing text referring to revenues from ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge).
2005-03-17: Voted against “an amendment to the Senate’s 2006 Fiscal Year Budget that allocates $100 million for the prevention of unintended pregnancies.”
2005-06-16: Voted against an amendment to “diminish imports of foreign oil by 40 percent over the next 20 years.”
2005-06-16: Voted against an amendment to HR 6 “that requires the use of renewable fuel sources in place of fossil fuels.”
2005-06-28: Voted for the Energy Policy Act of 2005, a bill increasing incentives for the use of renewable fuels, along with a bazillion other random things.
2005-09-13: Voted against Congressional disapproval of the “EPA’s Clean Air Mercury Rule.” Whatever that means.
2005-09-14: Voted against a motion that would allow forming a congressional commission on Hurricane Katrina.
2005-09-14: Voted against a motion that would allow forming a congressional commission “to investigate practices surrounding contracts being awarded in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
2005-09-15: Voted against a motion that would allow providing “financial relief for individuals and entities affected by Hurricane Katrina.”
2005-10-18: Voted for an amendment denying Congressmen a cost-of-living pay raise in 2006.
2005-10-26: Voted against a motion that would have considered additional funds for Low Income Home Energy Assistance.
2005-11-03: Voted against removing text supporting an oil and gas leasing program in the ANWR.
2005-11-03: Voted against an amendment allowing Alaska to negotiate the percentage of revenue it receives from ANWR oil and gas.
2005-11-10: Voted against “an amendment that creates a special committee to investigate the awarding of contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
2005-12-21: Voted for a bill to “explore, lease, develop and produce oil and gas on the Artic Coastal Plain which includes the ANWR.”
2006-03-16: Voted for increasing “energy spending by $150 million each year from 2009-2011,” on a bill about exploring ANWR.
2006-03-16: Voted against closing corporate tax loopholes to fund the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program.

Based only on a cursory inspection (ie. without researching each bill in detail for subtle nuances), so far I’m not a fan of Allen’s voting record. Yuck, perhaps most damning of all is the fact that the AFA loves George Allen.

Now to look up what other people are saying about George Allen.

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