Barack Obama

Barack Obama
Biographical Information

OBAMA, Barack, a Senator from Illinois; born in Honolulu, Hawaii, August 4, 1961; obtained early education in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Hawaii; continued education at Occidental College, Los Angeles, Calif., and Columbia University, New York City; studied law at Harvard University, where he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, and received J.D. in 1992; lecturer on constitutional law, University of Chicago; member, Illinois State senate 1997-2004; elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 2004 for term beginning January 3, 2005.

Roles in Congress

· 110th Congress: Senator, Illinois, Democratic. Jan. 4, 2007, to Jan. 3, 2011.
· 109th Congress: Senator, Illinois, Democratic. Jan. 3, 2005, to Jan. 3, 2007.
Key Votes

See how Barack Obama voted on key votes -- the most important bills, nominations and resolutions that have come before Congress,
Missed Votes

Barack Obama has missed 197 votes (37.4%) during the current Congress. See a list of his missed votes since 1991 or see a full list of vote missers.
Voting with Party

Barack Obama has voted with a majority of his Democratic colleagues 96.7% of the time during the current Congress. This percentage does not include votes in which Obama did not vote. See a list of his votes against his party since 1991, a list of all Senators in the 110th Congress with a similar score,

3/14/08 Vote 85: S CON RES 70: S. Con. Res. 70 as Amended; An original concurrent resolution setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2009 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2008 and 2010 through 2013. Yes No Yes
3/14/08 Vote 84: S CON RES 70: Vitter Amdt. No. 4299; Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the need for comprehensive legislation to legalize the importation of prescription drugs from highly industrialized countries with safe pharmaceutical infrastructures. Yes Yes Yes
3/14/08 Vote 83: S CON RES 70: Biden Amdt. No. 4245; To restore full funding for the international affairs budget, in support of the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, nuclear nonproliferation, foreign assistance, fighting global AIDS, promoting sustainable development, and other efforts, with an offset. Yes Yes Yes
3/14/08 Vote 82: S CON RES 70: DeMint Amdt. No. 4339; To provide for a deficit-neutral reserve fund for providing an above the line Federal income tax deduction for individuals purchasing health insurance outside the workplace. No Yes No
3/14/08 Vote 81: S CON RES 70: Allard Amdt. No. 4233; To require that legislation to reauthorize SCHIP include provisions codifying the unborn child regulation. No Yes No
3/14/08 Vote 80: S CON RES 70: Boxer Amdt. No. 4379; To facilitate coverage of pregnant women in SCHIP. Yes No Yes
3/13/08 Vote 79: S CON RES 70: DeMint Amdt. No. 4380; To provide for a deficit-neutral reserve fund for transferring funding for Berkeley, CA earmarks to the Marine Corps. No Yes No
3/13/08 Vote 78: S CON RES 70: Grassley Amdt. No. 4276 as Modified; To exempt from pay-as-you-go enforcement modifications to the individual alternative minimum tax (AMT) that prevent millions of additional taxpayers from having to pay the AMT. No Yes No
3/13/08 Vote 77: S CON RES 70: Kyl Amdt. No. 4372; To protect small businesses, family ranches and farms from the Death Tax by providing a $5 million exemption, a low rate for smaller estates and a maximum rate no higher than 35%. No Yes No
3/13/08 Vote 76: S CON RES 70: Landrieu Amdt. No. 4378; To protect family businesses and farmers without increasing our nation's debt by providing for an estate tax that sets the exemption at $5 million and the rate at 35 percent, with the benefits of the exemption recaptured for estates over $100 million, paid for by closing tax loopholes that allow offshore deferral of compensation and transactions entered into solely for the purpose of avoiding taxation. No No No
3/13/08 Vote 75: On the Motion: Motion to Waive C.B.A. DeMint Amdt No. 4347; To establish an earmark moratorium for fiscal year 2009. Yes No No
3/13/08 Vote 74: S CON RES 70: Kyl Amdt. No. 4348; To provide certainty to taxpayers by extending expiring tax provisions such as the R&D Tax Credit that helps US companies innovate, combat pay exclusion for our soldiers in the field, the education deduction to make colleges more affordable and the alternative energy incentives to make the environment cleaner through the end of 2009. No Yes No
3/13/08 Vote 73: On the Motion: Motion to Waive C.B.A. Cornyn Amdt. No. 4313; To protect the family budget from runaway Government spending by increasing the number of Senators necessary to waive the PAYGO Point of Order from 60 to 100. No Yes No
3/13/08 Vote 72: On the Motion: Motion to Waive C.B.A. DeMint Amdt. No. 4340; To create a point of order against bills that would raise gasoline prices. No Yes No
3/13/08 Vote 71: S CON RES 70: Ensign Amdt. No. 4335; To increase funding for the Department of Justice for the vigorous enforcement of a prohibition against taking minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions consistent with the Child Custody Protection Act, which passed the Senate by a bipartisan vote of 65-34, with an offset. No Yes No
3/13/08 Vote 70: S CON RES 70: Boxer Amdt. No. 4368 as Modified; To increase funding for the Department of Justice for the vigorous enforcement of laws protecting children. Yes Yes Yes
3/13/08 Vote 69: S CON RES 70: Motion to Table Vitter Amdt. No. 4309; To create a reserve fund to ensure that Federal assistance does not go to sanctuary cities that ignore the immigration laws of the United States and create safe havens for illegal aliens and potential terrorists. Yes No Yes
3/13/08 Vote 68: S CON RES 70: Kohl Amdt. No. 4197; To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund for a 3-year extension of the pilot program for national and State background checks on direct patient access employees of long-term care facilities or providers. Yes Yes Yes
3/13/08 Vote 67: S CON RES 70: Brownback Amdt. No. 4284; To provide funds for a Commission on Budgetary Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies. No Yes No
3/13/08 Vote 66: S CON RES 70: Allard Amdt. No. 4232; To pay down the Federal debt and eliminate government waste by reducing spending 5 percent on programs rated (as mandated under the Government Performance and Results Act (Public Law 103-62)) ineffective by the Office of Management and Budget Program Assessment Rating Tool. No Yes No