Highlights of Sen. McCain's voting record

Senator McCain has an interesting voting record given what he is saying on the campaign trail. All of these details were gathered from Project Vote Smart, a non partisan website that posts the voting records of all candidates for public office. Click here to see more on Project Vote Smart.

Senator John McCain voted AGAINST the following amendments:

On Veterans Issues

Tax Rate Extension Amendment - HR 4297 - 02/02/2006
To support the health needs of our veterans and military personnel and reduce the deficit by making tax rates fairer for all Americans.
Amendment Highlights:
- $14 billion for the Veterans Benefits Administration for Compensation and Pensions for the years of 2006 through 2010
- $6.9 billion to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the Veterans Health Administration for Medical Care between the years 2006 through 2010
- $1 billion for the establishment of the Veterans Hospital Improvement Fund
- Modifies tax rates on capital gains and dividends


Additional Funding For Veterans Amendment - S 2020 – 11/17/2005
To provide an additional $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2010, to be used for readjustment counseling, related mental health services, and treatment and rehabilitative services for veterans with mental illness, post-traumatic stress disorder, or substance use disorder.

Health Care for Veterans Amendment - HR 2863 10/05/2005
To ensure that future funding for health care for former members of the Armed Forces takes into account changes in population and inflation.


On Domestic Security Issues

Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 - HR 2082 - 02/13/2008 To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes.

FISA as Exclusive Means for Conducting Electronic Surveillance - S Amdt 3910 - 02/12/2008
To provide a statement of the exclusive means by which electronic surveillance and interception of certain communications may be conducted.

Striking Telecommunications Companies' Civil Immunity for Surveillance - S Amdt 3907 - 02/12/2008 To strike the provisions providing immunity from civil liability to electronic communication service providers for certain assistance provided to the Government.

Habeas Corpus for Detainees of the United States - S Amdt 2022 - 09/19/2007
To restore habeas corpus for those detained by the United States.

Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008 - HR 3093 - 10/16/2007 Making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, and Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes.

Denying Legal Status for Immigrants Convicted of Certain Crimes - S Amdt 1184 - 06/06/2007 To establish a permanent bar for gang members, terrorists, and other criminals.
Project Vote Smart's Synopsis:
Vote to pass an amendment that would prohibit undocumented immigrants convicted of aggravated felonies, domestic violence, stalking, violation of protection orders, crimes against children, or crimes relating to the illegal purchase or sale of firearms, from gaining legal status.

Security of Cargo Containers Amendment - HR 4954 - 09/13/2006 To improve the security of cargo containers destined for the United States.
Highlights of Cargo Containers Amendment:
Vote to adopt an amendment that requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a plan for guaranteeing 100 percent of all cargo containers that pass through U.S. ports are scanned. The plan must include annual goals for increases in the percentages of cargo being screened.

National Security Amendment - HR 4954 - 09/12/2006
To provide real national security, restore United States leadership, and implement tough and smart policies to win the war on terror.
Amendment Highlights:
-Establishes national standards and parameters for First Responder, equipment and training (Sec. 1807 and Sec. 1113)
-Sets privacy guidelines for government sharing of personal information (Sec. 1213)
-Creates security clearance standards (Sec. 1241)
-Calls for an increase of hiring and training of border security personnel (Sec. 2313)
-Places a prohibition on war profiteering (Sec. 2402)

Rail and Transit Security Amendment - HR 5441 - 07/12/2006 To increase the amounts for the rail and transit security programs, and for other purposes.

Disclosure of Classified Information Amendment - HR 2360 - 07/14/2005
To prohibit Federal employees who disclose classified information to persons not authorized to receive such information from holding a security clearance.

Corporate Financing of Terrorism Amendment - S 1042 - 07/26/2005 To stop corporations from financing terrorism.
Amendment Highlights:
- Allows the President to use his powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act or the Trading with the Enemy Act to prohibit U.S. businesses and their subsidiaries from transacting with foreign businesses identified as having links to terrorism
- Forbids U.S. businesses and their subsidiaries from engaging in transactions with any foreign business whose parent country has been identified by the Secretary of State as a supporter of international terrorism
- Requires the President to publish a list of foreign businesses identified as having links to terrorism, and bans U.S. ownership or control of foreign businesses engaged in transactions with such businesses
- Exempts U.S. businesses from prosecution if transactions are terminated within one year after a foreign business is identified as having links to terrorism
- Calls for U.S. businesses to disclose in their annual reports any ownership stake of at least 10 percent in a foreign business that is itself engaging in transactions with a proscribed foreign business


On Business and Consumer Issues

Union Organization Bill - HR 800 - 06/26/2007
To amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes.

Price-Gouging During Emergencies Amendment - S 2020 - 11/17/2005
To improve the Federal Trade Commission's ability to protect consumers from price-gouging during energy emergencies, and for other purposes.
Amendment Highlights:
- Sets the civil penalty for charging prices grossly above the original price of crude oil, gasoline, or petroleum during a declared state of emergency of no more than $3 million
- Sets the criminal penalty for charging prices grossly above the original price of crude oil, gasoline, or petroleum during a declared state of emergency at a maximum of five years in prison, a $3 million penalty or both
- Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission to enforce this act


McCain didn’t bother to vote on the following amendments. Not voting does not mean he wasn't there, it means just what it says, he didn't vote on the amendment or bill in question. Pay special attention to the first one on the list.

For Veterans
GI Bill and Other Domestic Provisions - S Amdt 4803 - 05/22/2008

Defense Authorizations Bill - HR 4986 - 01/22/2008

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 - HR 1585 - 10/01/2007


On Domestic Security
Limiting Mexican Trucks to Commercial Zones Near the Border Between the U.S. and Mexico - S Amdt 2797 - 09/11/2007
To prohibit the establishment of a program that allows Mexican truck drivers to operate beyond the commercial zones near the Mexican border.

Foreign Intelligence Acquisition - S 1927 - 08/03/2007

Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act - HR 1 - 07/26/2007

Department of Homeland Security Appropriations - HR 2638 - 07/26/2007

Border Fence and Customs Appropriations - S Amdt 2480 - 07/26/2007

REAL ID Funding - S Amdt 2405 - 07/26/2007

Inclusion of Consolidated Appropriations - HR 2764 - 12/18/2007
Making appropriations for the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2008, and for other purposes.
Selected Bill Highlights:
- Prohibits funds made available in this Act from being used "in any way whatsoever to support or justify the use of torture, cruel or inhumane treatment by any official or contract employee of the United States Government" (Division B, Sec. 521; Division J, Sec. 681).
- Directs the President to submit a report to Congress that outlines in classified and unclassified terms a comprehensive nuclear threat reduction plan for ensuring that all nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material at vulnerable sites are secure by 2012 (Division J, Sec. 699M).

Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense and Timeline for Withdrawal from Iraq - HR 4156 - 11/16/2007

Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense - S 2340 - 11/16/2007


On Business and Consumer Issues

Consumer Product Safety Commission Bill - HR 4040 - 07/31/2008

Medicare Bill - HR 6331 - 07/15/2008
To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to extend expiring provisions under the Medicare Program, to improve beneficiary access to preventive and mental health services, to enhance low-income benefit programs, and to maintain access to care in rural areas, including pharmacy access, and for other purposes.

Alternative Energy Tax Incentives - HR 6049 - 06/17/2008

Increasing Taxes on Profits, Rescinding Certain Tax Deductions, and Increasing Tax Incentives for Alternative Energy Programs for Oil Companies - S 3044 - 06/10/2008

Carbon Emissions Cap and Trade Plan - S Amdt 4825 - 06/06/2008

Housing Bill with Energy Tax Credit Extensions - HR 3221 - 04/10/2008

Energy Tax Credits Amendment - S Amdt 4419 to S Amdt 4387 to HR 3221 - 04/10/2008

Amendment on Certain Energy-Related Programs, Including the Development of Oil Shale and Offshore Natural Gas - S Amdt 4207 to S Con Res 70 - 03/13/2008
To establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to improve energy efficiency and production.
Highlights:
- Allows the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to revise spending levels on certain energy-related programs in a manner to encourage the replacement of conventional wood stoves, the use of smart electricity meters in homes and businesses, the capture and storage of carbon dioxide emission from coal projects, the development of natural gas resources beneath the outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia, and the development of oil shale resources on public land, so long as the spending level changes do not increase the federal deficit over both the five year and the ten year time spans starting with 2008.

Energy Act of 2007 - HR 6 - 12/13/2007
An Act to move the United States toward greater energy independence and security, to increase the production of clean renewable fuels, to protect consumers, to increase the efficiency of products, buildings, and vehicles, to promote research on and deploy greenhouse gas capture and storage options, and to improve the energy performance of the Federal Government, and for other purposes.
Highlights of Energy Act of 2007:
-Increases Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) to 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020 (Sec. 102).
-Requires a minimum standard of 27.5 miles per gallon for domestic passenger vehicles (Sec. 102).
-Requires an increase in the production of renewable fuels from 4.0 billion gallons to 36.0 billion gallons by 2022 (Sec. 202).
-Stipulates that all renewable fuel refineries built after enactment of this bill reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent of the current baseline (Sec. 202).
-Increases energy efficiency standards for certain household appliances, battery chargers, walk-in coolers and freezers, electric motors, light bulbs, and other devices (Title III).
- Establishes the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program to provide training to veterans, unemployed individuals, and workers impacted by energy and environmental policies (Sec. 1002).

Alternative Energy Subsidies - S Amdt 1704 - 06/21/2007