Sunday, October 7, 2012

Bill Nelson

Senior Senator
Bill Nelson

Senator                        Florida             Democrat
Elected 2000

Committees:
Aging (Special)
Budget
Commerce, Science and Transportation
Finance
Intelligence (Select)

Ratings for 2010:

ADA    Americans for Democratic Action                                               90
            Liberal:             less defense spending   
                                    protect civil liberties, human rights

ACLU  American Civil Liberties Union                                                   87
            Protect individuals from legal infringements on rights

AFS     American Federation of Government Employees                     92       
            Liberal labor

LCV    League of Conservation Voters                                                 86                 
            Pro-environmental protection

ITIC     Information Technology Industry Council                                   67
            Promote electronic commerce and innovation

NTU    National Taxpayers Union                                                           16
            Pro-taxpayer rights

COC    US Chamber of Commerce                                                        36
            Pro-business

ACU    American Conservative Union                                                      8
            Conservative:    foreign policy
                                    social and budget issues

CFG    Club for Growth                                                                         14
            Pro-tax limitation

FRC     Family Research Council                                                            0
            Conservative:    promotes marriage and family
                                    oppose abortion

Votes in the 111th Congress:     2009 – 2010

Yes      Overturn Ledbetter
            Extend statute of limitations in pay discrimination
Yes      Pass $787 Billion Stimulus
            Funds to revive U.S. economy
No       Repeal DC Gun Laws
            Repeal Washington DC limits on firearms and ban on assault weapons
Yes      Confirm Sonia Sotomayor
            Confirm Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court
Yes      Pass Health Care Bill
            Provides insurance for people without health insurance
Yes      Regulate Financial Firms
            Regulations on financial services firms
No       Pass Tax Cuts for Some
            Bush era tax cuts to continue for incomes under $250,000
Yes      Legalize Immigrants’ Kids
            Give children of illegal parents path to legal status
Yes      Ratify New START
            Ratify Strategic Arms Treaty with Russia
Yes      Confirm Elena Kagan
            Confirm Elena Kagan to Supreme Court
No       Stop EPA Climate Regulations
            Oppose EPA regulations of greenhouse gases under Clean Air Act
Yes      Repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
            Lift ban on openly gay people in military

Year                 Candidate                     Vote                                         Campaign Chest

2006                Bill Nelson                    2,890,548  60%                       18,031,681
                        Katherine Harris (R)     1,826,127  38                            8,666,803

2000                Bill Nelson                    2,989,487  51%                         6,535,832
                         Bill McCollum (R)        2,705,348  46%                         8,664,112
Florida

Population 2010:                      18,801,310
State Rank:                               4th
Change since 2000:                  up 18%

Urban:                                      86%
Rural:                                       14

Cities:                                      
Jacksonville                              821,784
Miami                                       399,457
Tampa                                      335,709
St. Petersburg                           244,769

Median Income:                          47,051
Median Home Value:                210,800

Private Employment:                 80%
Government Employment:         14
Self-Employed:                            6
Poverty:                                    14
Blue Collar:                              19
White Collar:                            61

Median Age:                             40
Over 65:                                   17%
Under 18:                                 22

High School Graduates:            85%
College Graduates:                   26
Graduate Degree:                       9

Veterans:                                  12%

Registered Voters 2010:
Democrats                                4,631,068
Republicans                              4,039,259
Independents                            2,547,057
Voter Turnout -                        5,460,573
Turnout, Voting Age -              37%

White:                                      58%
Black:                                       15
Hispanic:                                  23
Asian:                                         2                     

2008 Presidential Vote:
Barack Obama (D) -                4,282,074        51%
John McCain (R) -                   4,045,624        48

2004 Presidential Vote:
George W. Bush (R) -            3,964,522        52%
John Kerry (D) -                      3,583,544        47

Bill Nelson's Voting History:

Votes in the 110th Congress:  2007 – 08

Yes      Raise CAFE standards
            Limit debate on setting higher fuel standards for vehicles
Yes      Expand SCHIP
            Expand State Children’s Health Insurance Program
Yes      Cap Greenhouse Gases
            Limit debate on setting Cap and Trade system to curb climate change
No       Bailout Financial Markets
            $700 billion dollar bailout of financial industry
Yes      Make English Official Language
            English the official language of the US
Yes      Path to Citizenship
            Limit debate on immigration reform bill
No       Fetus is Unborn Child
            Define fetus as an unborn child
Yes      Prosecute Hate Crimes
            Limit debate on measure funding prosecution of hate crimes
Yes      Withdraw Troops March, 2008
            Withdrawal of most US troops in Iraq by March, 2008
Yes      Iran Guard is Terrorist Group
            Iranian Revolutionary Guard is terrorist group
No       Increase Missile Defense Funding
            Increase funding for missile defense
Yes      Overhaul FISA
            Overhaul Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act


Votes in the 109th Congress:  2005 – 06

Yes      Bar ANWR Drilling
            Bar oil and gas leasing in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
No       FY06 Spending Curb
            Curb federal entitlement spending
Yes      Estate Tax Repeal
            Limit debate on proposal to permanently repeal estate tax
Yes      Raise Minimum Wage
            Increase minimum wage to $7.25
No       Confirm Samuel Alito
            Confirm Samuel Alito as Associate Justice, Supreme Court
Yes      Path to Citizenship
            Path to citizenship for illegal immigrants
No       Bar Same Sex Marriage
            Limit debate on Constitutional amendment for marriage to man, woman
Yes      Stem Cell Research Funding
            Federal funds for embryonic stem cell research
Yes      Limit Interstate Abortion
            Prohibit minors crossing borders for abortion without parental consent
Yes      CAFTA
            Central American Free Trade Agreement
No       Urge Iraq Withdrawal
            Start withdrawing US troops from Iraq in 2006
Yes      Provide Detainee Rights
            Habeas Corpus rights for military detainees


Votes in the 108th Congress:  2003 – 2004

Yes      Ban Drilling in ANWR
            Block drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
No       Approve Bush Tax Cut
            Reduce taxes by $350 billion through 2013
No       Medicare/Rx Bill
            Medicare prescription drug benefit legislation
Yes      Bar Overtime Pay Regulations
            Block funds for federal regulations of overtime pay
No       Energy Bill
            Cloture motion to end debate on comprehensive energy bill
Yes      Support Roe v. Wade
            Senate support for Roe v. Wade decision
No       Ban Partial Birth Abortion
            Ban procedure opponents describe as “partial-birth” abortion
Yes      Assault Weapons Ban
            Extend for 10 years ban on assault weapons sale and possession
No       Ban Same Sex Marriage
            Cloture motion to end debate on Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex 
            marriage
No       Ban Bunker Buster Bomb
            Prohibit Energy Department funding of “bunker-buster” program
Yes      Fund Iraq War
            Provides $87 billion for US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
No       Restrict Missile Defense
            Restrict deployment of national missile defense system


Votes in the 107th Congress:     2001 – 2002

No       Approve Bush Tax Cuts
            Cut taxes $1.35 trillion over 10 years
Yes      Expand Patients’ Rights
            Expand patients’ rights dealing with insurers, health organizations
Yes      Campaign Finance Reform
            Eliminate use of “soft money”, raise contribution limits
No       Permit ANWR Development
            Cloture motion to end debate on allowing energy development of Arctic National 
            Wildlife Refuge
Yes      Confirm Ashcroft as AG
            Confirm John Ashcroft as Attorney General
No       Bar Gays in the Boy Scouts
            Withhold education funds from schools prohibiting Boy Scout use
Yes      Funds for Hate Crime Prosecution
            Cloture motion to end debate on funding to prosecute hate crimes
Yes      Overseas Military Abortions
            Abortion services for military personnel and dependents overseas
Yes      Bar Cooperation with International Court
            Prohibit US cooperation with International Criminal Court
Yes      Trade Promotion Authority
            Authority for president to negotiate trade agreements
Yes      Authorize Force in Iraq
            Authorize US military force in Iraq
Yes      Homeland Security Department Union
            Cloture motion to limit debate on excluding presidential authority to bar 
            union membership


1 comment:

  1. This site provides a good record of the senator. But it doesn't quite capture the full spectrum of his big spending habits. I took a few minutes to visit billnelsonrecord.com and I was baffled how many big spending bills this senator is responsible. Similarly he never voted to support any type of elimination of earmarks, and was full fledged behind the bailouts. Out country is in a fiscal mess. Its time we took charge and kicked these big spenders out of Washington.

    ReplyDelete