Lloyd Bentsen

[Congressional biography]

Born: February 11, 1921 in Mission, TX
Died: May 23, 2006 in Houston, TX

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Key Senate Vote Data for Lloyd Bentsen in 1988

Date	Subject	Result	Conserv. Position	Bentsen Voted
1988-02-04	Contra Aid	Passed (51-48)
Passage of the joint resolution to approve President Reagan's request of $36.25 million in continued military and non-military aid for the Freedom Fighters battling the Communist government in Nicaragua.
1988-03-15	Intelligence Oversight [S1721]	Passed (71-19)
Passage of the bill to require the President to notify Congress of all covert activities. The bill gives the President sole responsibility to notify Congress and puts into law a definition of covert operations or "special activities". Under ordinary circumstances, the President must tell intelligence committees in both chambers in advance of a covert operation. But in rare occasions when time is of the essence, the President may wait up to 48 hours after a covert activity begins. The President also has the option of informing only the House and Senate majority and minority leaders, or to also include the chairmen and ranking members of the intelligence committees if he determines an operation is so sensitive that avoiding the full committees is essential to meet extraordinary circumstances affecting vital interests of the United States. This bill would greatly increase congressional involvement in intelligence activities and effectively end the ability of the President to conduct foreign covert operations.
1988-03-22	Civil Rights Restoration Act [S557]	Veto Overridden (73-24)
Passage, over President Reagan's March 16 veto, of the bill to provide broad coverage of four civil rights laws -- Title IX of the 1972 Education Act Amendments; Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act; Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act; and the 1975 Age Discrimination Act -- by making clear that, if one entity of an institution receives federal funds, the entire institution must abide by the anti-discrimination laws.
1988-05-11	Fiscal 1989 Defense Authorization [S2355]	Agreed To (51-45)
Nunn (D-GA) motion to table (kill) the Bumpers (D-AR) amendment to bar the deployment of multiple-warhead (MIRVed) intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), MIRVed ballistic missiles of any type, and MIRVed ballistic missiles plus bombers equipped with long-range cruise missiles in excess of the number of each of those weapons categories that were deployed on Jan. 25, 1988. The Bumpers amendment was designed to force compliance with the unratified SALT II treaty.
1988-05-12	Fiscal 1989 Defense Authorization [S2355]	Agreed To (57-39)
Reid (D-NV) motion to table (kill) the Hatfield (R-OR) and Kennedy (D-MA) amendment, as modified, to prohibit underground nuclear tests with a yield greater than five kilotons, to provide for seismic monitoring and to require the designation of a single test site, provided the Soviet Union observes the same ban.
1988-05-12	Fiscal 1989 Defense Authorization [S2355]	Agreed To (61-36)
Exon (D-NE) motion to table (kill) the Simon (D-IL) amendment to reduce the amount authorized for the MX intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to $200 million from $700 million, and to increase the amounts authorized for Army supply operations by $100 million, for Army procurement of Hellfire missiles by $70 million, for Navy procurement of aircraft electronic countermeasures by $30 million and for Air Force war reserve spare parts by $300 million.
1988-05-13	Fiscal 1989 Defense Authorization [S2355]	Agreed To (56-37)
Exon (D-NE) motion to table (kill) the Wallop (R-WY) amendment to earmark $100 million of the funds authorized for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) to provide for the rapid deployment of an accidental launch protection system as the first step of a phased deployment of SDI.
1988-05-27	INF Treaty [TREATYDOC100]	Agreed To (66-30)
Pell (D-RI) motion to table (kill) the Wallop (R-WY) amendment to provide for U.S. withdrawal from the treaty or another appropriate response to possible Soviet violations of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
1988-05-27	INF Treaty [TREATYDOC100]	Agreed To (93-5)
Adoption of the resolution of ratification of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty to ban intermediate and shorter-range nuclear-force missiles.
1988-06-08	Omnibus Trade Bill [HR3]	Veto Sustained (61-37)
Passage, over President Reagan's May 24 veto, of the bill to revise statutory procedures for dealing with unfair foreign trade practices and import damage to U.S. industries, to clarify the law against business-related bribes abroad by U.S. businesses, to streamline controls on militarily sensitive exports, to revise agricultural and education programs, to repeal the windfall-profits tax on oil and to require certain employers to provide workers with 60 days' notice of plant closings or layoffs.
1988-06-10	Death Penalty for Drug-Related Killings [S2455]	Passed (65-29)
Passage of the bill to allow the death penalty for "drug kingpins" who intentionally kill or who order a killing. The bill would provide a separate hearing before a judge or jury on the issue of punishment, where the judge or jury would have to weigh aggravating and mitigating circumstances before determining whether the death penalty was appropriate. The jury would have to be unanimous in imposing the death penalty.
1988-06-16	Welfare Reform [S1511]	Failed (41-54)
Moynihan (D-NY) motion to table (kill) the Dole (R-KS) amendment to require that, by 1994, states require at least one parent in two-parent families receiving welfare to work a minimum of 16 hours per week in either unpaid community work experience or subsidized jobs.
1988-06-24	Plant Closings [S2527]	Agreed To (59-31)
Metzenbaum (D-OH) motion to table (kill) the Quayle (R-IN) amendment to provide that an employer would be exempt from the 60 days' notice requirement for plant closings or mass layoffs if the employer instead provided workers with 60 days' severance pay.
1988-07-06	Plant Closings [S2527]	Passed (72-23)
Vote on the passage of the bill which would require businesses to give 60 days advance notification of plant closings or large layoffs regardless of circumstances, virtually ensuring that borderline businesses would be forced out of business.
1988-07-11	Fiscal 1989 District of Columbia Appropriations [HR4776]	Agreed To (58-33)
Armstrong (R-CO) amendment to exempt religious institutions in the District from a local law prohibiting bias against homosexuals. The amendment would overturn a recent district court decision, which held that Georgetown University must provide homosexual groups with facilities and funding comparable to that provided to other student groups.
1988-07-27	Fiscal 1989 Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Appropriations [HR4782]	Rejected (28-66)		No Vote
Gramm (R-TX) amendment to remove $58.5 million from the $308.5 million provided for the controversial Legal Services Corporation and transfer the amount to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
1988-07-27	Fiscal 1989 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations [HR4783]	Agreed To (47-46)		No Vote
Weicker (R-CT) motion to table (kill) the Helms (R-NC) amendment to an Appropriations Committee amendment. The Helms amendment would have blocked funding for the Department of Health and Human Services unless the secretary published regulations prohibiting AIDS education materials from promoting homosexual sexual activities. Such materials, Helms stipulated, would have to emphasize abstinence except within a sexually monogamous marriage.
1988-08-05	Fiscal 1989 Defense Appropriations [HR4781]	Agreed To (50-44)
Johnston (D-LA) motion to table (kill) the Wallop (R-WY) amendment to increase funds for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) by $500 million -- bringing the total funds for SDI to $4.4 billion -- and to reduce funds provided for NASA defense-related activites from $600 million, as provided by the Appropriations Committee, to $100 million.
1988-09-22	Minimum-Wage Restoration [S837]	Rejected (54-42)		No Vote
Kennedy (D-MA) motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the bill to raise the minimum wage to $4.55 an hour over three years.
1988-09-30	Fiscal 1989 District of Columbia Appropriations [HR4776]	Agreed To (45-44)		No Vote
Nickles (R-OH) motion to table (kill) the Bradley (D-NJ) motion to disagree with the House amendment that no funds in the bill, federal or District, be used to perform abortions except where the life of the mother would be endangered.
1988-10-07	Parental and Medical Leave [S2488]	Rejected (50-46)		No Vote
Byrd (D-WV) motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the bill to require all but the smallest businesses to provide unpaid, job-protected leave to parents of newborn or sick children, to provide funds for child-care services meeting federal standards and to crack down on child pornography and adult obscenity.
1988-10-13	Omnibus Drug Bill [HR5210]	Rejected (35-52)		No Vote
Kennedy (D-MA) amendment to restrict the imposition of the death penalty by allowing a defendant facing capital punishment to present evidence to a court demonstrating that the death penalty had been imposed in a racially discriminatory manner.

Represents a "Yes" vote.   Represents a "No" vote.   Indicates that this member voted against the conservative position on a particular vote. "No vote" means that this member did not cast a vote (or voted 'Present' instead of Yes or No).