Joseph Lieberman

[Congressional biography]

Born: February 24, 1942 in Stamford, CT
Died: March 27, 2024 in New York City, NY

Education:

Elected Office:

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Key Senate Vote Data for Joseph Lieberman in 1996

Date	Subject	Result	Conserv. Position	Lieberman Voted
1996-03-13	Fiscal 1996 Omnibus Appropriations [HR3019]	Failed (49-51)
Reid (D-NV) motion to table (kill) the Hutchison (R-TX) amendment to the Reid amendment, to continue the moratorium on the listing of endangered species until either the endangered species law is reauthorized or the end of the fiscal year. The Reid amendment would lift the moratorium on the listing of species and would have provided $4.5 million to review and make new listings.
1996-03-13	Fiscal 1996 Omnibus Appropriations [HR3019]	Agreed To (55-45)
Cochran (R-MS) motion to table (kill) the Gramm (R-TX) amendment to eliminate the emergency designation for $1.2 billion in spending in the bill and fund those programs by providing a 0.53 percent across-the-board cut in all non-defense discretionary programs.
1996-03-21	Product Liability [HR956]	Agreed To (59-40)
Adoption of the conference report to limit punitive damages in product liability cases to two times compensatory damages or $250,000, whichever is greater, with lower limits for small businesses. Under the bill, a plaintiff could bring a lawsuit up to two years after discovering both the cause and the injury itself. The bill would limit the time to file a suit to 15 years after the delivery of a product, but the limit would apply only to some types of products. The bill also would abolish joint-and-several liability for non-economic damages.
1996-03-28	State Department Authorization [HR1561]	Agreed To (52-44)
Adoption of the conference report on the bill to require the President to abolish one of three international affairs agencies (the Agency for International Development, the U.S. Information Agency or the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency) and to shift its activites to the State Department. The measure would authorize $6.5 billion for fiscal 1996 and $6.5 billion for fiscal 1997 for the State Department, related agencies, and various foreign aid programs. The legislation also would ban funding for the forced repatriation of Indochinese boat people and grant political asylum to refugees fleeing countries with coercive population regimes, like China.
1996-04-17	Anti-Terrorism Bill [S735]	Agreed To (64-35)
Hatch (R-UT) motion to table (kill) the Moynihan (D-NY) motion to recommit the bill to the conference committee with instructions to report it back after striking certain sections of the bill that would limit the ability of death-row and other inmates to file habeas corpus petitions in federal court.
1996-04-18	Health Insurance Revisions [S1028]	Agreed To (52-46)
Kassebaum (R-KS) amendment to strike the provisions in the Dole (R-KS) amendment that establish medical savings accounts which allow individuals to make tax deductible contributions to special accounts set up to pay medical expenses.
1996-04-23	Term Limit Constitutional Amendment [SJRES21]	Rejected (58-42)
Motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the committee substitute to the joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to limit senators to two terms and House members to six terms.
1996-05-22	Fiscal 1997 Budget Resolution [SCONRES57]	Agreed To (59-41)
Exon (D-NE) motion to table (kill) the Kyl (R-AZ) amendment to express the sense of the Senate that fundamental tax reform should be accompanied by a constitutional amendment to require a supermajority of Congress to approve tax increases.
1996-05-22	Fiscal 1997 Budget Resolution [SCONRES57]	Rejected (43-57)
Ashcroft (R-MO) amendment to allow a tax deduction for the Social Security payroll tax and to offset the costs by decreasing discretionary and mandatory spending.
1996-05-23	Fiscal 1997 Budget Resolution [SCONRES57]	Agreed To (57-41)
Domenici (R-NM) motion to table (kill) the Bumpers (D-AR) amendment to abolish the "firewall" between defense and domestic discretionary spending. The firewall provides an essential defense against liberals' attempts to shift funds from defense accounts to non-defense domestic discretionary accounts.
1996-05-23	Fiscal 1997 Budget Resolution [SCONRES57]	Agreed To (57-43)
Domenici (R-NM) motion to table (kill) the Feingold (D-WI) amendment to eliminate the $122 billion provided for tax cuts over six years.
1996-06-19	Fiscal 1997 Defense Authorization [S1745]	Rejected (44-53)
Dorgan (D-ND) amendment to cut the authorization for missile defense by $300 million, reducing the level to the $508 million requested by the President.
1996-06-25	Campaign Finance Overhaul [S1219]	Rejected (54-46)
Motion to invoke cloture (thus limiting debate) on the bill to institute voluntary campaign spending limits with reduced broadcast and postal rates, to outlaw political action committees, and to ban unlimited contributions to political parties (so-called soft money).
1996-06-26	Fiscal 1997 Defense Authorization [S1745]	Rejected (34-65)
Wellstone (D-MN) amendment to cut the $267.3 billion authorization in the bill by nearly $13 billion to the level requested by the President.
1996-07-09	Small Business Tax Package-Minimum Wage Increase [HR3448]	Rejected (46-52)
Bond (R-MO) amendment to delay by six months a 90-cent increase in the minimum wage; to exempt employees of businesses with annual gross sales under $500,000 from the minimum wage increase; and to deny any new employees the minimum wage increase for the first six months of employment.
1996-07-09	Small Business Tax Package-Minimum Wage Increase [HR3448]	Passed (74-24)
Passage of the bill provide about $11.5 billion over 10 years in tax relief to large and small businesses by extending and creating a variety of tax incentives. They include: permitting tax-exempt individual retirement accounts for non-working spouses; increasing from $17,500 to $25,000 over seven years the amount that small businesses can deduct for equipment purchases; and making a number of changes in current pension law. The tax relief is "paid for" by reinstating for nine months the expired airline ticket tax and eliminating several tax preferences, including a credit for companies doing business in Puerto Rico. The bill would also increase the minimum wage from its current level of $4.25 per hour to $4.75 per hour on July 1, 1996, and to $5.15 per hour on July 1, 1997, while allowing a 90-day training wage for workers under 20 years old.
1996-07-10	Teamwork for Employers and Managers [HR743]	Passed (53-46)
Passage of the bill to modify the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 to make it clear that U.S. businesses can establish, without the presence of a labor union, workplace groups consisting of both labor and management to address such issues as productivity, quality control and safety.
1996-07-23	Budget Reconciliation [HR3734]	Passed (74-24)
Passage of the bill to save about $56.3 billion through fiscal 2002, mostly by cutting aid to legal immigrants and scaling back food stamp benefits. The bill would end the federal guarantee of welfare benefits, give states broad discretion over their own programs through block grants, require welfare recipients to work within two years of getting benefits and generally limit recipients to five years of benefits. The bill would also make it harder for disabled children to qualify for Supplemental Security Income, restrict food stamp benefits and deny most legal aliens Supplemental Security Income, food stamps and, at the option of a state, Medicaid benefits.
1996-09-10	Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination [S2056]	Defeated (49-50)
Passage of the bill to prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation by extending the remedies of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to sexual orientation.
1996-09-26	Abortion Procedure Ban [HR1833]	Veto Sustained (57-41)
Passage, over President Clinton's April 10 veto, of the bill banning a late-term abortion procedure, where the physician partially delivers the fetus before completing the abortion. Anyone convicted of performing such an abortion would be subject to a fine and up to two years in prison. An exception would be granted when the procedure is necessary to save the life of the woman, provided no other medical procedure can be used.

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).