John Cornyn

[Congressional biography]

Born: February 2, 1952 in Houston, TX

Education:

Career:

Elected Office:

Key Senate Vote Data for John Cornyn in 2003

Date	Subject	Result	Conserv. Position	Cornyn Voted
2003-03-06	Estrada Nomination	Rejected (55-44)
Throughout the 2003 session, Senate Democrats filibustered numerous presidential nominations to the U.S. Courts of Appeal, essentially establishing a requirement that any nominee be approved by a supermajority of 60 votes in the 100 vote Senate, rather than the simple majority required by the Constitution. This particular vote was on the nomination of Miguel Estrada, but similar votes were held on the nominations of Priscilla Owen, William Pryor, Charles Pickering and Janice Brown. The results were the same in every case: a majority voted to move the nominations to final passage, but the supermajority of 60 votes was not attained. ACU supported this nomination and believes that the filibuster of judicial nominations compromises the Senate's duty to "advise and consent."
2003-03-12	Abortion Decision Affirmed [S3]	Agreed To (52-46)
This resolution affirmed that the Supreme Court's 1973 decision legalizing abortion was correct. ACU believes the original decision in Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.
2003-03-20	Death Tax Repeal [SCONRES23]	Agreed To (51-48)
This amendment to the Budget Resolution would have accelerated the repeal of the Estate Tax from 2010 to 2009.
2003-03-25	Tax Cut Reduction [SCONRES23]	Rejected (42-57)
This substitute to the President's budget would have substantially reduced the Bush tax cuts and shifted spending priorities to more liberal social programs.
2003-04-11	Budget Resolution [HCONRES95]	Agreed To (50-50)
Final spending and revenue targets for fiscal year 2004. This budget contained a total of $550 billion in tax cuts over a ten-year period. ACU supported this budget as the best possible under the circumstances.
2003-05-15	Marriage Penalty [S1054]	Rejected (49-51)
This measure was a trade-off between general tax reductions and an accelerated phase-out of the Marriage Penalty.
2003-05-15	Phase Out Taxes on Investment [S1054]	Agreed To (50-50)
This amendment would phase out the tax on dividend income. Taxing dividends is a form of double taxation that discourages investment. It was adopted with the Vice-President casting a tie-breaking vote.
2003-05-15	Tax Cuts [HR2]	Passed (51-49)
This bill reduced taxes by $350 billion over 11 years, phasing out dividend taxation and accelerating tax rate reductions already in place. While not strong enough, this bill set up passage of a stronger House-Senate conference report with more tax relief.
2003-05-20	Nuclear Weapons Development [S1050]	Agreed To (51-43)
Motion to table (kill) the repeal of the prohibition on research and development of low-yield nuclear weapons.
2003-06-04	Military Base Closings [HR1588]	Rejected (42-53)
This amendment would have canceled the next round of military base closings. ACU believes our military must be as "lean and mean" as possible, and that closing some bases can contribute to a strong defense.
2003-06-26	Blocking Prescription Drug Benefit Means Testing [S1]	Failed (38-59)
Motion to table (kill) an amendment which would have barred a cost-saving means test for new benefits in the Medicare prescription drug bill.
2003-07-09	Medical Malpractice Reform [S11]	Rejected (49-48)
This bill would have limited expensive medical malpractice lawsuits that are driving up insurance costs and driving doctors out of practice. Although the vote to cut off debate received a majority, 60 votes are required to end debate under Senate rules.
2003-07-09	Defunding Abortion Abroad [S925]	Failed (43-53)
Motion to table (kill) an amendment which would have repealed President Reagan's "Mexico City policy," under which the U.S. refuses to fund international family planning organizations that promote abortion.
2003-07-29	Higher Mileage Requirements [S14]	Rejected (32-65)
This amendment would have required automobile manufacturers to increase the mileage of their cars. Higher mileage requirements increase price, and make cars smaller and less safe.
2003-09-10	Overtime Rules Reform [HR2660]	Agreed To (54-45)
Harkin (D-IA) amendment which would have stopped the U.S. Department of Labor from issuing new, more flexible rules for overtime pay to reflect changing employee desires and workplace conditions.
2003-09-16	Broadcasting Controls [SJRES17]	Passed (55-40)
This amendment expressed disapproval for a Federal Communications Commission rule that would have allowed more freedom in broadcast media ownership. There are more media outlets today than ever before and government should not control media ownership.
2003-10-23	Election Law [HR2989]	Agreed To (63-31)
Dodd (D-CT) motion to waive the Budget Act to increase federal control over local and state elections.
2003-10-30	Kyoto Treaty [S139]	Rejected (43-55)
This measure would have forced the United States into compliance with the Kyoto Treaty that was never ratified by the Senate. It would have required massive, expensive reductions in carbon dioxide. Science does not support Kyoto and its impact on the U.S. economy would be devastating.
2003-11-25	Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit [HR1]	Agreed To (54-44)
This so-called Medicare "reform" marked the greatest expansion of a federal program in almost 40 years. The $400 billion measure will add trillions to the unfunded liability of the Medicare program, provides only the illusion of patient choice, and will cause millions of seniors to lose their current insurance coverage. The bill did contain a "health savings account" provision favored by ACU, but on balance this did not justify the bill's overall lack of fiscal responsibility. ACU opposed this bill so strongly that the vote is double-weighted in this rating.

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).