Kirsten Gillibrand

[Congressional biography]

Born: December 9, 1966 in Albany, NY

Education:

Career:

Elected Office:

Key Senate Vote Data for Kirsten Gillibrand in 2012

Date	Subject	Result	Conserv. Position	Gillibrand Voted
2012-02-02	Government Reform [S2038]	Rejected (48-51)
Paul (R-KY) amendment to a bill banning insider trading by Members of Congress that would have extended the disclosure requirements to Executive Branch officials. It would also prohibit Executive Branch employees from holding positions that oversee industries or companies in which they or their spouse have a significant financial interest.
2012-02-02	Earmark Reform [S2038]	Rejected (40-59)
Toomey (R-PA) amendment to a bill banning insider trading that would have established a point of order against earmarks in both the Senate and the House.
2012-03-01	Preventing Religious Freedom [S1813]	Agreed To (51-48)
Motion to table (kill) the Blunt (R-MO) amendment to the transportation bill that would allow health insurance plans to deny coverage for medical services that run counter to the plan's sponsor or the employer's religious beliefs. ACU supports these protections from government interference and supported this amendment.
2012-03-08	Domestic Energy Production [S1813]	Rejected (44-54)
Vitter (R-LA) amendment to the transportation bill that would implement the 2008 offshore oil and gas drilling plan blocked by the Obama Administration. It would allow new oil and gas leases throughout the continental shelf.
2012-03-08	Federal Land Acquisition [S1813]	Agreed To (76-22)
Nelson (D-FL) amendment to the transportation bill that increases funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund that would be used to acquire more land for the federal government. ACU opposes additional land acquisition for a government that already owns one-third of the United States and has a major maintenance backlog on the land it now owns.
2012-03-08	Keystone Pipeline [S1813]	Rejected (56-42)
Hoeven (R-ND) amendment to the transportation bill that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline between Canada and the United States which was blocked by the Obama Administration. ACU supports this addition to the U.S. oil supply from our northern neighbor. A Senate majority voted in favor of the amendment, but 60 votes were required for passage.
2012-03-13	Penalizing Private Enterprise Transportation Funding [S1813]	Agreed To (50-47)
Bingaman (D-NM) amendment to the transportation bill that would punish states that lease toll roads to private operators by reducing their transportation funding. ACU supports states' efforts to include private enterprise in government programs.
2012-03-13	Eliminating Energy Subsidies [S1813]	Rejected (26-72)
DeMint (R-SC) amendment to the transportation bill that would eliminate numerous tax benefits for chosen energy producers and repeal tax benefits for chosen technologies, such as electric vehicles. ACU opposes programs that pick winners and losers in the marketplace.
2012-03-13	Natural Gas Vehicle Subsidies [S1813]	Rejected (51-47)
Menendez (D-NJ) amendment that would have greatly increased tax credits for those who purchase natural gas vehicles to a maximum of $64,000. ACU opposes the government's picking winners and losers among different energy technologies. The Senate voted in favor of the amendment but it failed to achieve the 60 votes required for passage.
2012-03-22	Small Business Investment Restrictions [HR3606]	Agreed To (64-35)
Merkley (D-OR) amendment to a bill making it easier for businesses to attract small investors through the technique of "crowdfunding," through which small investors pool their funds through the internet. The amendment would restore restrictive conditions that make "crowdfunding" difficult. ACU supports efforts to allow small businesses to attract capital.
2012-04-24	Union Election Rules [SJRES36]	Rejected (45-54)
Enzi (R-WY) motion to take up a resolution of disapproval of a National Labor Relations Board ruling that allows union-backed snap elections. ACU opposes rules that diminish the ability of workers and employers to discuss the merits of union representation.
2012-04-24	Postal Reform [S1789]	Rejected (35-64)
Paul (R-KY) amendment to the Postal Service bailout bill that would have ended government control over private mailboxes. The amendment would allow mailbox owners to decide if someone other than the post office can put something in their mailbox, which is currently illegal.
2012-04-25	Postal Service Bailout [S1789]	Passed (62-37)
The postal service overhaul bill that temporarily covers billions of dollars in losses but prohibits any reforms to fix the long-term problems of the post office. The Postmaster General has predicted that without reforms, the Post Office would lose $238 billion between 2010 and 2020. ACU supports true postal reform and therefore opposed this bill.
2012-04-26	Domestic Violence Laws [S1925]	Passed (68-31)
Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, that greatly expands the definition of domestic violence. The bill bans organizations that receive federal grants from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. ACU opposes the growth of this program into a $455 million bureaucracy that has been repeatedly cited by the Inspector General for unauthorized and unallowable expenditures and opposed this bill.
2012-05-15	Export-Import Bank [HR2072]	Passed (78-20)
Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank, that increases American taxpayer exposure to default on government backed loans by 40% over the next three years. In recent years, this Depression-era program designed to increase American trade has grown into a bloated $100 billion bureaucracy that has concentrated on giving foreign airlines discounted loan rates to purchase American planes. ACU opposes programs that pick winners and losers in the marketplace and make it harder for some American companies to compete.
2012-06-19	Welfare Reform [S3240]	Rejected (43-56)
Sessions (R-AL) amendment to the Farm Bill that restricts eligibility for the food stamp program, renamed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, to recipients of cash assistance from other state and federal programs.
2012-06-19	Wind Energy Subsidy Reform [S3240]	Rejected (33-66)
Alexander (R-TN) amendment to the Farm Bill. The amendment would have prevented any entity receiving guaranteed loans for wind energy projects from receiving other federal benefits from the same project. ACU opposes "double-dipping" -- using different federal programs to get assistance for the same project.
2012-06-19	Opt-Out of Mandatory "Check-Off" Programs [S3240]	Rejected (20-79)
DeMint (R-SC) amendment to the Farm Bill that would have allowed individual businesses and small farmers to opt-out of mandatory or compulsory "check-off" programs. ACU opposes programs that allow large corporations to tax small businesses for promotional programs they do not need or want.
2012-06-20	Disapproving New EPA Regulations [SJRES37]	Rejected (46-53)
Inhofe (R-OK) motion to take up a resolution of disapproval of the Environmental Protection Agency's Utility MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) rule. ACU opposed this and a series of EPA rules designed to bypass Congress and impose regulations that would almost totally prohibit the construction of coal fired power plants, increasing the cost of electricity to American consumers.
2012-07-25	Tax Cuts [S3412]	Rejected (45-54)
McConnell (R-KY) amendment to the Reid (D-NV) tax increase bill that would have extended the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for one year and maintained the current levels for the Estate Tax, also known as the Death Tax.
2012-11-28	"Global Warming" Funding [S3254]	Agreed To (62-37)
Udall (D-CO) amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that would remove sections of the bill that would hold down the cost of the global warming program. The provision eliminated by the amendment would have limited use of alternative fuels to those that do not exceed the cost of traditional fossil fuels.
2012-11-29	Terrorist Confinement [S3254]	Agreed To (54-41)
Ayotte (R-NH) amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that prohibits the transfer of terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States.
2012-12-04	United Nations Treaty [TREATYDOC1127]	Rejected (61-38)
United Nations Treaty on the Rights of Persons with Disability. ACU opposes the ratification of this treaty that seeks to have all countries conform to an ill-defined set of standards left to U.N. interpretation. The Senate voted in favor of the treaty but it failed to get the 67 votes necessary for ratification.
2012-12-28	Spending Oversight [HR1]	Rejected (35-60)
Coburn (R-OK) amendment to the Disaster Relief bill that would ensure taxpayer funds are not spent on tax cheats, deceased individuals, or fisheries outside the affected area.
2012-12-28	Disaster Relief [HR1]	Passed (62-32)
An emergency spending bill in response to the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy. The bill authorizes $60 billion in emergency spending with no offsets and includes many provisions for long-term projects and unconnected programs such as EPA Global Warming studies, Amtrak subsidies and fishery projects in Alaska.

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).