A joint resolution proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

On Jun 6, 1996, the Senate voted 64–35 on “On the Joint Resolution” (HJRES 1). Result: Joint Resolution Defeated. By party: Republicans 52–1, Democrats 12–34. It was a split vote: the parties took opposite sides, with some members crossing over. 13 members voted against their own party.

During the 104th Congress (1995–1996), Bill Clinton was president, and Republicans held majorities in both the House and Senate.

Result: Joint Resolution Defeated
Yes: 64
No: 35
Did not vote: 4
Date: Jun 6, 1996

By party

Republicans52 yes · 1 no · 2 didn’t vote
Democrats12 yes · 34 no · 2 didn’t vote

Who broke with their party

Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL voted yes
Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE voted yes
Daniel Robert (Bob) Graham D-FL voted yes
Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA voted yes
Thomas Richard (Tom) Harkin D-IA voted yes
Carol Moseley Braun D-IL voted yes
Paul Martin Simon D-IL voted yes
John Berlinger Breaux D-LA voted yes
Max Sieben Baucus D-MT voted yes
Richard H Bryan D-NV voted yes
Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR voted no
Charles Spittal Robb D-VA voted yes
Herbert H. Kohl D-WI voted yes

How each senator voted: Yes

Frank Hughes Murkowski R-AK
Theodore Fulton (Ted) Stevens R-AK
Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL
Richard C. Shelby R-AL
John Sidney Mccain III R-AZ
Jon Llewellyn Kyl R-AZ
Ben Nighthorse Campbell R-CO
George Hanks (Hank) Brown R-CO
Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE
William Victor Roth Jr. R-DE
Connie Mack III R-FL
Daniel Robert (Bob) Graham D-FL
Paul Coverdell R-GA
Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
Charles Ernest Grassley R-IA
Thomas Richard (Tom) Harkin D-IA
Dirk Kempthorne R-ID
Larry Edwin Craig R-ID
Carol Moseley Braun D-IL
Paul Martin Simon D-IL
Daniel Ray Coats R-IN
Richard Green Lugar R-IN
Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS
Addison Mitchell (Mitch) Mcconnell R-KY
John Berlinger Breaux D-LA
Olympia Jean Snowe R-ME
William Sebastian Cohen R-ME
Spencer Abraham R-MI
Rod Grams R-MN
Christopher Samuel (Kit) Bond R-MO
John David Ashcroft R-MO
Chester Trent Lott R-MS
William Thad Cochran R-MS
Conrad Burns R-MT
Max Sieben Baucus D-MT
Duncan McLauchlin (Lauch) Faircloth R-NC
Jesse Helms R-NC
Judd Alan Gregg R-NH
Robert C. Smith R-NH
Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
Richard H Bryan D-NV
Alfonse Marcello D'Amato R-NY
Michael Dewine R-OH
Donald Lee Nickles R-OK
James Mountain Inhofe R-OK
Arlen Specter R-PA
Richard John (Rick) Santorum R-PA
John Hubbard Chafee R-RI
James Strom Thurmond R-SC
Larry Lee Pressler R-SD
Fred Dalton Thompson R-TN
William H. Frist R-TN
Kathryn Ann Bailey (Kay) Hutchison R-TX
William Philip (Phil) Gramm R-TX
Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
Robert Foster (Bob) Bennett R-UT
Charles Spittal Robb D-VA
John William Warner R-VA
James Merrill Jeffords R-VT
Thomas Slade Gorton III (Slade) R-WA
Herbert H. Kohl D-WI
Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
Craig Lyle Thomas R-WY

How each senator voted: No

Did not vote

Other votes

From Voteview roll call records.

Cite or embed this page

Capitol Receipts, “A joint resolution proposing a balanced…: Senate Vote, Jun 6, 1996,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/104-S-771/a-joint-resolution-proposing-a-balanced-budget-amendment-to (accessed 2026-10-13).