Senate roll call 123 · 96th Congress · Jun 7, 1979
To table the helms amendment to S. 721, the civil rights commission authorization, that restricts busing of schoolchildren under voluntary desegregation plans w
On Jun 7, 1979, the Senate voted 49–46 (S 721). Result: passed. By party: Democrats 34–22, Republicans 15–23, Independents 0–1. It was a split vote: the parties took opposite sides, with some members crossing over. 37 members voted against their own party.
During the 96th Congress (1979–1980), Jimmy Carter was president, and Democrats held majorities in both the House and Senate.
- Yes
- 49
- No
- 46
- Did not vote
- 6
- Date
- Jun 7, 1979
By party
- Democrats34 yes · 22 no · 3 didn’t vote
- Republicans15 yes · 23 no · 3 didn’t vote
- Independents0 yes · 1 no
Who broke with their party
- Theodore Fulton (Ted) Stevens R-AK voted yes
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ voted no
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT voted yes
- Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE voted no
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL voted no
- Richard Bernard Stone D-FL voted no
- Herman Eugene Talmadge D-GA voted no
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA voted no
- Charles Harting Percy R-IL voted yes
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS voted yes
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY voted no
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA voted no
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA voted no
- Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. R-MD voted yes
- William Sebastian Cohen R-ME voted yes
- David Ferdinand Durenberger R-MN voted yes
- Rudolph Eli (Rudy) Boschwitz R-MN voted yes
- John Cornelius Stennis D-MS voted no
- Robert Burren Morgan D-NC voted no
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE voted no
- J. James Exon D-NE voted no
- Harrison Hagan Schmitt R-NM voted yes
- Howard Walter Cannon D-NV voted no
- Jacob Koppel Javits R-NY voted yes
- David Lyle Boren D-OK voted no
- Henry Louis Bellmon R-OK voted yes
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR voted yes
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA voted yes
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC voted no
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD voted yes
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN voted no
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX voted no
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT voted yes
- Warren Grant Magnuson D-WA voted no
- William Proxmire D-WI voted no
- Jennings Randolph D-WV voted no
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV voted no
The bill
How each senator voted: Yes
- Maurice Robert (Mike) Gravel D-AK
- Theodore Fulton (Ted) Stevens R-AK
- Donald Wilbur Stewart D-AL
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL
- Dale Bumpers D-AR
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR
- Alan Cranston D-CA
- Gary Warren Hart D-CO
- Abraham Alexander Ribicoff D-CT
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT
- Daniel Ken Inouye D-HI
- Spark Masayuki Matsunaga D-HI
- Frank Forrester Church D-ID
- Adlai Ewing III Stevenson D-IL
- Charles Harting Percy R-IL
- Birch Evans Bayh D-IN
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
- Edward Moore (Ted) Kennedy D-MA
- Paul Efthemios Tsongas D-MA
- Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. R-MD
- Paul Spyros Sarbanes D-MD
- Edmund Sixtus Muskie D-ME
- William Sebastian Cohen R-ME
- Carl Levin D-MI
- Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. D-MI
- David Ferdinand Durenberger R-MN
- Rudolph Eli (Rudy) Boschwitz R-MN
- Thomas Francis Eagleton D-MO
- John Melcher D-MT
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT
- Quentin Northrup Burdick D-ND
- John Anthony Durkin D-NH
- Harrison Arlington Williams Jr. D-NJ
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ
- Harrison Hagan Schmitt R-NM
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan D-NY
- Jacob Koppel Javits R-NY
- Howard Morton Metzenbaum D-OH
- John Herschel Glenn Jr. D-OH
- Henry Louis Bellmon R-OK
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA
- Claiborne de Borda Pell D-RI
- George Stanley Mcgovern D-SD
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD
- Patrick Joseph Leahy D-VT
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT
- Henry Martin (Scoop) Jackson D-WA
- Gaylord Anton Nelson D-WI
How each senator voted: No
- Barry Morris Goldwater R-AZ
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ
- Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa R-CA
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO
- Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE
- William Victor Roth Jr. R-DE
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL
- Richard Bernard Stone D-FL
- Herman Eugene Talmadge D-GA
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
- Roger William Jepsen R-IA
- James Albertus Mcclure R-ID
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN
- Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA
- John Claggett Danforth R-MO
- John Cornelius Stennis D-MS
- William Thad Cochran R-MS
- Jesse Helms R-NC
- Robert Burren Morgan D-NC
- Milton Ruben Young R-ND
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE
- J. James Exon D-NE
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH
- Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
- Howard Walter Cannon D-NV
- Paul Dominique Laxalt R-NV
- David Lyle Boren D-OK
- Richard Schultz Schweiker R-PA
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC
- James Strom Thurmond R-SC
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN
- John Goodwin Tower R-TX
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
- Harry Flood Byrd Jr. I-VA
- John William Warner R-VA
- Warren Grant Magnuson D-WA
- William Proxmire D-WI
- Jennings Randolph D-WV
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
- Malcolm Wallop R-WY
Did not vote
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
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Capitol Receipts, “To table the helms amendment to S. 721, the…: Senate Vote, Jun 7, 1979,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/96-S-123/to-table-the-helms-amendment-to-s-721-the (accessed 2026-10-16).