Senate roll call 23 · 97th Congress · Feb 6, 1981
To pass H. R. 1553, temporary public debt limit increase. (motion passed)
On Feb 6, 1981, the Senate voted 73–18 (HR 1553). Result: passed. By party: Republicans 46–3, Democrats 27–15, Independents 0–1. It was a bipartisan vote: majorities of both parties voted yes. 18 members voted against their own party.
During the 97th Congress (1981–1982), Ronald Reagan was president, and Democrats held the House majority and Republicans the Senate majority.
- Yes
- 73
- No
- 18
- Did not vote
- 9
- Date
- Feb 6, 1981
By party
- Republicans46 yes · 3 no · 5 didn’t vote
- Democrats27 yes · 15 no · 4 didn’t vote
- Independents0 yes · 1 no
Who broke with their party
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL voted no
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR voted no
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ voted no
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO voted no
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA voted no
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA voted no
- Alan John Dixon D-IL voted no
- Walter Darlington Huddleston D-KY voted no
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY voted no
- John Melcher D-MT voted no
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT voted no
- John Porter East R-NC voted no
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE voted no
- J. James Exon D-NE voted no
- Howard Morton Metzenbaum D-OH voted no
- David Lyle Boren D-OK voted no
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN voted no
- William Proxmire D-WI voted no
The bill
H.R. 1553: A bill to provide for a temporary increase in the public debt limit.
How each senator voted: Yes
- Frank Hughes Murkowski R-AK
- Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. R-AL
- Dale Bumpers D-AR
- Barry Morris Goldwater R-AZ
- Alan Cranston D-CA
- Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa R-CA
- Gary Warren Hart D-CO
- Christopher John Dodd D-CT
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT
- Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE
- William Victor Roth Jr. R-DE
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL
- Paula Hawkins R-FL
- Daniel Ken Inouye D-HI
- Spark Masayuki Matsunaga D-HI
- Charles Ernest Grassley R-IA
- Roger William Jepsen R-IA
- James Albertus Mcclure R-ID
- Steven Douglas Symms R-ID
- Charles Harting Percy R-IL
- James Danforth (Dan) Quayle R-IN
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
- Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA
- Edward Moore (Ted) Kennedy D-MA
- Paul Spyros Sarbanes D-MD
- George John Mitchell D-ME
- Carl Levin D-MI
- Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. D-MI
- David Ferdinand Durenberger R-MN
- Rudolph Eli (Rudy) Boschwitz R-MN
- John Claggett Danforth R-MO
- Thomas Francis Eagleton D-MO
- John Cornelius Stennis D-MS
- William Thad Cochran R-MS
- Jesse Helms R-NC
- Mark Andrews R-ND
- Quentin Northrup Burdick D-ND
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH
- Warren Bruce Rudman R-NH
- Harrison Arlington Williams Jr. D-NJ
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ
- Harrison Hagan Schmitt R-NM
- Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
- Paul Dominique Laxalt R-NV
- Alfonse Marcello D'Amato R-NY
- Donald Lee Nickles R-OK
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR
- Arlen Specter R-PA
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA
- Claiborne de Borda Pell D-RI
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC
- James Strom Thurmond R-SC
- James Abdnor R-SD
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD
- Howard Henry Baker Jr. R-TN
- John Goodwin Tower R-TX
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
- John William Warner R-VA
- Patrick Joseph Leahy D-VT
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT
- Henry Martin (Scoop) Jackson D-WA
- Thomas Slade Gorton III (Slade) R-WA
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI
- Jennings Randolph D-WV
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
- Malcolm Wallop R-WY
How each senator voted: No
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
- Alan John Dixon D-IL
- Walter Darlington Huddleston D-KY
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY
- John Melcher D-MT
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT
- John Porter East R-NC
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE
- J. James Exon D-NE
- Howard Morton Metzenbaum D-OH
- David Lyle Boren D-OK
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN
- Harry Flood Byrd Jr. I-VA
- William Proxmire D-WI
Did not vote
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
Cite or embed this page
Capitol Receipts, “To pass H. R. 1553, temporary public debt…: Senate Vote, Feb 6, 1981,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/97-S-23/to-pass-h-r-1553-temporary-public-debt-limit (accessed 2026-10-17).