Senate roll call 489 · 99th Congress · Jun 3, 1986
To table the helms amendment to S 1965, higher education (continued) act, to prohibit federal courts from requiring school busing except in certain cases.
On Jun 3, 1986, the Senate voted 45–50 (S 1965). Result: failed. By party: Republicans 15–37, Democrats 30–13. It was a split vote: the parties took opposite sides, with some members crossing over. 28 members voted against their own party.
During the 99th Congress (1985–1986), Ronald Reagan was president, and Democrats held the House majority and Republicans the Senate majority.
- Yes
- 45
- No
- 50
- Did not vote
- 6
- Date
- Jun 3, 1986
By party
- Republicans15 yes · 37 no · 2 didn’t vote
- Democrats30 yes · 13 no · 4 didn’t vote
Who broke with their party
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ voted no
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT voted yes
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL voted no
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA voted no
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN 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
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE voted no
- J. James Exon D-NE voted no
- Warren Bruce Rudman R-NH voted yes
- David Lyle Boren D-OK voted no
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR voted yes
- Robert William Packwood R-OR voted yes
- Arlen Specter R-PA voted yes
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA voted yes
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI voted yes
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC voted no
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN voted no
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX voted no
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT voted yes
- Daniel Jackson Evans R-WA voted yes
- Thomas Slade Gorton III (Slade) R-WA voted yes
- William Proxmire D-WI voted no
The bill
S. 1965: A bill to reauthorize and revise the Higher Education Act of 1984, and for other purposes.
How each senator voted: Yes
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL
- Dale Bumpers D-AR
- Alan Cranston D-CA
- Gary Warren Hart D-CO
- Christopher John Dodd D-CT
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT
- Daniel Ken Inouye D-HI
- Spark Masayuki Matsunaga D-HI
- Alan John Dixon D-IL
- Paul Martin Simon D-IL
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN
- John Forbes Kerry D-MA
- Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. R-MD
- Paul Spyros Sarbanes D-MD
- George John Mitchell 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 Cornelius Stennis D-MS
- John Melcher D-MT
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT
- Quentin Northrup Burdick D-ND
- Warren Bruce Rudman R-NH
- Frank Raleigh Lautenberg D-NJ
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ
- Jesse Francis (Jeff) Bingaman Jr. D-NM
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan D-NY
- Howard Morton Metzenbaum D-OH
- John Herschel Glenn Jr. D-OH
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR
- Robert William Packwood R-OR
- Arlen Specter R-PA
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA
- Claiborne de Borda Pell D-RI
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI
- Albert Arnold Gore Jr. D-TN
- Patrick Joseph Leahy D-VT
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT
- Daniel Jackson Evans R-WA
- Thomas Slade Gorton III (Slade) R-WA
- John Davison (Jay) Rockefeller IV D-WV
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV
How each senator voted: No
- Frank Hughes Murkowski R-AK
- Theodore Fulton (Ted) Stevens R-AK
- Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. R-AL
- Barry Morris Goldwater R-AZ
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ
- Pete Wilson R-CA
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO
- William Victor Roth Jr. R-DE
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL
- Paula Hawkins R-FL
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
- Charles Ernest Grassley R-IA
- James Albertus Mcclure R-ID
- Steven Douglas Symms R-ID
- James Danforth (Dan) Quayle R-IN
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
- Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS
- Addison Mitchell (Mitch) Mcconnell R-KY
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA
- John Claggett Danforth R-MO
- William Thad Cochran R-MS
- Jesse Helms R-NC
- John Porter East R-NC
- Mark Andrews R-ND
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE
- J. James Exon D-NE
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH
- Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
- Jacob Chic Hecht R-NV
- Paul Dominique Laxalt R-NV
- Alfonse Marcello D'Amato R-NY
- David Lyle Boren D-OK
- Donald Lee Nickles R-OK
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC
- James Strom Thurmond R-SC
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX
- William Philip (Phil) Gramm R-TX
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
- John William Warner R-VA
- Paul Seward Trible Jr. R-VA
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI
- William Proxmire D-WI
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
- Malcolm Wallop R-WY
Did not vote
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
Cite or embed this page
Capitol Receipts, “To table the helms amendment to S 1965…: Senate Vote, Jun 3, 1986,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/99-S-489/to-table-the-helms-amendment-to-s-1965-higher (accessed 2026-10-17).