Senate roll call 636 · 99th Congress · Aug 15, 1986
To adopt HR 5395, the public debt limit increase bill, which would raise the federal debt ceiling from $2.079 trillion to $2.111 trillion.
On Aug 15, 1986, the Senate voted 36–35 (HR 5395). Result: passed. By party: Democrats 10–26, Republicans 26–9. It was a split vote: the parties took opposite sides, with some members crossing over. 19 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
- 36
- No
- 35
- Did not vote
- 30
- Date
- Aug 15, 1986
By party
- Republicans26 yes · 9 no · 19 didn’t vote
- Democrats10 yes · 26 no · 11 didn’t vote
Who broke with their party
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO voted no
- Christopher John Dodd D-CT voted yes
- Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE voted yes
- Paula Hawkins R-FL voted no
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA voted no
- Charles Ernest Grassley R-IA voted no
- Alan John Dixon D-IL voted yes
- Paul Martin Simon D-IL voted yes
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA voted yes
- Carl Levin D-MI voted yes
- Mark Andrews R-ND voted no
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ voted yes
- David Lyle Boren D-OK voted yes
- Donald Lee Nickles R-OK voted no
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC voted yes
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD voted no
- Albert Arnold Gore Jr. D-TN voted yes
- John William Warner R-VA voted no
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI voted no
The bill
H.R. 5395: A bill to increase the statutory limit on the public debt.
How each senator voted: Yes
- Theodore Fulton (Ted) Stevens R-AK
- Pete Wilson R-CA
- Christopher John Dodd D-CT
- Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE
- William Victor Roth Jr. R-DE
- James Albertus Mcclure R-ID
- Steven Douglas Symms R-ID
- Alan John Dixon D-IL
- Paul Martin Simon D-IL
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
- Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS
- Addison Mitchell (Mitch) Mcconnell R-KY
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA
- Carl Levin D-MI
- Rudolph Eli (Rudy) Boschwitz R-MN
- James Thomas Broyhill R-NC
- Jesse Helms R-NC
- Warren Bruce Rudman R-NH
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ
- Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
- Jacob Chic Hecht R-NV
- Alfonse Marcello D'Amato R-NY
- David Lyle Boren D-OK
- Robert William Packwood R-OR
- Arlen Specter R-PA
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC
- James Strom Thurmond R-SC
- James Abdnor R-SD
- Albert Arnold Gore Jr. D-TN
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
- Paul Seward Trible Jr. R-VA
- Thomas Slade Gorton III (Slade) R-WA
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
How each senator voted: No
- Alan Cranston D-CA
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO
- Paula Hawkins R-FL
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
- Daniel Ken Inouye D-HI
- Spark Masayuki Matsunaga D-HI
- Charles Ernest Grassley R-IA
- Thomas Richard (Tom) Harkin D-IA
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA
- John Forbes Kerry D-MA
- Paul Spyros Sarbanes D-MD
- George John Mitchell D-ME
- Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. D-MI
- John Melcher D-MT
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT
- Mark Andrews R-ND
- Quentin Northrup Burdick D-ND
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE
- J. James Exon D-NE
- Frank Raleigh Lautenberg D-NJ
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan D-NY
- Howard Morton Metzenbaum D-OH
- John Herschel Glenn Jr. D-OH
- Donald Lee Nickles R-OK
- Claiborne de Borda Pell D-RI
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN
- John William Warner R-VA
- Patrick Joseph Leahy D-VT
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI
- William Proxmire D-WI
- John Davison (Jay) Rockefeller IV D-WV
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV
Did not vote
- Frank Hughes Murkowski R-AK
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL
- Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. R-AL
- Dale Bumpers D-AR
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR
- Barry Morris Goldwater R-AZ
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ
- Gary Warren Hart D-CO
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL
- James Danforth (Dan) Quayle R-IN
- Edward Moore (Ted) Kennedy D-MA
- Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. R-MD
- William Sebastian Cohen R-ME
- David Ferdinand Durenberger R-MN
- John Claggett Danforth R-MO
- Thomas Francis Eagleton D-MO
- John Cornelius Stennis D-MS
- William Thad Cochran R-MS
- John Porter East R-NC
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH
- Jesse Francis (Jeff) Bingaman Jr. D-NM
- Paul Dominique Laxalt R-NV
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX
- William Philip (Phil) Gramm R-TX
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT
- Daniel Jackson Evans R-WA
- Malcolm Wallop R-WY
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
Cite or embed this page
Capitol Receipts, “To adopt HR 5395, the public debt limit…: Senate Vote, Aug 15, 1986,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/99-S-636/to-adopt-hr-5395-the-public-debt-limit-increase (accessed 2026-10-17).