Senate roll call 258 · 96th Congress · Sep 6, 1979
To table the metzenbaum motion to reconsider the helms amendment to H.R. 4393 (see RC 257). (motion failed) see note(s) 14
On Sep 6, 1979, the Senate voted 45–45 (HR 4393). Result: failed. By party: Democrats 20–34, Republicans 24–12, Independents 1–0. It was a split vote: the parties took opposite sides, with some members crossing over. 32 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
- 45
- No
- 45
- Did not vote
- 10
- Date
- Sep 6, 1979
By party
- Democrats20 yes · 34 no · 5 didn’t vote
- Republicans24 yes · 12 no · 5 didn’t vote
- Independents1 yes · 0 no
Who broke with their party
- Maurice Robert (Mike) Gravel D-AK voted yes
- Donald Wilbur Stewart D-AL voted yes
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL voted yes
- Dale Bumpers D-AR voted yes
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR voted yes
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ voted yes
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT voted no
- Richard Bernard Stone D-FL voted yes
- Herman Eugene Talmadge D-GA voted yes
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA voted yes
- Charles Harting Percy R-IL voted no
- Walter Darlington Huddleston D-KY voted yes
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY voted yes
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA voted yes
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA voted yes
- Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. R-MD voted no
- David Ferdinand Durenberger R-MN voted no
- Rudolph Eli (Rudy) Boschwitz R-MN voted no
- John Cornelius Stennis D-MS voted yes
- Robert Burren Morgan D-NC voted yes
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE voted yes
- Jacob Koppel Javits R-NY voted no
- David Lyle Boren D-OK voted yes
- Henry Louis Bellmon R-OK voted no
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR voted no
- Robert William Packwood R-OR voted no
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA voted no
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI voted no
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC voted yes
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN voted yes
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX voted yes
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT 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
- Barry Morris Goldwater R-AZ
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ
- Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa R-CA
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO
- William Victor Roth Jr. R-DE
- Richard Bernard Stone D-FL
- Herman Eugene Talmadge D-GA
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
- James Albertus Mcclure R-ID
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
- Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS
- Walter Darlington Huddleston D-KY
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA
- Russell Billiu Long D-LA
- William Sebastian Cohen R-ME
- 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
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH
- Harrison Hagan Schmitt R-NM
- Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
- David Lyle Boren D-OK
- Richard Schultz Schweiker R-PA
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC
- James Strom Thurmond R-SC
- Howard Henry Baker Jr. R-TN
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN
- John Goodwin Tower R-TX
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX
- Harry Flood Byrd Jr. I-VA
- John William Warner R-VA
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
- Malcolm Wallop R-WY
How each senator voted: No
- Alan Cranston D-CA
- Gary Warren Hart D-CO
- Abraham Alexander Ribicoff D-CT
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT
- Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL
- 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
- 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
- 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
- J. James Exon D-NE
- John Anthony Durkin D-NH
- Harrison Arlington Williams Jr. D-NJ
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ
- Howard Walter Cannon D-NV
- 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
- Robert William Packwood R-OR
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI
- George Stanley Mcgovern D-SD
- Patrick Joseph Leahy D-VT
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT
- Henry Martin (Scoop) Jackson D-WA
- Gaylord Anton Nelson D-WI
- William Proxmire D-WI
- Jennings Randolph D-WV
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV
Did not vote
- Daniel Ken Inouye D-HI
- John Chester Culver D-IA
- Roger William Jepsen R-IA
- George John Mitchell D-ME
- Paul Dominique Laxalt R-NV
- Claiborne de Borda Pell D-RI
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
- Warren Grant Magnuson D-WA
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
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Capitol Receipts, “To table the metzenbaum motion to reconsider…: Senate Vote, Sep 6…,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/96-S-258/to-table-the-metzenbaum-motion-to-reconsider-the-helms (accessed 2026-10-17).