Senate roll call 28 · 97th Congress · Mar 12, 1981
To amend S. 414, permitting merchants to allow unlimited discounts to cash paying customers by permitting surcharges on credit card customers. (motion failed)
On Mar 12, 1981, the Senate voted 41–56 (S 414). Result: failed. By party: Republicans 17–35, Democrats 23–21, Independents 1–0. It was a split vote: the parties took opposite sides, with some members crossing over. 38 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
- 41
- No
- 56
- Did not vote
- 4
- Date
- Mar 12, 1981
By party
- Republicans17 yes · 35 no · 2 didn’t vote
- Democrats23 yes · 21 no · 2 didn’t vote
- Independents1 yes · 0 no
Who broke with their party
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL voted no
- Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. R-AL voted yes
- Dale Bumpers D-AR voted no
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR voted no
- Alan Cranston D-CA voted no
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO voted yes
- 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
- Daniel Ken Inouye D-HI voted no
- Spark Masayuki Matsunaga D-HI voted no
- Steven Douglas Symms R-ID voted yes
- Alan John Dixon D-IL voted no
- Charles Harting Percy R-IL voted yes
- James Danforth (Dan) Quayle R-IN voted yes
- Walter Darlington Huddleston D-KY voted no
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY voted no
- Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. R-MD voted yes
- George John Mitchell D-ME voted no
- William Sebastian Cohen R-ME voted yes
- Carl Levin D-MI voted no
- Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. D-MI voted no
- David Ferdinand Durenberger R-MN voted yes
- Rudolph Eli (Rudy) Boschwitz R-MN voted yes
- Thomas Francis Eagleton D-MO voted no
- John Cornelius Stennis D-MS voted no
- Jesse Helms R-NC voted yes
- John Porter East R-NC voted yes
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE voted no
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH voted yes
- Harrison Arlington Williams Jr. D-NJ voted no
- Howard Walter Cannon D-NV voted no
- Donald Lee Nickles R-OK voted yes
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN voted no
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT voted yes
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI voted yes
- Jennings Randolph D-WV voted no
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY voted yes
How each senator voted: Yes
- Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. R-AL
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ
- Gary Warren Hart D-CO
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO
- Christopher John Dodd D-CT
- Lowell Palmer Weicker Jr. R-CT
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
- Steven Douglas Symms R-ID
- Charles Harting Percy R-IL
- James Danforth (Dan) Quayle R-IN
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA
- Edward Moore (Ted) Kennedy D-MA
- Paul Efthemios Tsongas D-MA
- Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. R-MD
- Paul Spyros Sarbanes D-MD
- William Sebastian Cohen R-ME
- David Ferdinand Durenberger R-MN
- Rudolph Eli (Rudy) Boschwitz R-MN
- John Melcher D-MT
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT
- Jesse Helms R-NC
- John Porter East R-NC
- Quentin Northrup Burdick D-ND
- J. James Exon D-NE
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley 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
- Ernest Frederick (Fritz) Hollings D-SC
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX
- Harry Flood Byrd Jr. I-VA
- Patrick Joseph Leahy D-VT
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT
- Henry Martin (Scoop) Jackson D-WA
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI
- William Proxmire D-WI
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
How each senator voted: No
- Frank Hughes Murkowski R-AK
- Theodore Fulton (Ted) Stevens R-AK
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL
- Dale Bumpers D-AR
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR
- Barry Morris Goldwater R-AZ
- Alan Cranston D-CA
- Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa R-CA
- Joseph Robinette (Joe) Biden Jr. D-DE
- William Victor Roth Jr. R-DE
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL
- Paula Hawkins R-FL
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA
- 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
- Alan John Dixon D-IL
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
- Walter Darlington Huddleston D-KY
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY
- George John Mitchell D-ME
- Carl Levin D-MI
- Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. D-MI
- John Claggett Danforth R-MO
- Thomas Francis Eagleton D-MO
- John Cornelius Stennis D-MS
- William Thad Cochran R-MS
- Mark Andrews R-ND
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE
- Warren Bruce Rudman R-NH
- Harrison Arlington Williams Jr. D-NJ
- Harrison Hagan Schmitt R-NM
- Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
- Howard Walter Cannon D-NV
- Paul Dominique Laxalt R-NV
- Alfonse Marcello D'Amato R-NY
- Mark Odom Hatfield R-OR
- Robert William Packwood R-OR
- Arlen Specter R-PA
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI
- James Strom Thurmond R-SC
- James Abdnor R-SD
- Larry Lee Pressler R-SD
- Howard Henry Baker Jr. R-TN
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN
- John Goodwin Tower R-TX
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
- John William Warner R-VA
- Thomas Slade Gorton III (Slade) R-WA
- Jennings Randolph D-WV
- Malcolm Wallop R-WY
Did not vote
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
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Capitol Receipts, “To amend S. 414, permitting merchants to…: Senate Vote, Mar 12, 1981,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/97-S-28/to-amend-s-414-permitting-merchants-to-allow-unlimited (accessed 2026-10-17).