Senate roll call 239 · 98th Congress · Sep 15, 1983
To table division 5 of the helms amendment to H. J. RES. 353. Division 5 of the helms amendment states that it is the sense of the Congress that the President
On Sep 15, 1983, the Senate voted 60–36. Result: passed. By party: Republicans 35–19, Democrats 25–17. It was a bipartisan vote: majorities of both parties voted yes. 36 members voted against their own party.
During the 98th Congress (1983–1984), Ronald Reagan was president, and Democrats held the House majority and Republicans the Senate majority.
- Yes
- 60
- No
- 36
- Did not vote
- 5
- Date
- Sep 15, 1983
By party
- Republicans35 yes · 19 no · 1 didn’t vote
- Democrats25 yes · 17 no · 4 didn’t vote
Who broke with their party
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL voted no
- Dale Bumpers D-AR voted no
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR voted no
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ voted no
- Pete Wilson R-CA voted no
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO voted no
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL voted no
- Paula Hawkins R-FL voted no
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA voted no
- Charles Ernest Grassley R-IA voted no
- James Albertus Mcclure R-ID voted no
- Steven Douglas Symms R-ID voted no
- Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS voted no
- Walter Darlington Huddleston D-KY voted no
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY voted no
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA voted no
- George John Mitchell D-ME voted no
- Carl Levin D-MI voted no
- William Thad Cochran R-MS voted no
- John Melcher D-MT voted no
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT voted no
- Jesse Helms R-NC voted no
- John Porter East R-NC voted no
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE voted no
- J. James Exon D-NE voted no
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH voted no
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ voted no
- Alfonse Marcello D'Amato R-NY voted no
- David Lyle Boren D-OK voted no
- Donald Lee Nickles R-OK voted no
- Arlen Specter R-PA voted no
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX voted no
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT voted no
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT voted no
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI voted no
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY voted no
How each senator voted: Yes
- Frank Hughes Murkowski R-AK
- Theodore Fulton (Ted) Stevens R-AK
- Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. R-AL
- Barry Morris Goldwater R-AZ
- 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
- Samuel Augustus Nunn D-GA
- Daniel Ken Inouye D-HI
- Spark Masayuki Matsunaga D-HI
- Roger William Jepsen R-IA
- Alan John Dixon D-IL
- Charles Harting Percy R-IL
- James Danforth (Dan) Quayle R-IN
- Richard Green Lugar R-IN
- Nancy Landon Kassebaum R-KS
- 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
- 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
- Mark Andrews R-ND
- Quentin Northrup Burdick D-ND
- Warren Bruce Rudman R-NH
- Frank Raleigh Lautenberg D-NJ
- Jesse Francis (Jeff) Bingaman Jr. D-NM
- Pete Vichi Domenici R-NM
- Jacob Chic Hecht R-NV
- Paul Dominique Laxalt R-NV
- 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
- Henry John Heinz III R-PA
- Claiborne de Borda Pell D-RI
- John Hubbard Chafee R-RI
- James Strom Thurmond R-SC
- James Abdnor R-SD
- Howard Henry Baker Jr. R-TN
- James Ralph Sasser D-TN
- John Goodwin Tower R-TX
- John William Warner R-VA
- Paul Seward Trible Jr. R-VA
- Patrick Joseph Leahy D-VT
- Robert Theodore Stafford R-VT
- Daniel Jackson Evans R-WA
- Thomas Slade Gorton III (Slade) R-WA
- William Proxmire D-WI
- Jennings Randolph D-WV
- Robert Carlyle Byrd D-WV
- Malcolm Wallop R-WY
How each senator voted: No
- Howell Thomas Heflin D-AL
- Dale Bumpers D-AR
- David Hampton Pryor D-AR
- Dennis Webster Deconcini D-AZ
- Pete Wilson R-CA
- William Lester Armstrong R-CO
- Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. D-FL
- Paula Hawkins R-FL
- Mack Francis Mattingly R-GA
- Charles Ernest Grassley R-IA
- James Albertus Mcclure R-ID
- Steven Douglas Symms R-ID
- Robert Joseph (Bob) Dole R-KS
- Walter Darlington Huddleston D-KY
- Wendell Hampton Ford D-KY
- John Bennett Johnston Jr. D-LA
- George John Mitchell D-ME
- Carl Levin D-MI
- William Thad Cochran R-MS
- John Melcher D-MT
- Max Sieben Baucus D-MT
- Jesse Helms R-NC
- John Porter East R-NC
- Edward Zorinsky D-NE
- J. James Exon D-NE
- Gordon John Humphrey R-NH
- William Warren (Bill) Bradley D-NJ
- Alfonse Marcello D'Amato R-NY
- David Lyle Boren D-OK
- Donald Lee Nickles R-OK
- Arlen Specter R-PA
- Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. D-TX
- Edwin Jacob (Jake) Garn R-UT
- Orrin Grant Hatch R-UT
- Robert Walter Kasten Jr. R-WI
- Alan Kooi Simpson R-WY
Did not vote
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
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Capitol Receipts, “To table division 5 of the helms amendment…: Senate Vote, Sep 15, 1983,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/98-S-239/to-table-division-5-of-the-helms-amendment-to (accessed 2026-10-17).