The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

Deciphering Congressional voting records isn't easy. Of the 1100 roll-call votes in the 109th Congress, most were procedural or insignificant. Finding out how your representative voted on issues you care about in this mass of data can be daunting.

To help readers understand Randy Kuhl's voting record, I'm experimenting with a new page: significant votes. This page will be regularly updated with votes that meet the following criteria:

• Disputed - the vote isn't unanimous or almost-unanimous.
• Non-procedural - the vote doesn't involve referring a bill to committee or tacking on an amendment, unless the procedural vote kills a disputed bill.
• An Issue of National or Regional Relevance - the bill isn't a resolution honoring someone or renaming a postoffice.

This is a high bar: of the 73 roll-call votes in the current Congress, seven of them are significant by my measure. Of those seven votes, Randy Kuhl voted with the Democratic majority on five.

In the past month, Kuhl has been a relatively reliable member of the 60 or so Republicans who are voting against their party on significant issues. As the 110th Congress progresses, I'll be using the significant votes page to track this trend.