Forty-four times during in his three terms in Congress, Steve King has found himself in a voting minority of less than 40.  Many times King is in minorities as little as three or four.  Here’s a brief look:

• King Was One in 40 to Oppose September 11th Commission Recommendations.   In 2007, King voted against the conference report on the bill that would implement recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission. 
  

• King Was One of Only 21 to Support Government Silence on Iraqi Corruption.  In 2007, King opposed a resolution rebuking the Bush administration for withholding information on the corruption and criminality that has plagued the Iraqi government.
  

• King Was One in Only 39 to Vote Against Increasing Penalties for Dogfighting and Cockfighting. 
  

• King Was One of Only Three to Vote Against an amendment that would express the sense of Congress that the food available to schoolchildren under the school breakfast and lunch program should be selected so as to reduce juvenile obesity and maximize nutritional value. 
  

• King Was One of Only Five to Vote Against Recognizing Injustices of Slave Trade.  In July 2005, King voted against a resolution that would recognize the injustices suffered by African descendants of the transatlantic slave trade in Latin America and the Caribbean and recommend that the United States and the international community work to improve the situation of such individuals.

APPROPRIATIONS

Steve King has voted in extreme minorities against many appropriations bill.  This includes a vote against continuing funds to keep agencies going until their ’08 appropriations were enacted. 

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Funding Several Defense-Related Programs.  In September 2004, King voted against passage of the joint resolution that would provide continuing appropriations through Nov. 20 for all federal departments and agencies whose fiscal 2005 appropriations bills have not been enacted.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Authorizing Economic Development.  In September 2004, King voted against the the bill that would allow $2.3 billion on grants for projects in economically distressed areas for fiscal 2004 through 2008, and an additional $33 million for fiscal 2004 administrative expenses.

King Was One of Only 11 to Vote Against Emergency Funding for Hurricane Katrina Relief.  In September 2005, King voted against the Lewis, R-Calif., motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would appropriate $51.8 billion in fiscal 2005 supplemental spending for disaster relief to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. The bill would provide $50 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $1.4 billion for the Defense Department and $400 million for the Army Corps of Engineers.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Funding Education Programs.  In 2007, King voted against passage of the bill that would authorize $1.5 billion between fiscal 2008-2012 for federal continuing education programs for math and science teachers and scholarships to encourage undergraduates to become math and science teachers.

King has extreme votes both against popular banking bills and against unpopular bills.  He voted against a bill that would allow banks to open new branches without merging without institutions and for a bill that would increase the minimum capital level for lenders.

King Voted In Extreme Minority Against Banking Bill.  In March 2004, King voted against passage of H.R. 1375, which would ease dozens of banking regulations, including expanding the ability of banks and thrifts to open new branches or merge with other institutions.

King Voted In Extreme Minority Against Increasing Salaries and Expenses for Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.  In September 2004, King voted against the amendment that would increase funding for salaries and expenses in the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network by $25.5 million.

King Voted In Extreme Minority Against 25 Year Extension of Key Provisions of the Voting Rights Act. The vote was against a 25 year extension of expiring portions of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Preventing Underage Drinking.  In November 2006, King voted against the motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would statutorily establish a federal committee to coordinate the efforts of federal agencies to prevent underage drinking. It also would authorize a national media campaign and authorize new grant programs intended to combat underage drinking.

King Voted In Extreme Minority Against Teacher Training Programs. In July 2003, King voted against a bill provides for grant programs aimed at improving the quality, preparation and recruitment of teachers. The bill authorized $300 million in fiscal 2004 for teacher quality state grants, school and business or non-profit partnership grants, and recruitment grants. It also imposed additional accountability and reporting requirements to measure the effectiveness of grant-funded programs. Finally, it authorized $10 million in fiscal 2004 to establish teaching “centers of excellence” at colleges that served minorities.

King Voted In Extreme Minority Against Legislation Increasing Student Loan Forgiveness For Teachers.  In July 2003, King voted against the passage of H.R. 438 which would increase from $5,000 to $17,500 the amount in student loans that could be forgiven for math, science and special education teachers who serve low-income students. Teachers would have to be ‘highly qualified’ as defined in the 2001 education reauthorization law and work in a Title I school in which more than 40 percent of its students come from families below the poverty line.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Price Gouging Proposal. The vote was against a bill that bans price gouging in the sale of fuels, sets penalties for such price gouging, and permits states to bring lawsuits against wholesalers or retailers for price gouging. Democrats had been fighting to get a bill on price gouging passed for almost a year, and Republicans voted several times against similar legislation proposed by Democrats.

King has a horrible record on extreme votes concerning ethics. He sponsored witch-hunt legislation for an investigation into Democrat Alan Mollohan.  He voted against restoring ethics rules and allowing for public disclosure of presidential library donations.  He also voted for silence on corruption in the Iraqi government.

King Voted Against Restoring House Ethics Rules. After months of public outcry, Republicans restored the House ethics rules they had gutted at the beginning of 2005. They dropped 3 rule changes: one would have called for an ethics complaint to be dismissed after 45 days unless a majority of the panel agreed to move the case forward. This would have allowed the Republican members of the committee to unilaterally kill any complaint filed against one of their own by refusing to act on it. The second change Republicans dropped would have allowed a lawyer to represent both the accused and the witnesses involved in an ethics case. The third change would have allowed those who are accused in an ethics case the right to a hearing before the committee. The restored rules carried no obligation that the ethics committee provide notice that a member will be mentioned negatively in an ethics committee report.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Public Disclosure of Presidential Library Donations.  In March 2007, King voted against the Murphy, D-Conn., motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would require organizations that raise money for presidential libraries to disclose on a quarterly basis the identities of donors who contribute $200 or more in the previous quarter. They would be made available online to the public, to the National Archives and Records Administration and various congressional committees.

King Was One of Only 21 to Support Government Silence on Iraqi Corruption.  In 2007, King opposed a resolution rebuking the Bush administration for withholding information on the corruption and criminality that has plagued the Iraqi government.  After the State Department instructed its staff not to address corruption in the Iraqi government, the department retroactively classified two reports by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that concluded the government “is not capable of even rudimentary enforcement of anticorruption laws.”

King Voted Against Protecting Journalists From Being Compelled to Testify.  In October 2007, King voted against a bill that would create a qualified privilege for journalists that would prevent them from being legally compelled to provide testimony or documents that would reveal their confidential sources, unless a court finds one of several exceptions applies.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Authorizing President to Provide Safe Water for Developing World.  In November 2005, King voted against the Poe, R-Texas, motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would authorize the president to furnish foreign assistance to provide safe water and sanitation to people in developing countries, and would authorize such sums as may be necessary in fiscal 2006 and each subsequent year to carry out this assistance. 

King Voted Against $21.3 Billion Foreign Aid Spending Bill. The vote was for a $21.3 billion spending bill that funds America’s foreign aid programs. The bill is a 3% increase from last year. The bill provides $3.4 billion for international HIV/AIDS relief, $2.5 billion in aid to Israel, $1.8 billion for Egypt and $450 million for Sudan. It provides $2 billion for the Millennium Challenge Account, which rewards economic and political progress in developing countries.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Grant to Boys and Girls Club of America.  In September 2004, King voted against the Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would authorize $450 million in grants for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America over five years and increase the number of chapters nationwide to 5,000 by 2011

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Funding National Institute of Standards and Technology.  In May 2007, king voted against passage of the bill that would authorize $2.5 billion from fiscal 2008 through 2010 for the National Institute of Standards and Technology. It would eliminate the Advanced Technology Program and replace it with a new initiative called the Technology Innovation Program, which would assist private businesses, institutions of higher education and nonprofit groups in conducting high-risk development of technologies with potentially large benefits to the national economy. It would authorize $402 million between fiscal 2008 and 2010 for the program for industrial technology.

King Was One of Only Eight to Oppose Funds to Historically Black Colleges.  In September 2005, King voted against the Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, amendment that would make funds authorized in the bill for scientific, technical research and general services available, to the maximum extent practical, to historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Forgivable Loans For Child Mental Health.  In March 2006, King voted against the amendment that would make child and adolescent mental health professionals eligible for loan forgiveness under the high-need professions program.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Prescription Drug Discounts.  In September 2007, King voted against the motion to instruct conferees to agree to a Senate provision that would extend Defense Department discounts on prescription drugs to the TRICARE retail pharmacy program.

Voted In Extreme Minority Against Limiting Use of Funds For Medicare and Medicaid.  In July 2007, King voted against the amendment that would limit the use of the funds in the bill provided to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services concerning Medicare regulations related to local hospitals.

King Opposed September 11th Commission Recommendations.   In 2007, King voted against the conference report on the bill that would implement recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission.  The recommendation included requiring homeland security grants based mainly on risk while ensuring minimum amounts for each state and creating a new grant program to support the development of interoperable communications.  It also required all cargo bound for the United States to be scanned for radiation and density before being placed on a ship in a foreign port by July 1, 2012, and authorized new sanctions on foreign individuals or entities that engage in the improper transport or sales of nuclear weapons materials.

King Voted In Extreme Minority Against Allowing Iraqi and Afghan Military Translators Admittance to the United States.  In May 2007, King voted against the motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill with an amendment. The bill, as modified, would permit up to 500 Iraqi or Afghans who have worked for the U.S. military as translators to be eligible for admittance into the United States. The increase would be in effect for the next two years.

King Was One of Only 21 to Support Government Silence on Iraqi Corruption.  In 2007, King opposed a resolution rebuking the Bush administration for withholding information on the corruption and criminality that has plagued the Iraqi government.  After the State Department instructed its staff not to address corruption in the Iraqi government, the department retroactively classified two reports by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that concluded the government “is not capable of even rudimentary enforcement of anticorruption laws.”

King Voted In Extreme Minority to Support Permanent Base in Iraq.   In July 2007, King voted against a bill to prohibit any funding for the creation of a permanent military base in Iraq.  The bill prohibited any funds made available by any act of Congress to be obligated or expended to establish any military installation or base for the permanent stationing of U.S. armed forces in Iraq, or to exercise U.S. economic control of the oil resources of Iraq.

King Voted In Extreme Minority Against Unemployment Benefits That Left Out 1.1 Million. This bill was a watered down 13-week unemployment benefit extension that left out 1.1 million workers who had used up all their unemployment aid but still could not find work. More unemployed workers were exhausting their benefits than in the past due primarily to the weak job market and the fact that the federal program provides fewer weeks of benefits than in the past. Additionally, the unemployed insurance program allows fewer states to qualify as “high unemployment” states, which triggers the provision of additional weeks of benefits.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Improving Competitiveness of US Manufacturing.  King voted against passage of a bill that would authorize $2.1 billion in fiscal 2006 through 2008 for activities designed to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector, including grant programs, scientific research, and education. The bill would authorize $1.3 billion in fiscal 2006 through 2008 for laboratory activities and technical research run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). It would authorize $345 million in fiscal 2006 through 2008 for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. As amended, it would authorize $3 million for NIST to conduct a study on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on buildings for new building standards and codes.

King Opposed Federal Railroad Safety.  In 2007, King voted against a bill that would authorize $1.1 billion for the Federal Railroad Administration from fiscal 2008 through 2011 and reauthorize rail safety programs. It also would rename the agency the Federal Railroad Safety Administration and nearly double the number of rail safety inspection and enforcement personnel.

King has also voted in extreme minorities on symbolic votes in the House.  This has included votes to recognize the injustices of slavery, votes to honor a former President and a former Member of Congress, as well as a vote to simply express the sense that children’s lunches should be healthier.

King Was One of Only Five to Vote Against Recognizing Injustices of Slave Trade.  In July 2005, King voted against the Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would recognize the injustices suffered by African descendants of the transatlantic slave trade in Latin America and the Caribbean and recommend that the United States and the international community work to improve the situation of such individuals.

King Was One of Only Six to Vote Against Recognizing Slaves Who Helped Build the Capitol.  In November 2007, King voted against Norton, D-D.C., motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill that would designate the Capitol Visitor Center's main hallway, currently known as the Great Hall, as “Emancipation Hall” in recognition of the slaves who helped build the Capitol. 

King Was One of Five to Vote Against Honoring Life and Legacy of FDR.  In March 2004, King voted against the Miller, R-Mich., motion to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution that would honor the life and legacy of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and recognize his contributions to the United States and the world on the anniversary of his birthday.

King Voted in Extreme Minority Against Encouraging Citizens to Salute AmeriCorps Members.  In May 2007, King voted against the Yarmuth, D-Ky., motion to suspend the rules and adopt the resolution that would encourage all citizens to salute AmeriCorps members and alumni and acknowledge the significant accomplishments of AmeriCorps members, alumni and community partners.