KENNEDY'S KEY VOTES IN HOUSE AND SENATE SINCE 1947
Agriculture
1959 -- Remove Secretary of Agriculture's authority to approve or disapprove REA loans. Passed over veto 64-29 (D 58-1; R 6-28) April 28. Kennedy FOR.
1959 -- Limit to $35,000 the total amount of price support loans per person per year. Agreed to 57-20 (D 31-20; R 26-0) May 22. Kennedy ANNOUNCED FOR.
1959 -- Cut 1960 conservation reserve authorization from $450 million to $375 million. Rejected 37-48 (D 12-41; R 25-7) June 3. Kennedy ANNOUNCED AGAINST.
1958 -- Bar indefinitely any reduction in price supports or acreage allotments for any farm commodity. Passed 50-43 (D 39-8; R 11-35) March 13. Kennedy FOR.
1956 -- Delete provision of farm bill calling for return to 90 percent of parity price supports. Agreed to 54-41 (D 13-35; R 41-6) March 8. Kennedy FOR.
1956 -- Establish domestic parity plan for wheat. Agreed to 54-39 (D 37-10; R 17-29) March 13. Kennedy AGAINST.
1956 -- Require farmers to puts certain portion of their land into the soil bank in order to receive price supports. Agreed to 48-46 (D 12-37; R 36-9) March 19. Kennedy FOR.
1956 -- Passage of bill providing 90-percent-of parity price supports for one year and establishing soil bank. Passed 50-35 (D 35-4; R 15-31) April 11. Kennedy AGAINST.
1954 -- Price supports for five basic crops on a flexible scale ranging from 82.5 to 90 percent of parity in 1955. Agreed to 49-44. (D 10-35; R 39-8) Aug. 9. Kennedy FOR.
1953 -- Reduce funds for the Agriculture Conservation Program by $50 million. Rejected 22-51 (D 6-32; R 16-19) June 15. Kennedy FOR.
1952 -- Continue farm price supports at 90 percent of parity on basic farm crops. Passed 207-121 (D 133-35; R 74-85) June 30. Kennedy AGAINST.
Labor
1959 -- McClellan "Bill of Rights" amendment to protect union members against unfair actions by their unions. Agreed to 47-46 (D 15-44; R 32-2) April 22. Kennedy AGAINST.
1959 -- Bar organizational or recognition picketing where a majority of employees has not sought recognition of the union and impose criminal penalties for "shakedown" picketing. Rejected 30-59 (D 9-48; R 21-11) April 24. Kennedy AGAINST.
1959 -- Extend and tighten Taft-Hartley ban on secondary boycotts. Rejected 41-50 (D 16-43; R 25-7) April 24. Kennedy AGAINST.
1959 -- Require secret ballot strike votes before any strike could take place. Rejected 28-60 (D 12-46; R 16-14) April 24. Kennedy AGAINST.
1959 -- Senate-House compromise labor reform bill, including provisions of Landrum-Griffin and Kennedy-Ervin bills. Agreed to 95-2 (D 62-1; R 33-1) Sept. 3. Kennedy FOR.
1958 -- Give union members right to sue in federal courts against misuse of union funds. Rejected 42-47 (D 5-42; R 37-5) June 13. Kennedy AGAINST.
1958 -- Require employers to sign non-Communist affidavits, in order to gain access to the NLRB, and retain a similar Taft-Hartley requirement for union officers. Agreed to 66-20 (D 30-17; R 36-3) June 16. Kennedy AGAINST.
1952 -- Urge President to invoke injunction powers under Taft-Hartley in steel strike. Agreed to 228-164. (D 82-117; R 145-47) June 26. Kennedy AGAINST.
1947 -- Taft-Hartley Labor-Management Relations Act. Passage over veto. Passed 331-83 (D 106-71; R 225-11) June 20. Kennedy AGAINST.
Unemployment Compensation
1959 -- Extend emergency unemployment compensation act of 1958 until July 1, 1960. Rejected 38-49 (D 37-20; R 1-29) March 25. Kennedy FOR.
1958 -- Broaden coverage, increase benefits, set uniform standards for federally financed unemployment compensation payments. Rejected 21-63 (D 18-23; R 3-40) May 27. Kennedy FOR.
1954 -- Provide nationwide standards for amount and duration of unemployment compensation benefits. Rejected 30-56 (D 26-14; R 3-42) July 13. Kennedy FOR.