Chris Shays - Voting Record

Voting Record

Since 1990, Christopher Shays has voted with the majority Republicans 76.8% of the time, voted with the majority of Democrats 57.9% of the time, and missed 2.5% of the votes. U.S. News & World Report said that analysis of Shays' voting record reveals that he is a moderate, having voted historically more often with liberals than with conservatives, although it noted he voted with Congressional Republicans 80% of the time in 2002.

Shays is labeled by his supporters as a "maverick" and "independent thinker", while conservative detractors regard him as a RINO ("Republican In Name Only"). Shays is partially pro-choice on abortion but voted for the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Shays was endorsed by the Brady Campaign for his support for gun control and was one of only six Republicans to vote against banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers and distributors in 2005. He has voted against the federal marriage amendment that would constitutionally ban same-sex marriage and co-sponsored a bill to overturn the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that prohibited LGBT troops from serving openly. He is one of the few Republicans to oppose amending the Constitution to ban flag-burning. In 1999 he was one of 20 Republicans to vote against an ultimately failed bill to ban physician-assisted suicide. The Congressman has long been known for environmental regulations, and was endorsed in the past by the League of Conservation Voters. He also advocates humane treatment of animals and ending discrimination in the workplace. Shays was also one of only four Republicans to vote against all four articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton.

In April 2005, he broke with most of his party over House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's alleged ethics violations. January 2011, Tom Delay was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to three years in prison but is free on bail while appealing his conviction. His comments in 2005 made Shays the first Republican to say DeLay should step down from the Majority Leader post. He fought to maintain the Republican Party rule that requires an indicted leader to step down — the rule that ultimately resulted in Tom DeLay's resignation. Shays stated that he should resign, saying, "Tom's conduct is hurting the Republican Party, is hurting this Republican majority and it is hurting any Republican who is up for re-election."

Shays is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act. In 2008, he opposed H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act (a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling").

Shays is a member of or supported by the Republican Main Street Partnership, The Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans for Environmental Protection, It's My Party Too, and the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus.