Tom Cotton

• Voted no

  Extend ACA Subsidies Three Years

  Extends the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits through 2028. Monthly premiums stay lower for people who buy their own coverage on the marketplace.

  The record · roll no. 644
  Democrats100%

  Republicans8%
• Voted yes

  Fund HSAs Instead of Subsidies

  The Senate Republicans' alternative. Instead of subsidizing insurers, the government puts cash into people's Health Savings Accounts, plus cost-sharing help, for those on bronze, catastrophic, and silver plans.

  The record · roll no. 643
  Democrats0%

  Republicans92%
• No position

  Make ACA Subsidies Permanent

  Makes the enhanced ACA premium tax credits permanent. More people qualify for marketplace subsidies, and the subsidies stay larger, for good.

  Democrats98%

  Republicans0%
• No position

  Rein In Drug Middlemen

  Reins in the pharmacy benefit managers who sit between drugmakers and pharmacies. It curbs tactics like “spread pricing,” requires PBMs to pass manufacturer rebates through to health plans, and unlinks their pay from a drug's list price.

  Democrats27%

  Republicans30%
• Show all 10 measures⌄

2 more measures exist only in the House, so it isn't shown here.

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• Voted yes

  Rescind Enacted Spending

  Cancels money Congress has already approved. The 2025 version clawed back about $9 billion, mostly from foreign aid and public broadcasting, and was signed into law.

  The record · roll no. 411
  Democrats0%

  Republicans92%
• No position

  Restore Impoundment Power

  Repeals the 1974 law that bars a president from refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated. It would let the president “impound” funds, that is, decline to spend them, to hold down federal outlays.

  Democrats0%

  Republicans4%
• No position

  Bipartisan Fiscal Commission

  Creates a bipartisan commission of lawmakers and outside experts to write a plan to stabilize the debt, with a guaranteed up-or-down vote in Congress. It doesn't choose the spending cuts or tax increases itself; it forces a process to decide.

  Democrats9%

  Republicans9%
• No position

  Surtax on Top Incomes

  Adds an extra tax on income above roughly $1 million a year, on top of the existing rates.

  Democrats9%

  Republicans0%
• Show all 6 measures⌄

2 more measures exist only in the House, so it isn't shown here.

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• Voted yes

  Permanently Schedule Fentanyl-Related Drugs

  Permanently places all fentanyl-related substances into Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the most tightly controlled category, so making or selling any chemical cousin of fentanyl carries the same penalties as fentanyl itself. Before this, the class was scheduled only under temporary orders that had to be renewed.

  The record · roll no. 127
  Democrats67%

  Republicans96%
• No position

  Lower the Bar for Mandatory Minimums

  Lowers the quantity of fentanyl that triggers a mandatory-minimum prison sentence, so far smaller amounts carry the same automatic penalties that today apply only to large quantities. Despite its name, it makes trafficking sentences harsher, not lighter.

  Democrats0%

  Republicans9%
• No position

  Prescribe Addiction Medications by Telehealth

  Permanently lets clinicians prescribe medications for opioid use disorder, such as buprenorphine, over telehealth, without requiring an in-person visit first. It makes permanent a flexibility that began during the pandemic.

  Democrats42%

  Republicans8%
• No position

  Let Pharmacies Dispense Methadone

  Lets addiction specialists prescribe methadone for opioid use disorder and lets ordinary pharmacies fill it, breaking the current rule that methadone for addiction can be dispensed only at federally licensed opioid-treatment clinics.

  Democrats13%

  Republicans2%
• No position

  Fund State Overdose Treatment Hubs

  Creates a five-year Medicaid pilot, in up to ten states, that pays for “health engagement hubs”: one-stop sites offering rapid-access addiction treatment, physical and mental health care, peer support, and case management, with the federal government covering at least 90 percent of the cost.

  Democrats2%

  Republicans2%

2 more measures exist only in the House, so it isn't shown here.

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• No position

  Universal Background Checks

  Requires a background check for nearly all firearm sales, including private transfers between individuals. Today only licensed dealers must run the check; sales between private parties are generally exempt.

  Democrats100%

  Republicans0%
• No position

  Safe Firearm Storage

  Sets a federal safe-storage standard: firearms in a home where a minor could reach them must be locked or otherwise secured, with penalties when an unsecured gun is accessed. It is named for a teenager killed by an unsecured firearm.

  Democrats87%

  Republicans0%
• No position

  Raise the Purchase Age to 21

  Raises the minimum age to buy certain semiautomatic rifles and shotguns from a licensed dealer from 18 to 21. Handgun sales from dealers already carry a 21-and-older minimum.

  Democrats40%

  Republicans0%
• No position

  Assault Weapons Ban

  Bans the manufacture, sale, and import of many semiautomatic rifles and pistols the bill defines as “assault weapons,” along with the large-capacity magazines it defines. Firearms already owned are grandfathered in.

  Democrats93%

  Republicans0%
• Show all 9 measures⌄

2 more measures exist only in the House, so it isn't shown here.

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• No position

  Charge Polluting Imports a Carbon Price

  Sets a fee on imported steel, cement, and other heavy industrial goods based on how much carbon pollution it took to make them, and holds American producers to the same standard.

  Democrats13%

  Republicans0%
• No position

  Clear Out Wildfire Fuel Faster

  Speeds up environmental reviews for forest-thinning and controlled-burn projects on federal land, and sets up a joint federal center to coordinate wildfire work. The House passed it in 2025.

  Democrats4%

  Republicans4%
• No position

  Fast-Track Nuclear Fuel Plants

  Puts the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on a deadline when it licenses the plants that make and recycle fuel for advanced reactors, the step that currently holds up new reactors.

  Democrats2%

  Republicans2%
• Voted yes

  Undo California's EV Sales Mandate

  Cancels the federal permission that let California require carmakers to sell a rising share of zero-emission vehicles, a standard more than a dozen other states had adopted. It passed both chambers and was signed into law in 2025.

  The record · roll no. 277
  Democrats2%

  Republicans91%
• Voted yes

  Scrap the Methane Emissions Fee

  Kills the federal charge that made oil and gas companies pay for the methane they leak or vent into the air, a fee created by the 2022 climate law. It passed both chambers and was signed into law in 2025.

  The record · roll no. 97
  Democrats0%

  Republicans96%

5 more measures exist only in the House, so it isn't shown here.

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• Voted yes

  Detain and Deport for Theft Crimes

  Requires the federal government to detain immigrants without legal status who are arrested for or charged with theft-related crimes, assaulting a police officer, or a crime causing death or serious injury. It also lets states sue the federal government over immigration-enforcement decisions.

  The record · roll no. 7
  Democrats27%

  Republicans92%
• Voted yes

  Fund Border and Interior Enforcement

  Provides about $70 billion through 2029 to the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for border security and immigration enforcement.

  The record · roll no. 163
  Democrats0%

  Republicans96%
• No position

  Cut Funds to Sanctuary Jurisdictions

  Makes a state or locality ineligible for certain federal funds if it limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, such as by declining to hold people for federal agents or withholding immigration-status information.

  Democrats0%

  Republicans21%
• No position

  End Birthright Citizenship by Statute

  Redefines who is a citizen at birth so that a child born in the United States is a citizen only if at least one parent is a citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or a noncitizen serving in the armed forces.

  Democrats0%

  Republicans21%
• Show all 7 measures⌄

6 more measures exist only in the House, so it isn't shown here.

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