The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976
Public Law 94-559 · S. 2278 · 94th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Gerald Ford (R) on Oct 19, 1976 · Law
Sponsor: Sen. John Tunney (D-CA)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votesYeaNay
- HouseRecorded vote: 306 yea, 68 nay306–68
- SenateRecorded vote: 57 yea, 15 nay57–15
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
(Measure passed Senate, amended, roll call #677 (57-15))
Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act - Authorizes the awarding of attorney's fees to the prevailing party (other than the United States) in civil actions to enforce civil rights laws or a provision of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
Who voted for it
Every senator of the 94th Congress on the ideology compass. Highlighted: the 58 who voted yea on final passage. Faded: everyone else, including those who voted nay, did not vote, or had not yet taken office.
58 yea16 nay26 present or did not vote
Democrats who voted yea(40)
- Sen. James AbourezkD-SD
- Sen. William ProxmireD-WI
- Sen. Dick ClarkD-IA
- Sen. Gaylord NelsonD-WI
Sen. Joseph BidenD-DE- Sen. Floyd HaskellD-CO
- Sen. Lee MetcalfD-MT
- Sen. John CulverD-IA
- Sen. Gary HartD-CO
Sen. Ted KennedyD-MA- Sen. William HathawayD-ME
- Sen. John DurkinD-NH
Sen. Patrick LeahyD-VT- Sen. Birch BayhD-IN
- Sen. Thomas EagletonD-MO
- Sen. Edmund MuskieD-ME
- Sen. Fritz HollingsD-SC
- Sen. Hubert HumphreyD-MN
- Sen. Stuart SymingtonD-MO
- Sen. Adlai StevensonD-IL
- Sen. Thomas McIntyreD-NH
- Sen. Dale BumpersD-AR
- Sen. Quentin BurdickD-ND
- Sen. Frank MossD-UT
- Sen. Claiborne PellD-RI
- Sen. Dee HuddlestonD-KY
Sen. Robert ByrdD-WV- Sen. Harrison WilliamsD-NJ
- Sen. John TunneyD-CA
- Sen. Scoop JacksonD-WA
- Sen. Warren MagnusonD-WA
- Sen. Wendell FordD-KY
- Sen. John PastoreD-RI
- Sen. Robert MorganD-NC
- Sen. Jennings RandolphD-WV
- Sen. Dick StoneD-FL
- Sen. Mike GravelD-AK
- Sen. John JohnstonD-LA
- Sen. Samuel NunnD-GA
- Sen. John SparkmanD-AL
Republicans who voted yea(18)
- Sen. Clifford CaseR-NJ
- Sen. Edward BrookeR-MA
- Sen. Richard SchweikerR-PA
- Sen. Jacob JavitsR-NY
- Sen. Charles MathiasR-MD
- Sen. Charles PercyR-IL
- Sen. Mark HatfieldR-OR
- Sen. Lowell WeickerR-CT
- Sen. Hugh ScottR-PA
- Sen. James PearsonR-KS
- Sen. Robert PackwoodR-OR
- Sen. Hiram FongR-HI
Sen. Ted StevensR-AK- Sen. William RothR-DE
Sen. Pete DomeniciR-NM- Sen. Robert TaftR-OH
- Sen. Howard BakerR-TN
- Sen. Robert GriffinR-MI
Data notes
The Senate’s recorded vote on the final version of the law (roll call 1288 in Voteview), matched to the vote the record cites and checked against its totals. Positions are each member’s DW-NOMINATE score for that Congress, as on the Ideology page; left to right is more liberal to more conservative. Paired and announced yea votes count as yea. Lists follow the compass, most liberal first. A name links to a profile only for members of the current Congress. A law passed by voice vote or unanimous consent has no member list, and neither does a vote Voteview has not yet recorded.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 14 actions.
- Oct 19, 1976Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public law 94-559.
- Oct 7, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- Oct 6, 1976PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Oct 1, 1976FloorFloor · Measure passed House, roll call #860 (306-68).House roll call 860
- FloorFloor · Motion to recommit to the Committee on the Judiciary with instructions rejected in House, roll call #859 (104-268.House roll call 859
- Sep 29, 1976FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended, roll call #677 (57-15).Senate roll call 677
- FloorFloor · Motion to indefinitely postpone tabled in Senate, roll call #675 (53-17).Senate roll call 675
- Sep 23, 1976FloorFloor · Cloture motion passed Senate, roll call #638 (63-26).Senate roll call 638
- Sep 21, 1976FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in Senate, roll call #613 (69-12).Senate roll call 613
- Jun 29, 1976CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Judiciary Committee
- Aug 1, 1975CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.