An Act to increase the temporary debt limit, and for other purposes.
Public Law 95-120 · H.R. 9290 · 95th Congress · began in the House
Signed by Jimmy Carter (D) on Oct 4, 1977 · Economics and Public Finance
Sponsor: Rep. Albert Ullman (D-OR-2)
Cosponsors: None
Passage votesYeaNay
- HouseMethod not stated
- SenateRecorded vote: 58 yea, 30 nay58–30
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 #502 (58-30))
Increases the temporary public debt limit until March 31, 1978, by $52,000,000,000.
Who voted for it
Every senator of the 95th Congress on the ideology compass. Highlighted: the 59 who voted yea on final passage. Faded: everyone else, including those who voted nay, did not vote, or had not yet taken office.
59 yea30 nay11 present or did not vote
Democrats who voted yea(42)
- Sen. George McGovernD-SD
Sen. Ted KennedyD-MA- Sen. Dick ClarkD-IA
- Sen. Howard MetzenbaumD-OH
- Sen. John CulverD-IA
- Sen. Gaylord NelsonD-WI
- Sen. Donald RiegleD-MI
- Sen. John DurkinD-NH
- Sen. Wendell AndersonD-MN
- Sen. William HathawayD-ME
- Sen. Paul SarbanesD-MD
- Sen. Gary HartD-CO
- Sen. Edmund MuskieD-ME
Sen. Joseph BidenD-DE- Sen. Birch BayhD-IN
- Sen. Hubert HumphreyD-MN
- Sen. Floyd HaskellD-CO
- Sen. Scoop JacksonD-WA
- Sen. Warren MagnusonD-WA
- Sen. Alan CranstonD-CA
- Sen. Thomas McIntyreD-NH
- Sen. Frank ChurchD-ID
- Sen. James SasserD-TN
Sen. Daniel InouyeD-HI- Sen. Abraham RibicoffD-CT
- Sen. Spark MatsunagaD-HI
Sen. Robert ByrdD-WV- Sen. Harrison WilliamsD-NJ
- Sen. Thomas EagletonD-MO
- Sen. Claiborne PellD-RI
- Sen. Daniel MoynihanD-NY
- Sen. Adlai StevensonD-IL
- Sen. Quentin BurdickD-ND
- Sen. John MelcherD-MT
- Sen. John SparkmanD-AL
- Sen. Dennis DeConciniD-AZ
- Sen. Jennings RandolphD-WV
- Sen. John GlennD-OH
- Sen. Russell LongD-LA
- Sen. John JohnstonD-LA
- Sen. Lloyd BentsenD-TX
- Sen. Dick StoneD-FL
Republicans who voted yea(17)
- Sen. Clifford CaseR-NJ
- Sen. Jacob JavitsR-NY
- Sen. Edward BrookeR-MA
- Sen. Charles MathiasR-MD
- Sen. Charles PercyR-IL
- Sen. Henry HeinzR-PA
- Sen. James PearsonR-KS
- Sen. Lowell WeickerR-CT
- Sen. John ChafeeR-RI
- Sen. Robert PackwoodR-OR
- Sen. Richard SchweikerR-PA
- Sen. Howard BakerR-TN
Sen. Pete DomeniciR-NM
Sen. Ted StevensR-AK- Sen. Henry BellmonR-OK
- Sen. Harrison SchmittR-NM
- Sen. Carl CurtisR-NE
Data notes
The Senate’s recorded vote on the final version of the law (roll call 502 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. 13 actions.
- Oct 4, 1977Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- PresidentPresident · Public Law 95-120.
- PresidentPresident · Measure presented to President.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in Senate.
- PresidentPresident · Measure enrolled in House.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · House agreed to Senate amendment (See H. Res.804).
- Oct 1, 1977Resolving differencesResolving differences · Conference scheduled in Senate.
- Sep 30, 1977FloorFloor · Measure passed Senate, amended, roll call #502 (58-30).Senate roll call 502
- FloorFloor · Measure called up by unanimous consent in Senate.
- Sep 28, 1977FloorFloor · Measure passed House, roll call #604 (213-202).House roll call 604
- Sep 26, 1977CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Ways and Means Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Ways and Means Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
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.