ABSTRACT
No formal action taken by members of Congress is more important than floor voting. The legislative process culminates in a vote of the full House and Senate gathered in their bodies’ chambers. All members get one and only one vote per roll call. Without floor votes bills cannot become law, the country cannot legally go to war, programs cannot be funded, presidential vetoes cannot be overridden, and the executive and judicial branches cannot be fully staffed. In short, Congress, and indeed the federal government more generally, cannot act with any real degree of effectiveness.
