In a perfect democracy, at least 50% of people would support every decision.

The U.S. falls short of this goal.

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H.R. 2685 // November 5, 2015Senate: Needed 60 votes to end debate

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016

Sponsor: RODNEY FRELINGHUYSEN (R-NJ)

The Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016 provides FY2016 appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for military activities, including appropriations for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO)/ Global War on Terrorism. The bill does not include funding for military construction, military family housing, civil works projects of the Army Corps of Engineers, and nuclear warheads, which are all considered in other appropriations bills. The bill increases total funding for DOD compared to FY2015 levels.

Armed Forces and National Security Topic assigned by the Congressional Research Service.

Who won, and how much of the country was behind them

Chamber

Won the vote · Nay

44 votes, representing 116,738,931 people47.2%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

51 votes, representing 103,463,820 people41.8%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 10.9% of U.S. adults whose member did not vote, voted “present,” or whose seat was vacant.

Share of U.S. adults represented, the Senate. The winning side fell 2.8 points short of a majority of the country.
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon4447.2%
YeaLost5141.8%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken010.9%

Senate This vote needed 60 yes votes to pass, more than the usual majority. It's called cloture, and it means a side with a majority of votes can still lose.