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The Senate defeated H.R. 5371 in a 44-48 vote. The bill failed to pass because both parties were evenly split, and it did not receive a majority of the votes cast.
This was a final vote on whether to pass H.R. 5371. A bill must be approved by both the House of Representatives and the Senate before it can be sent to the President to be signed into law. In this case, the Senate did not give its approval. In the Senate, a "Vote on Passage" is the concluding step for a piece of legislation in that chamber. To succeed, the bill required a simple majority, meaning it needed more "yes" votes than "no" votes. Because there were 92 total votes cast, at least 47 "yes" votes were needed for the bill to pass. The bill was defeated in a very close outcome. Notably, both the Democratic and Republican parties were perfectly divided, with an equal number of members from each party voting for and against the measure. Because the bill did not meet the required threshold, it will not move forward to the President.
The bill remains stuck in the Senate. Unless a Senator who voted against it moves to reconsider the vote, the legislation is effectively dead for this session.
Why it matters. The failure of this bill shows a lack of consensus in the Senate, as neither party could pull a majority of their own members into a unified position.
Who’s affected. Legislative stakeholders: Advocates for the policies in H.R. 5371 will need to find a new legislative path or seek bipartisan compromise to succeed in the future.
Democrats. The Democratic caucus was split exactly in half, with 21 members voting for the bill and 21 voting against it.
Republicans. The Republican caucus was also split exactly in half, with 23 members voting for the bill and 23 voting against it.
On Passage of the Bill H.R. 5371
Sep 19, 2025
The Senate defeated H.R.
5371 in a 44-48 vote. The bill failed to pass because both parties were evenly split, and it did not receive a majority of the votes cast.