Earl L. "Buddy" Carter

Contents

Civil rights and liberties44 actions

Carter's voting record on civil rights and liberties reflects support for religious protections and consumer privacy safeguards alongside restrictions on transgender student athletics. He voted to restrict transgender girls and women from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity while also supporting measures to correct religious misidentifications on military graves, condemn antisemitism, and require disclosure of surveillance capabilities in smart devices. Carter voted to overturn Department of Education protections against sex-based harassment and discrimination in schools and supported legislative restrictions on committee service, raising questions about competing civil liberties concerns. He also backed measures requiring educational institutions be shielded from certain accreditation requirements and establishing disability access provisions for veterans' services, while supporting Second Amendment protections against state gun restrictions.

Criminal justice44 actions

Carter voted consistently to strengthen criminal enforcement mechanisms and expand law enforcement authority. His votes included support for increased penalties on fentanyl trafficking and distribution, enhanced tools for classifying fentanyl variants as controlled substances, and expanded law enforcement access to less-lethal weapons. Carter also voted to reverse criminal justice reforms in Washington, D.C., including those that expanded jury trial rights, modified sentencing guidelines, and restricted police use of force, while simultaneously voting to restrict D.C.'s ability to reform its own sentencing laws and to lower the age threshold for prosecuting juveniles as adults. His record further included support for federal funding of drug enforcement and treatment-focused judicial programs, enhanced penalties for impaired driving tied to deportation consequences, and measures addressing threats to law enforcement officers and police animals. On matters of law enforcement capacity, Carter voted to fund criminal justice commissions, improve data collection on officer safety, and expand mental health support for police.

Economy and labor64 actions

Carter's voting record on economy and labor matters reflects consistent support for business deregulation and infrastructure investment, alongside skepticism of labor protections. He voted affirmatively on numerous bills expanding small business financing, reducing regulatory burdens, and streamlining permitting processes for private enterprises, as well as measures supporting veteran employment assistance and Native American business development. Carter also supported substantial federal spending on transportation, water, broadband, space, and other public infrastructure projects, including airport funding reauthorizations, Army Corps of Engineers water management initiatives, and NASA programs. However, he voted against federal workforce development funding, labor union rights restoration, regulations protecting tipped workers, and joint-employer accountability measures. Carter rejected bills that would have made water infrastructure financing more affordable for communities and opposed the transfer of federal resources to a private concrete company. His votes on trade matters, including support for restricting electric vehicle tax credits tied to foreign supply chains and extending preferential tariffs for Haitian apparel, suggest a focus on reshaping trade relationships rather than pursuing liberalized commerce.

Education20 actions

Carter's education voting record demonstrates consistent support for expanding access to educational funding and resources across multiple student populations. He voted to extend federal funding to rural and underserved schools, facilitate earlier financial aid application processing, reduce college costs for students from U.S. territories, and strengthen career and technical education pathways connecting students with employers. Carter also supported initiatives benefiting specific student groups, including veterans' access to technology training programs and protections for student veterans' educational benefits, as well as expanded support infrastructure for pregnant students enrolled in colleges. He voted to increase transparency in higher education through disclosure requirements regarding foreign contracts and gifts, while voting against a parental curriculum review and transparency measure. Carter's record includes votes on curriculum matters, supporting educational instruction on communism and totalitarianism while voting to restrict accreditation standards addressing social and political topics, and he voted against foreign funding disclosure requirements that could affect international research collaborations.

Environment and energy126 actions

Carter's voting record on environment and energy matters reflects consistent prioritization of extractive industries and energy infrastructure expansion alongside selective support for discrete conservation initiatives. He voted to permit lead ammunition on public lands, eliminate EPA emission standards for vehicles and heavy-duty engines, overturn coal leasing protections across multiple western states, and block environmental reviews for oil and gas development in Alaska's sensitive regions. Carter supported legislative efforts to weaken water efficiency standards, reduce energy efficiency requirements for appliances and refrigeration equipment, and streamline permitting processes for natural gas infrastructure and hardrock mining operations. His record included votes to remove wolf protections and restrict environmental assessments for federal projects. However, Carter backed targeted conservation measures including market-based removal of invasive fish species from the Chesapeake Bay, marine debris pollution reduction funding, endangered marine species rehabilitation efforts, and research into a fungal disease threatening Hawaii's native forests. He voted to advance domestic mineral sourcing for clean energy technologies and supported nuclear energy reauthorization alongside wildlife conservation modernization through digital duck stamps.

Fiscal policy72 actions

Carter's fiscal policy voting record reflects consistent support for spending restraint and revenue protection. He voted in favor of appropriations measures that maintained federal spending at existing levels rather than expanding it, including continuing resolutions and departmental allocations across fiscal years 2024 through 2026. Carter supported legislation granting the President authority to rescind previously approved spending and backed a budget enforcement mechanism requiring federal spending not to exceed average revenues over a three-year period except during emergencies. On revenue matters, Carter voted to preserve tax revenue by opposing a proposal to allow clergy members to opt out of Social Security and Medicare taxes, yet he also supported several measures reducing federal revenue through tax credits, disaster-related income exclusions, and a specialized tax rule for certain Taiwan residents. Carter voted to increase the federal debt ceiling while supporting accompanying spending caps, and he backed legislation reducing regulatory compliance costs on businesses and financial institutions, including rules limiting mortgage fee reductions and blocking overdraft fee caps. His record demonstrates alignment with fiscal approaches emphasizing spending limitations and regulatory reduction, while supporting selective revenue preservation.

Government accountability and transparency170 actions

Carter's voting record on government accountability and transparency reflects a consistent emphasis on electoral integrity measures and congressional oversight of executive agencies. He supported legislation requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration, restricting voting eligibility to citizens in federal and District of Columbia elections, and enabling election observers to monitor contested scenarios. Carter voted to strengthen agency accountability by requiring federal agencies to conduct strategic performance reviews, establish oversight roles, and have agency heads personally sign off on regulatory decisions. He supported congressional mechanisms to review and reject executive regulations, including provisions allowing lawmakers to overturn multiple rules at once and blocking specific agency decisions such as the Treasury Department's bank merger review streamlining and the financial institutions lending disclosure rule. Carter backed increased transparency requirements for federal agencies, including reporting on agricultural threats, small business lending decisions, regulatory impacts on small businesses, and building usage efficiency. He voted to enhance disclosure requirements in multiple contexts, including ticket pricing transparency and settlement agreement publication. Carter consistently supported legislation funding congressional oversight institutions and investigative bodies examining federal agency compliance with disclosure requirements. However, his record includes votes on measures with ambiguous or counterintuitive effects on transparency, including votes supporting regulatory oversight mechanisms that reduce public scrutiny by bundling separate rules into single votes and removing senators' ability to sue when office data is improperly accessed. Carter voted against several bills that would have advanced government accountability, including measures establishing oversight of federal prisons, improving Veterans Affairs communications transparency, and creating performance standards for protective services.

Healthcare48 actions

Carter voted affirmatively on all healthcare legislation brought before him during this period, spanning substance use disorder treatment expansion, veteran healthcare benefits and services, rural health infrastructure funding, and disease research initiatives. His voting record included measures extending federal funding for addiction recovery and trauma support programs through 2028, legislation expanding home and community-based care alternatives for veterans, and provisions addressing cancer risk tracking in Vietnam veterans and firefighters exposed to occupational hazards. Carter also supported pediatric healthcare research funding, emergency medical services for children, dental provider availability in underserved areas, and measures to reduce insurance costs. Notably, his record included votes on narrower healthcare policy adjustments such as employer reimbursement for individual health insurance and elimination of vaccine requirements for certain healthcare workers.

Immigration42 actions

Carter voted consistently to restrict immigration access and enforcement procedures throughout the period covered. He supported legislation that increased detention protocols, limited asylum eligibility, raised criminal penalties for unauthorized entry, and expanded border enforcement capacity through surveillance technology and operational flexibility. Carter also voted to restrict housing accommodations for undocumented immigrants in schools and on public lands, to penalize local governments that declined federal immigration enforcement cooperation, and to expand grounds for deportation of immigrants convicted of violent crimes. He voted against extending protected status to Haitian nationals. Carter's sole dissent came on a vote affirming a presidential border security emergency declaration.

National security and foreign policy163 actions

Carter's voting record on national security and foreign policy demonstrates consistent support for hardline positions toward adversarial nations and expansive executive tools for international engagement. He voted affirmatively on sanctions regimes targeting Iran, China, and other foreign actors across multiple dimensions, including restrictions on energy sector transactions, technology exports, financial relationships with government-affiliated entities, and human rights concerns. Carter supported measures strengthening U.S. military and diplomatic partnerships with regional allies, including Israel, Southeast Asian nations, and Georgia, as well as legislation enhancing domestic security infrastructure such as chemical facility protection and cybersecurity task forces. His votes included backing presidential authority to impose sanctions on maritime piracy, terrorism-connected individuals, and weapons proliferation actors, while also supporting congressional oversight mechanisms such as mandatory Senate approval of World Health Organization pandemic agreements and increased legislative review of Iran sanctions decisions. Carter voted against several bills that would have restricted presidential military authority, including measures requiring congressional approval before operations against Iran, terrorist groups in the Western Hemisphere, and Venezuela, suggesting a preference for executive flexibility in military decision-making. He also voted against bills to reduce U.S. military presence in Syria and Somalia, though he voted affirmatively on a measure to limit military involvement in Somalia in another instance, indicating some nuance in his position on regional military commitments. Carter voted no on a Department of Homeland Security funding bill and against ending certain national emergency declarations, though the precise rationale for these votes remains unclear from the legislative descriptions provided.

Activity ledger — most recent first