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Clausen, Peltzman, and Issue codes for 1st to 113th Congresses
Keith Poole
January 22, 2026
Clausen Categories
Government Management: Environmental control;
government regulation of business; natural resource management;
government ownership of business; government control of the economy;
budget balancing; tax policy; interest rates; management of the
bureaucracy; etc.
Social Welfare: Social security; public housing;
urban renewal; labor regulation; education; urban affairs; employment
opportunities and rewards; welfare; medicare; unemployment; minimum
wage; legal services; immigration, etc.
Agriculture: Price supports and subsidies;
commodity control; acreage limitations; etc.
Civil Liberties: Civil rights; equality; criminal
procedure; privacy; guarantees of the Bill of Rights; slavery; Hatch
Act; etc.
Foreign and Defense Policy: International policy;
foreign aid; aid to international organizations; armament policy;
defense procurement; international trade; military pensions; etc.
Miscellaneous Policy: Unclassifiable or
unidentifiable votes; all votes concerned with internal organization of
Congress; procedural motions.
Peltzman Categories
Budget General Interest: Debt limit; budget
targets; revenue sharing; unemployment insurance; tax rates; continuing
appropriations; etc.
Budget Special Interest:
Authorization/appropriations for agencies, departments; public works;
subsidized housing; NSF; parks; food stamps; etc.
Regulation General Interest: General tariffs;
minimum wage; gasoline rationing; auto emissions; water pollution;
etc.
Regulation Special Interest: Union regulations;
coal mine regulations; export/import controls; fish and wildlife;
etc.
Domestic Social Policy: Abortion; school prayer;
busing; criminal code and federal courts; immigration; gun control;
Hatch Act; veterans preference; Legal Services Corporation; voting
rights; slavery; etc.
Defense Policy Budget: Authorization/appropriations
for military; military pensions.
Defense Policy Resolutions: Number of Army
divisions; duties of officers; etc.
Foreign Policy Budget: Authorization/appropriations
for State Department and international organizations; etc.
Foreign Policy Resolutions: Condemn/thank foreign
nations; Taiwan relations; disapproval of apartheid; etc.
Government Organization: Setting up new
agencies/bureaus/commissions; civil service regulations; government
reorganization; Federal Election Commission; constitutional amendments;
admission of States; census; etc.
Internal Organization: Election of Speaker; party
ratios on committees; creating committees; procedural rules; disputed
elections; congressional pay; etc.
Indian Affairs: Indian treaties; appropriations for
Indian Department; Indian lands and reservations; etc.
D. C.: All votes dealing with the District of
Columbia.