How the Senate passed S. 4668, 77 to 22

The Senate passed S. 4668, as amended, 77 to 22, on September 28, 2026. The roll call, Vote 250, records the question as “On Passage of the Bill” and the result as Passed. The bill’s purpose, as stated in that roll-call title, is to protect the name, image, and likeness rights of student athletes, provide protections for them, promote fair competition among intercollegiate athletics, and for other purposes.

Passage was the eleventh recorded Senate vote on S. 4668 in this file, and the last. The ten before it were cloture votes, a motion to proceed, and amendments. Senate passage is not enactment. This file has no House roll call on S. 4668.

The path to the passage vote

The Senate first voted on whether to begin. On September 15 it invoked cloture on the motion to proceed, 74 to 24, Vote 235. On September 17 it agreed to the motion to proceed, 77 to 22, Vote 236. This site’s cloture glossary, which cites the Senate.gov page on cloture, states that cloture on most legislation takes 60 votes. Both of those yea totals are above 60. Agreeing to the motion to proceed starts consideration. It does not pass the bill.

The next text vote was Cruz Amdt. No. 6776. The roll call calls it an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The Congress.gov legislative glossary describes that form as a complete substitute for the text of the measure. The Senate invoked cloture on the amendment, 70 to 21, on September 22 (Vote 240), and agreed to the amendment, 77 to 23, on September 24 (Vote 242). It then invoked cloture on S. 4668 as amended, 74 to 25, the same day (Vote 243).

The September 28 amendments

On the day of passage the Senate recorded five amendment votes, then the passage vote. The descriptions below are the ones printed on the roll calls. This article does not add what the amendment text says beyond those lines.

• Baldwin Amdt. No. 6828, “To modify the provision relating to the relationship of this Act to existing law,” agreed to, 96 to 1. Vote 245.
• Paul Amdt. No. 6758, “To improve the bill,” failed, 1 to 94. Vote 246. The roll-call title does not say what change the amendment proposed.
• Kennedy Amdt. No. 6760, “To limit price increases for college athletics tickets,” failed, 42 to 54. Vote 247.
• Booker Amdt. No. 6805, “To increase the limitation on funding for post-eligibility insurance and catastrophic injury for student athletes,” failed, 49 to 50. Vote 248.
• Booker Amdt. No. 6835, “To establish certain standards with respect to coaches of varsity sports teams,” failed, 47 to 52. Vote 249.

The passage vote came after those amendments: 77 to 22, result Passed.

Every recorded roll call

What passage does not do

A bill becomes law when both chambers pass identical text and the President signs it, or when Congress overrides a veto. The Senate has passed its amended text. This file shows no House roll call on S. 4668, so this page cannot say whether the House has acted by a recorded vote. Current status is on S. 4668 on Congress.gov. The S. 4668 vote timeline lists the same eleven Senate roll calls.

Sponsor names in the table are the names printed on the roll-call titles (Cruz, Baldwin, Paul, Kennedy, Booker). This article does not add party or state, and it does not say how those senators, or any other senator, voted. The yea and nay lists are on the Senate.gov pages linked from each vote number.