Franken was a senator from Minnesota and was a Democrat. He served from 2009 to 2017.
Alleged misconduct & resolution
On December 7, 2017, Senator Franken announced his resignation which was effective January 2, 2018 due to allegations of sexual harassment. Select Committee on Ethics began investigating Senator Franken on November 30, 2017.
| Nov. 30, 2017 | Senate Select Committee on Ethics began investigating Senator Franken |
| Dec. 7, 2017 | Franken announced his resignation, which was effective January 2, 2018. |
![Photo of Sen. Alan “Al” Franken [D-MN, 2009-2017]](/static/legislator-photos/412378-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2017 Report Card for Franken.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Franken is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the Senate in 2019 positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Franken sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2013 to Jan 2, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Franken was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- S. 706: Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act of 2017
- S. 2512 (114th): Adding Zika Virus to the FDA Priority Review Voucher Program Act
- S. 993 (114th): Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015
- S. 920 (113th): Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Non-Intercourse Act of 2013
Does 4 not sound like a lot? Very few bills are ever enacted — most legislators sponsor only a handful that are signed into law. But there are other legislative activities that we don’t track that are also important, including offering amendments, committee work and oversight of the other branches, and constituent services.
We consider a bill enacted if one of the following is true: a) it is enacted itself, b) it has a companion bill in the other chamber (as identified by Congress) which was enacted, or c) if at least about half of its provisions were incorporated into bills that were enacted (as determined by an automated text analysis, applicable beginning with bills in the 110th Congress).
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Franken sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Education (27%) Health (26%) Armed Forces and National Security (12%) Energy (12%) Taxation (7%) Labor and Employment (7%) Law (4%) Crime and Law Enforcement (4%)
Recent Bills
Some of Franken’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- S. 2267: Pension Priority Act
- S. 2132: Family Coverage Act
- S.Res. 306: A resolution recognizing the month of October 2017 as “National Principals Month”.
- S.Res. 297: A resolution supporting Lights On Afterschool, a national celebration of afterschool programs held ...
- S. 1986: Justice for Native Survivors of Sexual Violence Act
- S. 1851 (115th): Advancing Grid Storage Act of 2017
- S. 1792: Fostering Success in Higher Education Act of 2017
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jul 2009 to Dec 2017, Franken missed 32 of 2,449 roll call votes, which is 1.3%. This is on par with the median of 1.5% among the lifetime records of senators serving in Dec 2017. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- unitedstates/congress-legislators, a community project gathering congressional information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
