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Sen. Alan “Al” Franken

Former Senator for Minnesota

pronounced AL-un // FRANK-un

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Franken was a senator from Minnesota as 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]

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:

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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%) Energy (12%) Armed Forces and National Security (12%) Taxation (7%) Labor and Employment (7%) Crime and Law Enforcement (4%) Law (4%)

Recent Bills

Some of Franken’s most recently sponsored bills include...

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Voting Record

Key Votes

Franken’s Vote Vote Description
Nay H.J.Res. 43: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule submitted by Secretary of Health and Human Services relating ...
Mar 30, 2017. Joint Resolution Passed 51/50.
Joe Biden never got the opportunity to break a single 50-50 Senate tie in eight years as vice president. Mike Pence has already broken two. One from last month has since become law: a measure allowing states to withhold federal Planned Parenthood funding. (The other ...
Yea On the Nomination PN48: Linda E. McMahon, of Connecticut, to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration
Feb 14, 2017. Nomination Confirmed 81/19.
Nay H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017
Sep 28, 2016. Bill Passed 72/26.
The Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act (H.R. 5325) is an appropriations bill which extended funding at the previous year's levels up to December 9, 2016 (10 weeks). After this, a continuing ...
Yea S. 764: Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2015
Jul 7, 2016. Motion Agreed to 63/30.
This bill was the vehicle for passage of the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, which is the form it was enacted it. Prior to amendments, the bill regarded defunding Planned Parenthood and the National Sea Grant College Program. As enacted, the bill created national ...
Yea H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Dec 3, 2015. Conference Report Agreed to 83/16.
H.R 22, formerly the Hire More Heroes Act, has become the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647). The DRIVE Act is a major bipartisan transportation bill that would authorize funding ...
Yea H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Jul 30, 2015. Bill Passed 65/34.
This vote turned H.R 22, originally the Hire More Heroes Act, into the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647), a major bipartisan transportation bill, and the Export-Import Bank Reform and ...
Yea H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 18, 2014. Joint Resolution Passed 78/22.
Nay H.R. 4310 (112th): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013
Dec 21, 2012. Conference Report Agreed to 81/14.
Nay H.R. 1540 (112th): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
Dec 15, 2011. Conference Report Agreed to 86/13.
Yea H.R. 4853 (111th): Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
Dec 15, 2010. Motion Agreed to 81/19.
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111–312, H.R. 4853, 124 Stat. 3296, enacted December 17, 2010), also known as the 2010 Tax Relief Act, was passed by the United States Congress on December 16, 2010, and signed into ...
Nay On the Nomination PN959: Ben S. Bernanke, of New Jersey, to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a term of four ...
Jan 28, 2010. Nomination Confirmed 70/30.

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.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: