Thompson is the representative for Mississippi’s 2nd congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Apr 13, 1993. Thompson is next up for reelection in 2020.
Alleged misconduct & resolution
In 2009 Thompson was investigated for receiving impermissible travel gifts. The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct concluded Thompson did not knowingly accept impermissble travel gifts.
| Jun. 8, 2009 | House Office of Congressional Ethics recommended the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct further review the allegations |
| Feb. 26, 2010 | House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct concluded Representative Thompson did not knowingly accept impermissble travel gifts |
![Photo of Rep. Bennie Thompson [D-MS2]](/static/legislator-photos/400402-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Thompson.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Thompson is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives 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 Thompson has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Dec 9, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Bennie Thompson sits on the following committees:
-
Chair,
House Committee on Homeland Security
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Oversight, Management, and Accountability
- Ex Officio, Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security
Enacted Legislation
Thompson was the primary sponsor of 11 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 251: Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program Extension Act
- H.R. 1204 (113th): Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2014
- H.R. 2898 (113th): Division Realignment Act of 2013
- H.R. 5512 (112th): Divisional Realignment Act of 2012
- H.R. 3772 (112th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 150 South Union Street in Canton, Mississippi, as the “First Sergeant Landres Cheeks Post Office ...
- H.R. 1072 (112th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 95 Dogwood Street in Cary, Mississippi, as the “Spencer Byrd Powers, Jr. Post Office”.
- H.R. 3562 (111th): An act to designate the federally occupied building located at 1220 Echelon Parkway in Jackson, Mississippi, as the ‘James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and Roy K. ...
Does 11 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
Thompson sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Emergency Management (28%) Transportation and Public Works (26%) Government Operations and Politics (23%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (9%) Immigration (6%) Science, Technology, Communications (4%) Education (4%)
Recent Bills
Some of Thompson’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 4782: National Commission on Online Platforms and Homeland Security Act
- H.R. 3731: Strategic and Humane Southern Border Migrant Response Act
- H.R. 3628: Motor Carriers Accountability Act
- H.R. 3500: Federal Advance Contracts Enhancement Act
- H.R. 3488: Coast Guard Academy Improvement Act
- H.R. 3106: Domestic and International Terrorism DATA Act
- H.R. 2861: American Red Cross Transparency Act of 2019
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Apr 1993 to Dec 2019, Thompson missed 729 of 17,701 roll call votes, which is 4.1%. This is worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. 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
