Analysis
Our unique analysis of the bills Sanders has sponsored and cosponsored provides insight into his position in the Senate.
Each dot in the chart below is a member of the Senate. The dots are positioned horizontally according to our progressive—conservative ideology score and vertically according to our leadership score (leaders toward the top). Sanders is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)
2015 Statistics
Read our 2015 Report Card for Sanders for more statistics.
Committee Membership
Bernard “Bernie” Sanders sits on the following committees:
- Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Budget
-
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- Member, Subcommittee on Energy
- Member, Subcommittee on National Parks
- Member, Subcommittee on Water and Power
-
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
- Member, Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety
- Member, Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife
- Member, Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
-
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security
- Member, Subcommittee on Children and Families
- Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Sanders sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Armed Forces and National Security (29%) Health (15%) Labor and Employment (12%) Government Operations and Politics (10%) Energy (10%) Finance and Financial Sector (8%) Taxation (8%) Education (6%)
Recent Bills
Some of Sanders’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- S. 3044: Puerto Rico Humanitarian Relief and Reconstruction Act
- S. 2399: Climate Protection and Justice Act of 2015
- S. 2391: American Clean Energy Investment Act of 2015
- S. 2398: Clean Energy Worker Just Transition Act
- S. 2242: Save Oak Flat Act
- S. 2237: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2015
- S. 2142: Workplace Democracy Act
View All » (including bills from previous years)
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Sanders’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Not Voting |
H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017
Sep 28, 2016. Bill Passed.
|
| Not Voting |
S. 2943: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
Jun 14, 2016. Bill Passed.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 2029: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016
Dec 18, 2015. Motion Agreed to.
|
| Not Voting |
H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Dec 3, 2015. Conference Report Agreed to.
|
| Yea |
H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Jul 30, 2015. Bill Passed.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 2048: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015
Jun 2, 2015. Bill Passed.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 2007 to Sep 2016, Sanders missed 215 of 2,986 roll call votes, which is 7.2%. This is much worse than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- Congressional Biographical Directory for elected positions
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GPO.gov/FDSys, for sponsored bills