![Photo of Rep. Bobby Rush [D-IL1]](/data/photos/400350-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Rush.
Sponsorship Analysis
Our unique analysis of the bills Rush has sponsored and cosponsored provides insight into his position in the House of Representatives.
Each dot in the chart below is a member of the House of Representatives. The dots are positioned horizontally according to our progressive—conservative ideology score and vertically according to our leadership score (leaders toward the top). Rush is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)
Committee Membership
Bobby Rush sits on the following committees:
-
House Committee on Energy and Commerce
- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy
- Member, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Enacted Legislation
Rush was the primary sponsor of 7 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 6496 (111th): To require reports on the management of Arlington National Cemetery.
- H.R. 4040 (110th): Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008
- H.R. 2474 (110th): Product Safety Civil Penalties Improvement Act
- H.R. 1285 (109th): Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Reauthorization Act of 2005
- H.R. 3340 (108th): To redesignate the facilities of the United States Postal Service located at 7715 and 7748 S. Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, as the “James E. Worsham ...
- H.R. 3909 (106th): A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4601 South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, as the “Henry W. McGee ...
- H.R. 441 (106th): Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act of 1999
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 about one third or more 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
Rush sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Commerce (23%) Crime and Law Enforcement (23%) Science, Technology, Communications (18%) Health (8%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (8%) Labor and Employment (8%) Environmental Protection (8%) International Affairs (8%)
Recent Bills
Some of Rush’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 3540: Quadrennial Energy Review Act of 2017
- H.R. 3538: Mortgage Sale Transparency Act of 2017
- H.R. 3539: Mugshots Elimination Act of 2017
- H.R. 2966: United States-Cuba Normalization Act of 2017
- H.R. 1272: Cold Case Record Collections Act of 2017
- H.R. 1213: Laquan McDonald Camera Act of 2017
- H.R. 1184: Family Telephone Connection Protection Act of 2017
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Rush’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Nay |
H.R. 1695: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017
Apr 26, 2017. Passed 378/48.
This bill would change the appointment process for the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, known as the Register of Copyrights. Currently the Register of Copyrights is hired by the Librarian of Congress (who is the head of the Library of Congress). This bill would ... |
| No |
S. 612: A bill to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 1300 Victoria Street in Laredo, Texas, as the “George P. Kazen Federal Building ...
Dec 8, 2016. Passed 360/61.
|
| Aye |
H.R. 3038: Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, Part II
Jul 15, 2015. Passed 312/119.
|
| No |
H.R. 2146: Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act
Jun 18, 2015. Passed 218/208.
This vote made H.R. 2146 the vehicle for passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal currently being negotiated. H.R. 2146 was originally introduced as a bill to address issues with retirement funds of federal law enforcement officers and firefighters. ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 2048: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015
May 13, 2015. Passed 338/88.
The USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048, Pub.L. 114–23) is a U.S. law enacted on June 2, 2015 that restored in modified form several provisions of the Patriot Act, which had expired the day before. The act imposes some new limits on the bulk collection of ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 83 (113th): Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015
Dec 11, 2014. Passed 219/206.
This bill became the vehicle for passage of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 [pdf], which was approved by the House on December 11, 2014 and by the Senate on December 13, 2014. The bill was originally introduced on January 3, 2013 by ... |
| Aye |
H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 17, 2014. Passed 319/108.
|
| No |
H.J.Res. 117 (112th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013
Sep 13, 2012. Passed 329/91.
|
| No |
H.R. 1249 (112th): Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
Jun 23, 2011. Passed 304/117.
The Leahy–Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is a United States federal statute that was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Barack Obama on September 16, 2011. The law represents the most significant change to the U.S. patent system since 1952, and ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 2499 (111th): Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2010
Apr 29, 2010. Passed 223/169.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 1993 to Jul 2017, Rush missed 2,761 of 16,397 roll call votes, which is 16.8%. This is much worse than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. ProPublica has tracked 408 explanations for these missed votes. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- Congress-Legislators, a community project collecting election information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GPO.gov/FDSys, for sponsored bills
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