Murphy is the junior senator from Connecticut and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 2013. Murphy is next up for reelection in 2024.
He was previously the representative for Connecticut’s 5th congressional district as a Democrat from 2007 to 2012.
![Photo of Sen. Christopher Murphy [D-CT]](/static/legislator-photos/412194-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2019 Report Card for Murphy.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Murphy is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate 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 Murphy has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to May 21, 2020. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Christopher Murphy sits on the following committees:
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Senate Committee on Appropriations
- Legislative Branch subcommittee Ranking Member
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Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
- Europe and Regional Security Cooperation subcommittee Ranking Member
- Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism subcommittee Ranking Member
Africa and Global Health Policy subcommittees -
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
Children and Families, Primary Health and Retirement Security subcommittees
Enacted Legislation
Murphy was the primary sponsor of 5 bills that were enacted:
- S. 2399: American Innovation $1 Coin Act
- S. 1326: American Innovation $1 Coin Act
- S. 1600 (114th): Judicial Redress Act of 2015
- S.J.Res. 41 (113th): A joint resolution approving the location of a memorial to commemorate the more than 5,000 slaves and free Black persons who fought for independence in the American ...
- H.R. 1675 (111th): Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2009
Does 5 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
Murphy sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
International Affairs (19%) Education (19%) Health (19%) Immigration (10%) Finance and Financial Sector (10%) Taxation (8%) Social Welfare (8%) Agriculture and Food (7%)
Recent Bills
Some of Murphy’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- S. 3700: A bill to provide Peace Corps Volunteers and Trainees whose service was terminated ...
- S. 3697: A bill to modify the Restaurant Meals Program under the supplemental nutrition assistance ...
- S. 3664: Inspectors General Independence Act of 2020
- S. 3656: Global Health Security Act of 2020
- S. 3568: Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act of 2020
- S. 3379: A bill to block the implementation of a recent presidential proclamation restricting individuals ...
- S.Res. 506: A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should ...
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to May 2020, Murphy missed 13 of 2,288 roll call votes, which is 0.6%. This is better than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators 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
