Peterson was the representative for Minnesota’s 7th congressional district and was a Democrat. He served from 1991 to 2020.
![Photo of Rep. Collin Peterson [D-MN7, 1991-2020]](/static/legislator-photos/400316-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2019 Report Card for Peterson.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Peterson is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2020 positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Peterson sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Dec 28, 2020. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Peterson was the primary sponsor of 10 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 7388: RLF Act
- H.R. 2251 (113th): To designate the United States courthouse and Federal building located at 118 South Mill Street, in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, as the “Edward J. Devitt United States Courthouse ...
- H.R. 1272 (112th): Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2012
- H.R. 3509 (111th): Agricultural Credit Act of 2010
- H.R. 5852 (111th): Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010
- H.R. 6124 (110th): Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
- H.R. 2419 (110th): Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
Does 10 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
Peterson sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (22%) Transportation and Public Works (19%) Agriculture and Food (15%) Environmental Protection (11%) Science, Technology, Communications (11%) Finance and Financial Sector (7%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (7%) Taxation (7%)
Recent Bills
Some of Peterson’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 8843 (116th): To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to increase the number ...
- H.R. 8618: Local Government Taxpayer Fairness Act
- H.R. 8521: Landowner Easement Rights Act
- H.J.Res. 95: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that ...
- H.Res. 1133: Honoring the life and legacy of Coya Knutson.
- H.R. 7845: Remote Recreational Small Business Interruption Program
- H.R. 7490: RAMP–UP Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1991 to Dec 2020, Peterson missed 377 of 19,056 roll call votes, which is 2.0%. This is on par with the median of 2.3% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2020. 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
