Rep. Derek Kilmer
Representative for Washington’s 6th District
pronounced DEH-rik // KIL-mer
Kilmer is the representative for Washington’s 6th congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 2013. Kilmer is next up for reelection in 2024 and serves until Jan 3, 2025. He is 49 years old.
![Photo of Rep. Derek Kilmer [D-WA6]](/static/legislator-photos/412583-200px.jpeg)
Earmarks
Kilmer proposed $56 million in earmarks for fiscal year 2024, including:
- $10 million to Washington State Department of Transportation for “SR 3 Gorst Area Resiliency Project”
- $6 million to Port of Port Townsend for “Boat Haven Main Breakwater Replacement Project”
- $5 million to Port of Bremerton for “Port Orchard Marina Breakwater Replacement”
View all requests and justifications on Kilmer’s website »
View analysis and download spreadsheet from Demand Progress Education Fund »
These are earmark requests which may or may not survive the legislative process to becoming law. Most representatives from both parties requested earmarks for fiscal year 2024. Across representatives who requested earmarks, the median total amount requested for this fiscal year was $39 million.
Earmarks are federal expenditures, tax benefits, or tariff benefits requested by a legislator for a specific entity. Rather than being distributed through a formula or competitive process administered by the executive branch, earmarks may direct spending where it is most needed for the legislator's district. All earmark requests in the House of Representatives are published online for the public to review. We don’t have earmark requests for senators. The fiscal year begins on October 1 of the prior calendar year. Source: Appropriations.house.gov. Background: Earmark Disclosure Rules in the House
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 Report Card for Kilmer.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Kilmer 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 ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Kilmer has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Sep 22, 2023. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Derek Kilmer sits on the following committees:
-
House Committee on House Administration
- Modernization subcommittee Ranking Member
Oversight subcommittees - House Committee on Appropriations
- Joint Committee on Printing
Enacted Legislation
Kilmer was the primary sponsor of 9 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 9439 (117th): Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act
- H.R. 7331 (117th): Improving Government for America’s Taxpayers Act
- H.R. 6332 (117th): Planning for Aging Veterans Act of 2021
- H.R. 1144 (117th): PUGET SOS Act
- H.R. 4034 (116th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 602 Pacific Avenue in Bremerton, Washington, as the “John Henry Turpin Post Office Building”.
- H.R. 3277 (116th): To improve the leasing projects of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
- H.R. 975 (116th): Maritime Washington National Heritage Area Act
Does 9 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
Kilmer sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Government Operations and Politics (21%) Armed Forces and National Security (18%) Taxation (16%) Native Americans (12%) Education (10%) Labor and Employment (10%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (7%) Commerce (6%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Kilmer recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 5642: To permit the Chief Administrative Officer to pay salaries in or under the …
- H.R. 5113: Rural Economic-development Assistance and Consultation to Help Our Tribes Act
- H.R. 4335: VA Loan Informed Disclosure Act of 2023
- H.R. 3976: To amend the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to authorize grants to …
- H.R. 3975: IT Service Corps Act
- H.Con.Res. 49: Congressional Evidence-Based Policymaking Resolution
- H.R. 3507: Yes In My Backyard Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Sep 2023, Kilmer missed 38 of 6,094 roll call votes, which is 0.6%. This is better than the median of 1.7% 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, major life events, and running for higher office.
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
