Dianne Feinstein, Senator for California

Feinstein is the senior senator from California and is a Democrat. She has served since Nov 10, 1992. Feinstein’s current term ends on Jan 3, 2019.

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2017 Report Card for Feinstein.

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Feinstein 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 Feinstein has sponsored and cosponsored. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

Human Rights Campaign: 100% Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 100% League of Conservation Voters: 89% American Civil Liberties Union: 70% NIAC Action: B United States Chamber of Commerce: 49% NumbersUSA: 32% The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: D The Club for Growth: 9% Americans for Prosperity: 3% FreedomWorks: 0%

Committee Membership

Dianne Feinstein sits on the following committees:

Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary
- Member, Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration
- Member, Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism
Senate Committee on Appropriations
- Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
- Member, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Member, Subcommittee on Department of Defense
- Member, Subcommittee on Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
- Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control

Enacted Legislation

Feinstein was the primary sponsor of 67 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

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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 110^th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Feinstein sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

Crime and Law Enforcement (24%) Private Legislation (18%) Health (13%) Armed Forces and National Security (12%) Immigration (10%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (10%) International Affairs (6%) Families (5%)

Recent Bills

Some of Feinstein’s most recently sponsored bills include...

View All » | View Cosponsors »

Voting Record

Key Votes

Feinstein’s Vote	Vote Description
Nay	H.R. 1892: Further Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018; Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2018, the SUSTAIN Care Act of 2018; Family First Prevention Services Act.; Honoring Hometown ... Feb 9, 2018. Motion Agreed to 71/28. This bill became the vehicle for passage of funding for the federal government through March 23, 2018, to avert a government shutdown that would have occurred on February 9, 2018 had this bill not been enacted. The bill was introduced as the Honoring Hometown Heroes ...
Nay	H.J.Res. 43: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule submitted by Secretary of Health and Human Services relating ... Mar 30, 2017. Joint Resolution Passed 51/50. Joe Biden never got the opportunity to break a single 50-50 Senate tie in eight years as vice president. Mike Pence has already broken two. One from last month has since become law: a measure allowing states to withhold federal Planned Parenthood funding. (The other ...
Yea	H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017 Sep 28, 2016. Bill Passed 72/26. The Continuing Appropriations and Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017, and Zika Response and Preparedness Act (H.R. 5325) is an appropriations bill which extended funding at the previous year's levels up to December 9, 2016 (10 weeks). After this, a continuing ...
Yea	H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act Dec 3, 2015. Conference Report Agreed to 83/16. H.R 22, formerly the Hire More Heroes Act, has become the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647). The DRIVE Act is a major bipartisan transportation bill that would authorize funding ...
Yea	H.R. 2146: Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act Jun 24, 2015. Motion Agreed to 60/38. This was the Senate's final vote on 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. The House had ...
Yea	H.R. 1314: Trade Act of 2015 May 22, 2015. Bill Passed 62/37. This vote turned what was a bill regarding administrative appeals of IRS determinations into the Trade Act of 2015, which included Trade Promotion Authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal as well as Trade Adjustment Assistance.
Yea	H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015 Sep 18, 2014. Joint Resolution Passed 78/22.
Yea	H.R. 4853 (111th): Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 Dec 15, 2010. Motion Agreed to 81/19. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111–312, H.R. 4853, 124 Stat. 3296, enacted December 17, 2010), also known as the 2010 Tax Relief Act, was passed by the United States Congress on December 16, 2010, and signed into ...
Yea	On the Nomination PN958: Michael B. Mukasey, of New York, to be Attorney General Nov 8, 2007. Nomination Confirmed 53/40.
Yea	On the Nomination PN2: Leslie Southwick, of Mississippi, to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit Oct 24, 2007. Nomination Confirmed 59/38.
Nay	On the Nomination PN177: Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., in the Army, to be General Feb 8, 2007. Nomination Confirmed 83/14.

Missed Votes

From Feb 1993 to Dec 2018, Feinstein missed 214 of 8,477 roll call votes, which is 2.5%. This is worse than the median of 1.5% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

Show the numbers...

Time Period	Votes Eligible	Missed Votes	Percent	Percentile
1993 Feb-Mar	93	1	1.1%	67^th
1993 Apr-Jun	99	0	0.0%	0^th
1993 Jul-Sep	109	1	0.9%	50^th
1993 Oct-Nov	94	8	8.5%	78^th
1994 Jan-Mar	86	1	1.2%	33^rd
1994 Apr-Jun	92	1	1.1%	44^th
1994 Jul-Sep	136	1	0.7%	40^th
1994 Oct-Dec	15	1	6.7%	70^th
1995 Jan-Mar	125	0	0.0%	0^th
1995 Apr-Jun	171	2	1.2%	18^th
1995 Jul-Sep	184	2	1.1%	55^th
1995 Oct-Dec	133	1	0.8%	45^th
1996 Jan-Mar	60	0	0.0%	0^th
1996 Apr-Jun	122	1	0.8%	50^th
1996 Jul-Sep	121	0	0.0%	0^th
1996 Oct-Oct	3	0	0.0%	0^th
1997 Jan-Mar	35	0	0.0%	0^th
1997 Apr-Jun	125	3	2.4%	89^th
1997 Jul-Sep	103	1	1.0%	61^st
1997 Oct-Nov	35	0	0.0%	0^th
1998 Jan-Mar	52	1	1.9%	33^rd
1998 Apr-Jun	131	0	0.0%	0^th
1998 Jul-Sep	109	1	0.9%	39^th
1998 Oct-Oct	22	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Jan-Mar	81	2	2.5%	70^th
1999 Apr-Jun	111	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Jul-Sep	112	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Oct-Nov	70	0	0.0%	0^th
2000 Feb-Mar	51	1	2.0%	75^th
2000 Apr-Jun	120	0	0.0%	0^th
2000 Jul-Sep	89	11	12.4%	95^th
2000 Oct-Dec	38	34	89.5%	95^th
2001 Jan-Mar	63	0	0.0%	0^th
2001 Apr-Jun	157	0	0.0%	0^th
2001 Jul-Sep	68	7	10.3%	79^th
2001 Oct-Dec	92	1	1.1%	46^th
2002 Jan-Mar	59	1	1.7%	42^nd
2002 Apr-Jun	107	0	0.0%	0^th
2002 Jul-Sep	61	0	0.0%	0^th
2002 Oct-Nov	26	0	0.0%	0^th
2003 Jan-Mar	112	11	9.8%	93^rd
2003 Apr-Jun	150	0	0.0%	0^th
2003 Jul-Sep	108	0	0.0%	0^th
2003 Oct-Nov	89	0	0.0%	0^th
2004 Jan-Mar	64	0	0.0%	0^th
2004 Apr-Jun	88	0	0.0%	0^th
2004 Jul-Sep	42	0	0.0%	0^th
2004 Oct-Dec	22	0	0.0%	0^th
2005 Jan-Mar	81	1	1.2%	61^st
2005 Apr-Jun	89	1	1.1%	48^th
2005 Jul-Sep	76	4	5.3%	90^th
2005 Oct-Dec	120	1	0.8%	44^th
2006 Jan-Mar	83	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Apr-Jun	107	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Jul-Sep	73	4	5.5%	94^th
2006 Nov-Dec	16	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Jan-Mar	126	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Apr-Jun	112	2	1.8%	67^th
2007 Jul-Sep	119	4	3.4%	83^rd
2007 Oct-Dec	85	9	10.6%	95^th
2008 Jan-Mar	85	0	0.0%	0^th
2008 Apr-Jun	77	2	2.6%	56^th
2008 Jul-Sep	47	1	2.1%	42^nd
2008 Oct-Dec	6	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Jan-Mar	118	1	0.8%	58^th
2009 Apr-Jun	96	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Jul-Sep	89	1	1.1%	57^th
2009 Oct-Dec	94	0	0.0%	0^th
2010 Jan-Mar	108	0	0.0%	0^th
2010 Apr-Jun	96	0	0.0%	0^th
2010 Jul-Sep	44	0	0.0%	0^th
2010 Nov-Dec	51	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Jan-Mar	46	6	13.0%	95^th
2011 Apr-Jun	58	2	3.4%	63^rd
2011 Jul-Sep	49	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Oct-Dec	82	0	0.0%	0^th
2012 Jan-Mar	63	0	0.0%	0^th
2012 Apr-Jun	109	1	0.9%	46^th
2012 Jul-Sep	28	0	0.0%	0^th
2012 Nov-Dec	50	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jan-Jan	1	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jan-Mar	92	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Apr-Jun	76	1	1.3%	36^th
2013 Jul-Sep	43	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Oct-Dec	80	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Jan-Mar	93	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Apr-Jun	123	1	0.8%	26^th
2014 Jul-Sep	54	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Nov-Dec	96	28	29.2%	95^th
2015 Jan-Mar	135	10	7.4%	95^th
2015 Apr-Jun	85	0	0.0%	0^th
2015 Jul-Sep	52	0	0.0%	0^th
2015 Oct-Dec	67	0	0.0%	0^th
2016 Jan-Mar	38	0	0.0%	0^th
2016 Apr-Jun	79	3	3.8%	76^th
2016 Jul-Sep	34	0	0.0%	0^th
2016 Nov-Dec	12	0	0.0%	0^th
2017 Jan-Mar	101	24	23.8%	97^th
2017 Apr-Jun	54	0	0.0%	0^th
2017 Jul-Sep	53	0	0.0%	0^th
2017 Oct-Dec	117	1	0.9%	52^nd
2018 Jan-Mar	63	1	1.6%	56^th
2018 Apr-Jun	80	1	1.2%	52^nd
2018 Jul-Sep	75	0	0.0%	0^th
2018 Oct-Dec	56	10	17.9%	95^th

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

Dianne Feinstein is pronounced:

DĪ-an // FĪN-stīn

The letters stand for sounds according to the following table:

Letter	Sounds As In
A a	cat
D d	day
F f	fat
Ī ī	eye
N n	not
S s	sit
T t	top

Capital letters indicate a stressed syllable.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein

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