Rep. Don Young

Former Representative for Alaska’s At-Large District

pronounced don // yung

Young was the representative for Alaska’s at-large district and was a Republican. He served from 1973 to 2022.

OpenSecrets Bioguide C-SPAN

Photo of Rep. Don Young [R-AK, 1973-2022]

Misconduct

In 2014 Young received a letter of reproval for improper travel gifts and failure to disclose them. The House Committee on Ethics concluded Young had improperly accepted travel gifts and issued a letter of reproval.

Jun. 20, 2014

House Committee on Ethics concluded Young had improperly accepted travel gifts and issued a letter of reproval

Analysis

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Young is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2022 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 Young sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Dec 27, 2022. See full analysis methodology.

Enacted Legislation

Young was the primary sponsor of 129 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

View All »

Does 129 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 110^th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Young sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:

Native Americans (30%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (25%) Transportation and Public Works (13%) Agriculture and Food (8%) Taxation (7%) Animals (6%) Private Legislation (6%) Armed Forces and National Security (6%)

Recently Introduced Bills

Young recently introduced the following legislation:

View All » | View Cosponsors »

Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.

Voting Record

Key Votes

Young voted Aye

H.R. 3239: Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in Customs and Border Protection Custody Act

Passed 233/195 on Jul 24, 2019.

Young voted Nay

S. 1826: A bill to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 99 West 2nd Street …

Passed 406/1 on Mar 3, 2016.

Young voted Yea

H.R. 2048: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015

Passed 338/88 on May 13, 2015.

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 …

Young voted Yea

H.R. 83 (113th): Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015

Passed 219/206 on Dec 11, 2014.

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 …

Young voted Aye

H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015

Passed 319/108 on Sep 17, 2014.

Young voted Nay

S. 3564 (112th): Public Interest Declassification Board Reauthorization Act of 2012

Passed 409/1 on Dec 19, 2012.

Young voted No

H.R. 3521 (112th): Expedited Legislative Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2012

Passed 254/173 on Feb 8, 2012.

Young voted Aye

H.R. 1249 (112th): Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

Passed 304/117 on Jun 23, 2011.

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 …

Young voted Yea

H.R. 2499 (111th): Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2010

Passed 223/169 on Apr 29, 2010.

Young voted Nay

H.Res. 905 (111th): Recognizing the 70th anniversary of the retirement of Justice Louis D. Brandeis from the United States Supreme …

Passed 423/1 on Dec 16, 2009.

Young voted Nay

H.Res. 915 (111th): Encouraging the Republic of Hungary to respect the rule of law, treat foreign investors fairly, and promote …

Passed 333/74 on Dec 8, 2009.

Young voted Yea

H.R. 31 (111th): Lumbee Recognition Act

Passed 240/179 on Jun 3, 2009.

Missed Votes

From Mar 1973 to Mar 2022, Young missed 4,090 of 29,163 roll call votes, which is 14.0%. This is much worse than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Mar 2022. 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.

Show the numbers...

Time Period	Votes Eligible	Missed Votes	Percent	Percentile
1973 Jan-Mar	8	2	25.0%	0^th
1973 Apr-Jun	191	11	5.8%	0^th
1973 Jul-Sep	131	7	5.3%	0^th
1973 Oct-Dec	182	19	10.4%	0^th
1974 Jan-Mar	79	10	12.7%	0^th
1974 Apr-Jun	170	18	10.6%	0^th
1974 Jul-Sep	148	51	34.5%	0^th
1974 Oct-Dec	141	40	28.4%	0^th
1975 Jan-Mar	68	2	2.9%	50^th
1975 Apr-Jun	199	44	22.1%	50^th
1975 Jul-Sep	154	43	27.9%	50^th
1975 Oct-Dec	191	21	11.0%	50^th
1976 Jan-Mar	106	13	12.3%	50^th
1976 Apr-Jun	267	74	27.7%	50^th
1976 Jul-Sep	281	121	43.1%	50^th
1976 Oct-Oct	7	1	14.3%	50^th
1977 Jan-Mar	100	24	24.0%	67^th
1977 Apr-Jun	273	62	22.7%	67^th
1977 Jul-Sep	198	59	29.8%	67^th
1977 Oct-Dec	135	29	21.5%	67^th
1978 Jan-Mar	150	29	19.3%	67^th
1978 Apr-Jun	300	117	39.0%	67^th
1978 Jul-Sep	308	139	45.1%	67^th
1978 Oct-Oct	76	9	11.8%	67^th
1979 Jan-Mar	63	4	6.3%	75^th
1979 Apr-Jun	221	49	22.2%	75^th
1979 Jul-Sep	198	61	30.8%	75^th
1979 Oct-Dec	190	84	44.2%	75^th
1980 Jan-Mar	148	41	27.7%	75^th
1980 Apr-Jun	197	71	36.0%	50^th
1980 Jul-Sep	192	94	49.0%	75^th
1980 Oct-Dec	67	44	65.7%	75^th
1981 Jan-Mar	15	7	46.7%	86^th
1981 Apr-Jun	90	16	17.8%	88^th
1981 Jul-Sep	106	35	33.0%	88^th
1981 Oct-Dec	142	27	19.0%	88^th
1982 Feb-Mar	48	14	29.2%	88^th
1982 Apr-Jun	119	22	18.5%	88^th
1982 Jul-Sep	193	91	47.2%	88^th
1982 Oct-Dec	99	25	25.3%	88^th
1983 Jan-Mar	43	6	14.0%	75^th
1983 Apr-Jun	182	34	18.7%	92^nd
1983 Jul-Sep	130	32	24.6%	92^nd
1983 Oct-Nov	143	44	30.8%	92^nd
1984 Jan-Mar	53	2	3.8%	58^th
1984 Apr-Jun	223	2	0.9%	0^th
1984 Jul-Sep	96	0	0.0%	0^th
1984 Oct-Oct	36	4	11.1%	75^th
1985 Jan-Mar	36	4	11.1%	67^th
1985 Apr-Jun	154	4	2.6%	33^rd
1985 Jul-Sep	101	5	5.0%	58^th
1985 Oct-Dec	148	11	7.4%	75^th
1986 Jan-Mar	61	6	9.8%	67^th
1986 Apr-Jun	128	5	3.9%	58^th
1986 Jul-Sep	202	19	9.4%	75^th
1986 Oct-Oct	60	0	0.0%	0^th
1987 Jan-Mar	39	22	56.4%	94^th
1987 Apr-Jun	187	5	2.7%	39^th
1987 Jul-Sep	95	7	7.4%	78^th
1987 Oct-Dec	167	24	14.4%	89^th
1988 Feb-Mar	49	4	8.2%	89^th
1988 Apr-Jun	161	18	11.2%	94^th
1988 Jul-Sep	152	10	6.6%	94^th
1988 Oct-Oct	89	1	1.1%	44^th
1989 Jan-Mar	14	1	7.1%	50^th
1989 Apr-Jun	105	5	4.8%	60^th
1989 Jul-Sep	128	19	14.8%	95^th
1989 Oct-Nov	121	5	4.1%	50^th
1990 Jan-Mar	60	8	13.3%	95^th
1990 Apr-Jun	150	9	6.0%	95^th
1990 Jul-Sep	183	14	7.7%	80^th
1990 Oct-Oct	143	22	15.4%	95^th
1991 Jan-Mar	62	4	6.5%	79^th
1991 Apr-Jun	139	5	3.6%	54^th
1991 Jul-Sep	81	5	6.2%	67^th
1991 Oct-Nov	162	20	12.3%	92^nd
1992 Jan-Mar	66	4	6.1%	67^th
1992 Apr-Jun	185	17	9.2%	88^th
1992 Jul-Sep	196	11	5.6%	67^th
1992 Oct-Oct	41	6	14.6%	92^nd
1993 Jan-Mar	127	15	11.8%	95^th
1993 Apr-Jun	190	22	11.6%	83^rd
1993 Jul-Sep	164	27	16.5%	98^th
1993 Oct-Nov	134	14	10.4%	98^th
1994 Jan-Mar	95	7	7.4%	79^th
1994 Apr-Jun	219	4	1.8%	40^th
1994 Jul-Sep	142	2	1.4%	35^th
1994 Oct-Nov	51	1	2.0%	49^th
1995 Jan-Mar	279	9	3.2%	78^th
1995 Apr-Jun	189	22	11.6%	93^rd
1995 Jul-Sep	232	40	17.2%	98^th
1995 Oct-Dec	185	27	14.6%	96^th
1996 Jan-Mar	110	12	10.9%	85^th
1996 Apr-Jun	182	5	2.7%	51^st
1996 Jul-Sep	163	12	7.4%	89^th
1997 Jan-Mar	71	15	21.1%	97^th
1997 Apr-Jun	174	14	8.0%	93^rd
1997 Jul-Sep	232	115	49.6%	98^th
1997 Oct-Nov	163	27	16.6%	98^th
1998 Jan-Mar	89	10	11.2%	87^th
1998 Apr-Jun	185	7	3.8%	69^th
1998 Jul-Sep	199	20	10.1%	89^th
1998 Oct-Dec	74	1	1.4%	41^st
1999 Jan-Mar	77	3	3.9%	61^st
1999 Apr-Jun	184	19	10.3%	94^th
1999 Jul-Sep	204	23	11.3%	95^th
1999 Oct-Nov	146	22	15.1%	94^th
2000 Jan-Mar	95	13	13.7%	85^th
2000 Apr-Jun	277	47	17.0%	95^th
2000 Jul-Sep	130	29	22.3%	97^th
2000 Oct-Dec	101	9	8.9%	61^st
2001 Jan-Mar	75	12	16.0%	97^th
2001 Apr-Jun	135	18	13.3%	96^th
2001 Jul-Sep	149	23	15.4%	97^th
2001 Oct-Dec	153	55	35.9%	99^th
2002 Jan-Mar	79	19	24.1%	97^th
2002 Apr-Jun	203	18	8.9%	93^rd
2002 Jul-Sep	141	26	18.4%	93^rd
2002 Oct-Nov	61	10	16.4%	95^th
2003 Jan-Mar	94	5	5.3%	81^st
2003 Apr-Jun	239	18	7.5%	90^th
2003 Jul-Sep	193	42	21.8%	99^th
2003 Oct-Dec	151	23	15.2%	96^th
2004 Jan-Mar	104	4	3.8%	48^th
2004 Apr-Jun	221	22	10.0%	92^nd
2004 Jul-Sep	161	32	19.9%	97^th
2004 Oct-Dec	58	9	15.5%	87^th
2005 Jan-Mar	90	6	6.7%	75^th
2005 Apr-Jun	272	30	11.0%	94^th
2005 Jul-Sep	146	12	8.2%	90^th
2005 Oct-Dec	163	19	11.7%	94^th
2006 Jan-Mar	81	1	1.2%	38^th
2006 Apr-Jun	276	17	6.2%	88^th
2006 Jul-Sep	159	12	7.5%	89^th
2006 Nov-Dec	27	3	11.1%	77^th
2007 Jan-Mar	213	2	0.9%	41^st
2007 Apr-Jun	393	13	3.3%	75^th
2007 Jul-Sep	317	137	43.2%	98^th
2007 Oct-Dec	263	56	21.3%	98^th
2008 Jan-Mar	149	34	22.8%	98^th
2008 Apr-Jun	321	33	10.3%	89^th
2008 Jul-Sep	205	42	20.5%	98^th
2008 Oct-Dec	15	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Jan-Mar	174	18	10.3%	95^th
2009 Apr-Jun	303	6	2.0%	44^th
2009 Jul-Sep	268	13	4.9%	83^rd
2009 Oct-Dec	246	61	24.8%	99^th
2010 Jan-Mar	195	17	8.7%	85^th
2010 Apr-Jun	219	44	20.1%	97^th
2010 Jul-Sep	151	25	16.6%	97^th
2010 Nov-Dec	99	11	11.1%	84^th
2011 Jan-Mar	212	15	7.1%	95^th
2011 Apr-Jun	281	46	16.4%	96^th
2011 Jul-Sep	247	60	24.3%	99^th
2011 Oct-Dec	208	18	8.7%	88^th
2012 Jan-Mar	151	16	10.6%	89^th
2012 Apr-Jun	299	14	4.7%	75^th
2012 Jul-Sep	152	6	3.9%	77^th
2012 Nov-Dec	51	3	5.9%	70^th
2013 Jan-Jan 112th Congress	5	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jan-Mar	89	25	28.1%	99^th
2013 Apr-Jun	215	31	14.4%	96^th
2013 Jul-Sep	200	15	7.5%	89^th
2013 Oct-Dec	137	13	9.5%	90^th
2014 Jan-Mar	148	3	2.0%	50^th
2014 Apr-Jun	219	5	2.3%	58^th
2014 Jul-Sep	147	1	0.7%	28^th
2014 Nov-Dec	49	2	4.1%	72^nd
2015 Jan-Mar	130	32	24.6%	98^th
2015 Apr-Jun	244	11	4.5%	83^rd
2015 Jul-Sep	139	0	0.0%	0^th
2015 Oct-Dec	177	3	1.7%	60^th
2016 Jan-Mar	137	12	8.8%	76^th
2016 Apr-Jun	204	8	3.9%	69^th
2016 Jul-Sep	232	11	4.7%	87^th
2016 Nov-Dec	48	0	0.0%	0^th
2017 Jan-Mar	208	11	5.3%	85^th
2017 Apr-Jun	136	1	0.7%	31^st
2017 Jul-Sep	199	5	2.5%	76^th
2017 Oct-Dec	167	6	3.6%	73^rd
2018 Jan-Mar	129	8	6.2%	81^st
2018 Apr-Jun	184	7	3.8%	64^th
2018 Jul-Sep	102	1	1.0%	42^nd
2018 Nov-Dec	85	5	5.9%	78^th
2019 Jan-Mar	136	7	5.1%	85^th
2019 Apr-Jun	294	15	5.1%	86^th
2019 Jul-Sep	125	3	2.4%	79^th
2019 Oct-Dec	146	4	2.7%	66^th
2020 Jan-Mar	102	1	1.0%	36^th
2020 Apr-Jun	31	6	19.4%	91^st
2020 Jul-Sep	80	6	7.5%	86^th
2020 Oct-Dec	40	16	40.0%	97^th
2021 Jan-Mar	97	24	24.7%	99^th
2021 Apr-Jun	107	3	2.8%	78^th
2021 Jul-Sep	108	9	8.3%	97^th
2021 Oct-Dec	137	2	1.5%	60^th
2022 Jan-Mar	82	5	6.1%	93^rd

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
United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
Office of Don Young for the photo
GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills

Rep. Don Young

Misconduct

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Analysis

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Enacted Legislation

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Recently Introduced Bills

Voting Record

Key Votes

Young voted Aye

Young voted Nay

Young voted Yea

Young voted Yea

Young voted Aye

Young voted Nay

Young voted No

Young voted Aye

Young voted Yea

Young voted Nay

Young voted Nay

Young voted Yea

Missed Votes

Primary Sources