Gary Ackerman, former Representative for New York's 5th Congressional District

Ackerman was the representative for New York’s 5^th congressional district and was a Democrat. He served from 1993 to 2012.

He was previously the representative for New York’s 7^th congressional district as a Democrat from 1983 to 1992.

Photo of Rep. Gary Ackerman [D-NY5, 1993-2012]

Analysis

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Ackerman is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2013 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 Ackerman sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 4, 2007 to Jan 1, 2013. See full analysis methodology.

Enacted Legislation

Ackerman was the primary sponsor of 11 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

View All »

Does 11 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

Ackerman sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:

Foreign Trade and International Finance (20%) Government Operations and Politics (16%) Finance and Financial Sector (15%) International Affairs (14%) Crime and Law Enforcement (10%) Commerce (9%) Health (8%) Armed Forces and National Security (7%)

Recently Introduced Bills

Ackerman recently introduced the following legislation:

View All » | View Cosponsors »

Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.

Voting Record

Key Votes

Ackerman voted No

H.R. 6233 (112th): Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2012

Passed 223/197 on Aug 2, 2012.

Ackerman voted Nay

H.R. 4365 (112th): To amend title 5, United States Code, to make clear that accounts in the Thrift Savings Fund …

Passed 414/6 on Aug 1, 2012.

Ackerman voted Nay

H.R. 3630 (112th): Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012

Passed 293/132 on Feb 17, 2012.

Ackerman voted Nay

H.Con.Res. 13 (112th): Reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the official motto of the United States and supporting and encouraging …

Passed 396/9 on Nov 1, 2011.

Ackerman voted Aye

H.R. 3078 (112th): United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act

Passed 262/167 on Oct 12, 2011.

Ackerman voted No

H.R. 2218 (112th): Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act

Passed 365/54 on Sep 13, 2011.

Ackerman 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 …

Ackerman voted Nay

H.Res. 22 (112th): Reducing the amount authorized for salaries and expenses of Member, committee, and leadership offices in 2011 and …

Passed 408/13 on Jan 6, 2011.

Ackerman voted Yea

S. 3729 (111th): National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010

Passed 304/118 on Sep 29, 2010.

Ackerman voted Nay

H.R. 1575 (111th): End Government Reimbursement of Excessive Executive Disbursements (End GREED) Act

Failed 223/196 on Apr 1, 2009.

Ackerman voted Nay

H.Res. 847 (110th): Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

Passed 372/9 on Dec 11, 2007.

Ackerman voted Yea

H.R. 1830 (110th): To extend the authorities of the Andean Trade Preference Act until February 29, 2008.

Passed 365/59 on Jun 27, 2007.

Missed Votes

From Jan 1983 to Jan 2013, Ackerman missed 1,577 of 18,002 roll call votes, which is 8.8%. This is much worse than the median of 2.6% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Jan 2013. 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
1983 Jan-Mar	43	11	25.6%	96^th
1983 Apr-Jun	182	5	2.7%	28^th
1983 Jul-Sep	130	6	4.6%	52^nd
1983 Oct-Nov	143	13	9.1%	65^th
1984 Jan-Mar	53	5	9.4%	67^th
1984 Apr-Jun	223	22	9.9%	61^st
1984 Jul-Sep	96	13	13.5%	85^th
1984 Oct-Oct	36	1	2.8%	30^th
1985 Jan-Mar	36	15	41.7%	98^th
1985 Apr-Jun	154	12	7.8%	68^th
1985 Jul-Sep	101	1	1.0%	17^th
1985 Oct-Dec	148	16	10.8%	89^th
1986 Jan-Mar	61	13	21.3%	94^th
1986 Apr-Jun	128	6	4.7%	66^th
1986 Jul-Sep	202	31	15.3%	91^st
1986 Oct-Oct	60	3	5.0%	64^th
1987 Jan-Mar	39	0	0.0%	0^th
1987 Apr-Jun	187	16	8.6%	80^th
1987 Jul-Sep	95	11	11.6%	89^th
1987 Oct-Dec	167	6	3.6%	34^th
1988 Feb-Mar	49	4	8.2%	70^th
1988 Apr-Jun	161	20	12.4%	88^th
1988 Jul-Sep	152	13	8.6%	84^th
1988 Oct-Oct	89	4	4.5%	56^th
1989 Jan-Mar	14	0	0.0%	0^th
1989 Apr-Jun	105	7	6.7%	82^nd
1989 Jul-Sep	128	9	7.0%	85^th
1989 Oct-Nov	121	11	9.1%	80^th
1990 Jan-Mar	60	0	0.0%	0^th
1990 Apr-Jun	150	23	15.3%	88^th
1990 Jul-Sep	183	5	2.7%	52^nd
1990 Oct-Oct	143	14	9.8%	83^rd
1991 Jan-Mar	62	14	22.6%	99^th
1991 Apr-Jun	139	22	15.8%	97^th
1991 Jul-Sep	81	9	11.1%	85^th
1991 Oct-Nov	162	11	6.8%	83^rd
1992 Jan-Mar	66	3	4.5%	55^th
1992 Apr-Jun	185	45	24.3%	97^th
1992 Jul-Sep	196	64	32.7%	95^th
1992 Oct-Oct	41	5	12.2%	86^th
1993 Jan-Mar	127	9	7.1%	85^th
1993 Apr-Jun	190	2	1.1%	20^th
1993 Jul-Sep	164	15	9.1%	95^th
1993 Oct-Nov	134	18	13.4%	97^th
1994 Jan-Mar	95	5	5.3%	72^nd
1994 Apr-Jun	219	16	7.3%	85^th
1994 Jul-Sep	142	14	9.9%	83^rd
1994 Oct-Nov	51	1	2.0%	47^th
1995 Jan-Mar	279	3	1.1%	45^th
1995 Apr-Jun	189	26	13.8%	97^th
1995 Jul-Sep	232	14	6.0%	88^th
1995 Oct-Dec	185	29	15.7%	98^th
1996 Jan-Mar	110	4	3.6%	62^nd
1996 Apr-Jun	182	17	9.3%	93^rd
1996 Jul-Sep	163	6	3.7%	67^th
1997 Jan-Mar	71	7	9.9%	89^th
1997 Apr-Jun	174	20	11.5%	96^th
1997 Jul-Sep	232	9	3.9%	72^nd
1997 Oct-Nov	163	23	14.1%	97^th
1998 Jan-Mar	89	3	3.4%	58^th
1998 Apr-Jun	185	10	5.4%	76^th
1998 Jul-Sep	199	23	11.6%	92^nd
1998 Oct-Dec	74	10	13.5%	96^th
1999 Jan-Mar	77	11	14.3%	95^th
1999 Apr-Jun	184	8	4.3%	73^rd
1999 Jul-Sep	204	3	1.5%	47^th
1999 Oct-Nov	146	32	21.9%	99^th
2000 Jan-Mar	95	23	24.2%	94^th
2000 Apr-Jun	277	34	12.3%	92^nd
2000 Jul-Sep	130	18	13.8%	95^th
2000 Oct-Dec	101	34	33.7%	95^th
2001 Jan-Mar	75	48	64.0%	100^th
2001 Apr-Jun	135	8	5.9%	82^nd
2001 Jul-Sep	149	2	1.3%	38^th
2001 Oct-Dec	153	8	5.2%	79^th
2002 Jan-Mar	79	4	5.1%	71^st
2002 Apr-Jun	203	11	5.4%	77^th
2002 Jul-Sep	141	8	5.7%	73^rd
2002 Oct-Nov	61	0	0.0%	0^th
2003 Jan-Mar	94	4	4.3%	73^rd
2003 Apr-Jun	239	27	11.3%	96^th
2003 Jul-Sep	193	13	6.7%	84^th
2003 Oct-Dec	151	20	13.2%	93^rd
2004 Jan-Mar	104	10	9.6%	78^th
2004 Apr-Jun	221	10	4.5%	68^th
2004 Jul-Sep	161	38	23.6%	98^th
2004 Oct-Dec	58	12	20.7%	93^rd
2005 Jan-Mar	90	5	5.6%	71^st
2005 Apr-Jun	272	9	3.3%	64^th
2005 Jul-Sep	146	2	1.4%	42^nd
2005 Oct-Dec	163	13	8.0%	85^th
2006 Jan-Mar	81	6	7.4%	85^th
2006 Apr-Jun	276	9	3.3%	69^th
2006 Jul-Sep	159	4	2.5%	58^th
2006 Nov-Dec	27	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Jan-Mar	213	6	2.8%	62^nd
2007 Apr-Jun	393	28	7.1%	89^th
2007 Jul-Sep	317	12	3.8%	73^rd
2007 Oct-Dec	263	23	8.7%	85^th
2008 Jan-Mar	149	19	12.8%	88^th
2008 Apr-Jun	321	5	1.6%	30^th
2008 Jul-Sep	205	2	1.0%	26^th
2008 Oct-Dec	15	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Jan-Mar	174	7	4.0%	74^th
2009 Apr-Jun	303	12	4.0%	71^st
2009 Jul-Sep	268	32	11.9%	96^th
2009 Oct-Dec	246	17	6.9%	82^nd
2010 Jan-Mar	195	36	18.5%	97^th
2010 Apr-Jun	219	7	3.2%	53^rd
2010 Jul-Sep	151	15	9.9%	92^nd
2010 Nov-Dec	99	6	6.1%	68^th
2011 Jan-Mar	212	1	0.5%	26^th
2011 Apr-Jun	281	8	2.8%	71^st
2011 Jul-Sep	247	6	2.4%	65^th
2011 Oct-Dec	208	20	9.6%	91^st
2012 Jan-Mar	151	10	6.6%	81^st
2012 Apr-Jun	299	29	9.7%	87^th
2012 Jul-Sep	152	49	32.2%	98^th
2012 Nov-Dec	51	20	39.2%	96^th
2013 Jan-Jan 112th Congress	5	0	0.0%	0^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
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
Congressional Pictorial Directory for the photo
GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills

Rep. Gary Ackerman

Links

Follow GovTrack on social media for more updates:

On GovTrack Insider:

I have an opinion I want to share.

I need help, have a question, or want to schedule a tour.

Analysis

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Enacted Legislation

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Recently Introduced Bills

Voting Record

Key Votes

Ackerman voted No

Ackerman voted Nay

Ackerman voted Nay

Ackerman voted Nay

Ackerman voted Aye

Ackerman voted No

Ackerman voted Aye

Ackerman voted Nay

Ackerman voted Yea

Ackerman voted Nay

Ackerman voted Nay

Ackerman voted Yea

Missed Votes

Primary Sources