Palmer is the representative for Alabama’s 6th congressional district (view map) and is a Republican. He has served since Jan 6, 2015. Palmer is next up for reelection in 2020.
He is also House Republican Policy Committee Chair, a party leadership role. Party leaders focus more on setting their party’s legislative priorties than on introducing legislation.
![Photo of Rep. Gary Palmer [R-AL6]](/static/legislator-photos/412608-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Palmer.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Palmer 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 liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Palmer has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Apr 22, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Gary Palmer sits on the following committees:
- House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
-
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Member, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management
- Member, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Member, Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
Enacted Legislation
Palmer was the primary sponsor of 1 bill that was enacted:
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
Palmer sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Government Operations and Politics (38%) Health (23%) Economics and Public Finance (23%) Environmental Protection (15%)
Recent Bills
Some of Palmer’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 2108: Retirement Freedom Act
- H.R. 995: Settlement Agreement Information Database Act of 2019
- H.R. 850: Agency Accountability Act of 2019
- H.R. 6777 (115th): Settlement Agreement Information Database Act of 2018
- H.R. 6704: To permanently rescind unobligated amounts in the United States Enrichment Corporation Fund.
- H.R. 6703: Retirement Freedom Act
- H.R. 5300 (115th): Federal Information Systems Safeguards Act of 2018
View All » | View Cosponsors »
As House Republican Policy Committee Chair, Palmer may be focused on his responsibilities other than introducing legislation, such as setting the chamber’s agenda, uniting his party, and brokering deals.
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Palmer’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Yea |
S. 2322: CURD Act
Dec 20, 2018. Failed 230/162.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 6157: Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019
Sep 26, 2018. Passed 361/61.
H.R. 6157 provides $674.6 billion in total discretionary budget authority for the Department of Defense for fiscal year (FY) 2019. The bill provides $606.5 billion for the Department of Defense base budget, which is an increase of $17.1 billion above FY18 levels, and $68.1 billion ... |
| Nay |
S. 1182: The American Legion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act
Jul 25, 2018. Passed 366/52.
The House Amendment to S. 1182 extends the National Flood Insurance Program, which is set to expire July 31, 2018, through November 30, 2018. This amendment does not include any reforms to the program; it is only a short-term extension. The NFIP was originally set ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 4667: Making further supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, for disaster assistance for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and calendar year 2017 wildfires, ...
Dec 21, 2017. Passed 251/169.
|
| Yea |
H.R. 1039: Probation Officer Protection Act of 2017
May 19, 2017. Passed 229/177.
H.R. 1039 amends the federal criminal code to authorize a probation officer to arrest a person, without warrant, if there is probable cause to believe that person forcibly assaulted or obstructed a probation officer while performing their official duties. The bill also would direct the ... |
| Aye |
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 ...
Feb 16, 2017. Passed 230/188.
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 ... |
| No |
S. 612: A bill to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 1300 Victoria Street in Laredo, Texas, as the “George P. Kazen Federal Building ...
Dec 8, 2016. Passed 360/61.
|
| No |
H.R. 3038: Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, Part II
Jul 15, 2015. Passed 312/119.
|
| No |
H.R. 2146: Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act
Jun 18, 2015. Passed 218/208.
This vote made H.R. 2146 the vehicle for passage of 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. ... |
| Yea |
H.R. 2048: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015
May 13, 2015. Passed 338/88.
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 the Patriot Act, which had expired the day before. The act imposes some new limits on the bulk collection of ... |
| Yea |
H.J.Res. 35: Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes.
Feb 27, 2015. Failed 203/224.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 2015 to Apr 2019, Palmer missed 21 of 2,702 roll call votes, which is 0.8%. This is better than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
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
