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Rep. Gary Palmer

House Republican Policy Committee Chair and Representative for Alabama’s 6th District

pronounced GAR-ee // PAH-mer

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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 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.

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.

Palmer is among the Republican legislators who, by calling for entire states to be disenfranchised in the 2020 presidential election, fomented the terrorist attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 that aimed to prevent the determination of the next president of the United States. Shortly after the 2020 election, Palmer joined a case before the Supreme Court calling for all the votes for president in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — states that were narrowly won by Democrats — to be discounted, claiming that some voters there followed procedures set by the wrong state officials. The case amplified lies and conspiracy theories that fueled the movement that led to the attack on the Capitol. The Supreme Court rejected the case. Following the rejection of several cases before the Supreme Court, one legislator called for violence. On January 6, 2021 in the hours after the attack on the Capitol, Palmer voted for the exclusion of Arizona and/or Pennsylvania — states narrowly won by Democrats — from the count of Electoral College votes that determined the next President of the United States.
Photo of Rep. Gary Palmer [R-AL6]

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2020 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 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 3, 2017 to Feb 23, 2021. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

The Club for Growth: 94% United States Chamber of Commerce: 75% The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: C League of Conservation Voters: 1% Human Rights Campaign: 0% Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 0%

Enacted Legislation

Palmer was the primary sponsor of 2 bills that were enacted:

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Does 2 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

Palmer sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

Government Operations and Politics (50%) Economics and Public Finance (21%) Transportation and Public Works (14%) Health (14%)

Recent Bills

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

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 voted Yea

Passed 327/85 on Dec 21, 2020.
This bill became the vehicle for passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, a major government funding bill, which also included economic stimulus provisions due ...

Palmer voted Yea

Palmer voted Nay

Passed 315/48 on Dec 21, 2018.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has approximately 5 million flood insurance policies providing more than $1.3 trillion in coverage, primarily in Texas and Louisiana. ...

Palmer voted Nay

Passed 361/61 on Sep 26, 2018.
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 ...

Palmer voted Nay

Passed 382/19 on Jun 20, 2017.
H.R. 2866 reviews and improves licensing standards for placement in a relative foster family home. This bill would require HHS to identify reputable model standards ...

Palmer voted No

Passed 360/61 on Dec 8, 2016.
The WIIN (Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation) Act was a 277-page bill dealing with federal water policies, particularly for drought-stricken areas. It’s so complex ...

Palmer voted Nay

Palmer voted No

Palmer voted No

Passed 218/208 on Jun 18, 2015.
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. ...

Palmer voted Yea

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 ...

Palmer voted Nay

Missed Votes

From Jan 2015 to Feb 2021, Palmer missed 45 of 3,526 roll call votes, which is 1.3%. This is on par with the median of 2.0% 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 and major life events.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: