McGovern is the representative for Massachusetts’s 2nd congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 2013. McGovern is next up for reelection in 2020.
He was previously the representative for Massachusetts’s 3rd congressional district as a Democrat from 1997 to 2012.
![Photo of Rep. James “Jim” McGovern [D-MA2]](/static/legislator-photos/400263-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for McGovern.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
McGovern 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 McGovern has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Oct 16, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
James “Jim” McGovern sits on the following committees:
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Chair,
House Committee on Rules
- Member, Subcommittee on Expedited Procedures
- Member, Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process
- Member, Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House
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House Committee on Agriculture
- Member, Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations
Enacted Legislation
McGovern was the primary sponsor of 10 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 1872 (115th): Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act of 2018
- H.R. 3105 (115th): Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act
- H.R. 4405 (112th): Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012
- H.R. 4017 (111th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 43 Maple Avenue in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, as the “Ann Marie Blute Post Office”.
- H.R. 2478 (111th): Lord’s Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009
- H.R. 6874 (110th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 156 Taunton Avenue in Seekonk, Massachusetts, as the “Lance Corporal Eric Paul Valdepenas Post Office ...
- H.R. 4152 (109th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 320 High Street in Clinton, Massachusetts, as the “Raymond J. Salmon Post Office”.
Does 10 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
McGovern sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
International Affairs (49%) Armed Forces and National Security (17%) Health (11%)
Recent Bills
Some of McGovern’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 4657: To require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider greenhouse gas emissions related ...
- H.Res. 564: Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4378) making continuing appropriations for fiscal ...
- H.R. 4331: Tibetan Policy and Support Act of 2019
- H.Res. 553: Directing the Clerk of the House of Representatives to provide a copy of ...
- H.R. 4265: Healthy Breakfasts Help Kids Learn Act of 2019
- H.R. 4270: Placing Restrictions on Teargas Exports and Crowd Control Technology to Hong Kong Act
- H.R. 3960: Freedom for Americans to Travel to Cuba Act of 2019
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1997 to Oct 2019, McGovern missed 229 of 15,272 roll call votes, which is 1.5%. This is on par with the median of 2.1% 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.
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
