James “Jim” McGovern, Representative for Massachusetts's 2nd Congressional District

McGovern is the representative for Massachusetts’s 2^nd congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 2013. McGovern is next up for reelection in 2020 and serves until Jan 3, 2021 unless re-elected.

He was previously the representative for Massachusetts’s 3^rd congressional district as a Democrat from 1997 to 2012.

Rep. James “Jim” McGovern is currently serving as a proxy for Rep. Peter Welch [D-VT0] (since May 26, 2020) under new rules in effect during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the rules for proxy voting, representatives may designate another representative as their proxy and must give their proxy exact instructions on how to vote.

Photo of Rep. James “Jim” McGovern [D-MA2]

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2019 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 Aug 7, 2020. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

Human Rights Campaign: 100% League of Conservation Voters: 100% Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 100% NIAC Action: A American Civil Liberties Union: 89% The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: B United States Chamber of Commerce: 50% The Club for Growth: 15% FreedomWorks: 15% Americans for Prosperity: 8% NumbersUSA: 6%

Committee Membership

James “Jim” McGovern sits on the following committees:

House Committee on Rules Chair

Expedited Procedures, Legislative and Budget Process, Rules and Organization of the House subcommittees
House Committee on Agriculture

Nutrition, Oversight, and Department Operations subcommittees

Enacted Legislation

McGovern was the primary sponsor of 10 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

View All »

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 110^th Congress).

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

McGovern sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

International Affairs (52%) Health (23%) Armed Forces and National Security (13%) Energy (6%) Agriculture and Food (6%)

Recent Bills

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

View All » | View Cosponsors »

Voting Record

Key Votes

McGovern voted No

S. 612: A bill to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 1300 Victoria Street in Laredo, ...

Passed 360/61 on Dec 8, 2016.

McGovern voted Nay

H.R. 4854: Supporting America’s Innovators Act of 2016

Passed 388/9 on Jul 5, 2016.

McGovern voted Nay

H.R. 2187: Fair Investment Opportunities for Professional Experts Act

Passed 347/8 on Feb 1, 2016.

McGovern voted No

H.R. 3038: Highway and Transportation Funding Act of 2015, Part II

Passed 312/119 on Jul 15, 2015.

McGovern voted Nay

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 ...

McGovern voted Nay

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 ...

McGovern voted No

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

Passed 319/108 on Sep 17, 2014.

McGovern voted Nay

H.R. 634 (113th): Business Risk Mitigation and Price Stabilization Act of 2013

Passed 411/12 on Jun 12, 2013.

McGovern voted Yea

H.R. 459 (112th): Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2012

Passed 327/98 on Jul 25, 2012.

McGovern 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 ...

McGovern voted Nay

H.Res. 317 (111th): Recognizing the region from Manhattan, Kansas, to Columbia, Missouri, as the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, and ...

Passed 312/108 on Sep 15, 2009.

Missed Votes

From Jan 1997 to Jul 2020, McGovern missed 234 of 15,587 roll call votes, which is 1.5%. This is better than the median of 2.2% 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...

Time Period	Votes Eligible	Missed Votes	Percent	Percentile
1997 Jan-Mar	71	4	5.6%	70^th
1997 Apr-Jun	174	0	0.0%	0^th
1997 Jul-Sep	232	1	0.4%	11^th
1997 Oct-Nov	163	0	0.0%	0^th
1998 Jan-Mar	89	1	1.1%	21^st
1998 Apr-Jun	185	3	1.6%	42^nd
1998 Jul-Sep	199	4	2.0%	49^th
1998 Oct-Dec	74	9	12.2%	97^th
1999 Jan-Mar	77	4	5.2%	76^th
1999 Apr-Jun	184	2	1.1%	26^th
1999 Jul-Sep	204	0	0.0%	0^th
1999 Oct-Nov	146	1	0.7%	25^th
2000 Jan-Mar	95	0	0.0%	0^th
2000 Apr-Jun	277	1	0.4%	16^th
2000 Jul-Sep	130	0	0.0%	0^th
2000 Oct-Dec	101	9	8.9%	64^th
2001 Jan-Mar	75	0	0.0%	0^th
2001 Apr-Jun	135	4	3.0%	62^nd
2001 Jul-Sep	149	2	1.3%	39^th
2001 Oct-Dec	153	2	1.3%	36^th
2002 Jan-Mar	79	0	0.0%	0^th
2002 Apr-Jun	203	0	0.0%	0^th
2002 Jul-Sep	141	0	0.0%	0^th
2002 Oct-Nov	61	1	1.6%	41^st
2003 Jan-Mar	94	0	0.0%	0^th
2003 Apr-Jun	239	1	0.4%	19^th
2003 Jul-Sep	193	3	1.6%	48^th
2003 Oct-Dec	151	4	2.6%	37^th
2004 Jan-Mar	104	1	1.0%	19^th
2004 Apr-Jun	221	4	1.8%	42^nd
2004 Jul-Sep	161	8	5.0%	63^rd
2004 Oct-Dec	58	6	10.3%	80^th
2005 Jan-Mar	90	3	3.3%	50^th
2005 Apr-Jun	272	0	0.0%	0^th
2005 Jul-Sep	146	0	0.0%	0^th
2005 Oct-Dec	163	5	3.1%	54^th
2006 Jan-Mar	81	0	0.0%	0^th
2006 Apr-Jun	276	3	1.1%	26^th
2006 Jul-Sep	159	4	2.5%	56^th
2006 Nov-Dec	27	0	0.0%	0^th
2007 Jan-Mar	213	1	0.5%	21^st
2007 Apr-Jun	393	10	2.5%	67^th
2007 Jul-Sep	317	2	0.6%	14^th
2007 Oct-Dec	263	4	1.5%	29^th
2008 Jan-Mar	149	3	2.0%	34^th
2008 Apr-Jun	321	5	1.6%	31^st
2008 Jul-Sep	205	0	0.0%	0^th
2008 Oct-Dec	15	0	0.0%	0^th
2009 Jan-Mar	174	2	1.1%	37^th
2009 Apr-Jun	303	8	2.6%	61^st
2009 Jul-Sep	268	6	2.2%	60^th
2009 Oct-Dec	246	16	6.5%	83^rd
2010 Jan-Mar	195	2	1.0%	24^th
2010 Apr-Jun	219	3	1.4%	24^th
2010 Jul-Sep	151	1	0.7%	20^th
2010 Nov-Dec	99	1	1.0%	20^th
2011 Jan-Mar	212	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Apr-Jun	281	0	0.0%	0^th
2011 Jul-Sep	247	3	1.2%	41^st
2011 Oct-Dec	208	5	2.4%	54^th
2012 Jan-Mar	151	0	0.0%	0^th
2012 Apr-Jun	299	2	0.7%	33^rd
2012 Jul-Sep	152	1	0.7%	31^st
2012 Nov-Dec	51	2	3.9%	55^th
2013 Jan-Jan	5	0	0.0%	0^th
2013 Jan-Mar	89	1	1.1%	39^th
2013 Apr-Jun	215	6	2.8%	61^st
2013 Jul-Sep	200	2	1.0%	41^st
2013 Oct-Dec	137	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Jan-Mar	148	0	0.0%	0^th
2014 Apr-Jun	219	10	4.6%	76^th
2014 Jul-Sep	147	1	0.7%	27^th
2014 Nov-Dec	49	2	4.1%	74^th
2015 Jan-Mar	144	0	0.0%	0^th
2015 Apr-Jun	244	3	1.2%	50^th
2015 Jul-Sep	139	0	0.0%	0^th
2015 Oct-Dec	177	6	3.4%	79^th
2016 Jan-Mar	137	8	5.8%	68^th
2016 Apr-Jun	204	1	0.5%	19^th
2016 Jul-Sep	232	3	1.3%	54^th
2016 Nov-Dec	48	0	0.0%	0^th
2017 Jan-Mar	208	2	1.0%	36^th
2017 Apr-Jun	136	1	0.7%	31^st
2017 Jul-Sep	199	0	0.0%	0^th
2017 Oct-Dec	167	11	6.6%	86^th
2018 Jan-Mar	129	2	1.6%	38^th
2018 Apr-Jun	184	1	0.5%	16^th
2018 Jul-Sep	102	0	0.0%	0^th
2018 Nov-Dec	85	0	0.0%	0^th
2019 Jan-Mar	136	2	1.5%	49^th
2019 Apr-Jun	294	0	0.0%	0^th
2019 Jul-Sep	125	0	0.0%	0^th
2019 Oct-Dec	146	5	3.4%	70^th
2020 Jan-Mar	102	0	0.0%	0^th
2020 Apr-Jun	31	0	0.0%	0^th
2020 Jul-Jul	45	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
GPO Member Guide for the photo
GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills

Rep. James “Jim” McGovern

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Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

Committee Membership

Enacted Legislation

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

Recent Bills

Voting Record

Key Votes

McGovern voted No

McGovern voted Nay

McGovern voted Nay

McGovern voted No

McGovern voted Nay

McGovern voted Nay

McGovern voted No

McGovern voted Nay

McGovern voted Yea

McGovern voted Aye

McGovern voted Nay

Missed Votes

Primary Sources