Fortenberry is the representative for Nebraska’s 1st congressional district (view map) and is a Republican. He has served since Jan 4, 2005. Fortenberry is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.
Alleged misconduct & resolution
Rep. Fortenberry was indicted on three counts: one of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two of making false statements to federal investigators, in 2019, related to campaign contributions from a foreign national to his 2016 re-election campaign.
| Oct. 19, 2021 | Fortenberry released a video in which he said he expected to be indicted on lying to the FBI. |
| Oct. 19, 2021 | Department of Justice indicted on three counts - one of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two of making false statements to federal investigators. |
![Photo of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry [R-NE1]](/static/legislator-photos/400640-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2020 Report Card for Fortenberry.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Fortenberry 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 Fortenberry has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Nov 26, 2021. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Fortenberry was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 4819 (115th): DELTA Act
- H.R. 893 (114th): Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act
- H.R. 5283 (111th): Help HAITI Act of 2010
- H.R. 761 (110th): To authorize the Secretary of Interior to convey to The Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive Trail and Visitor Center Foundation, Inc. certain Federal land associated …
Does 4 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
Fortenberry sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (44%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (22%) International Affairs (19%) Agriculture and Food (9%) Taxation (6%)
Recent Bills
Some of Fortenberry’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 5996: Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Reauthorization and Improvements Act of 2021
- H.R. 5447: America’s National Museum of the Cold World War Act of 2021
- H.Res. 621: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Secretary of State …
- H.R. 5163: Care for Her Act
- H.R. 4813: Matt’s Act
- H.Res. 305: Congratulating the people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on the centennial of …
- H.R. 2402: Winnebago Land Transfer Act of 2021
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2005 to Nov 2021, Fortenberry missed 314 of 11,430 roll call votes, which is 2.7%. 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
