Rep. Jim Cooper
Former Representative for Tennessee’s 5th District
pronounced jim // KOO-per
![Photo of Rep. Jim Cooper [D-TN5, 2003-2022]](/static/legislator-photos/400081-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 Report Card for Cooper.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Cooper is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2022 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 Cooper sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Dec 27, 2022. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Cooper was the primary sponsor of 6 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 5271 (117th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2245 Rosa L Parks Boulevard in Nashville, Tennessee, as the “Thelma Harper Post Office Building”.
- H.R. 482 (112th): Water Heater Rating Improvement Act of 2011
- H.R. 928 (110th): Inspector General Reform Act of 2008
- H.J.Res. 297 (103rd): To designate 1994 as “The Year of Gospel Music”.
- H.R. 5667 (101st): To amend the Water Resources Development Act of 1974 to establish a deadline for the transfer of jurisdiction of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation …
- H.R. 971 (101st): Telephone Operator Consumer Services Improvement Act of 1990
Does 6 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
Cooper sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Government Operations and Politics (64%) Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (18%) Transportation and Public Works (18%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Cooper recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.Res. 1178 (117th): Expressing support for the designation of the week of June 27 through …
- H.R. 5729 (117th): GIFTS Act
- H.R. 5271 (117th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at …
- H.R. 5111 (117th): To amend section 6103 of title 5, United States Code, to establish …
- H.Res. 588 (117th): Honoring the bravery and legacy of the Clinton 12.
- H.R. 4634 (117th): RETAIN GPS and Satellite Communications Act of 2021
- H.R. 3698 (117th): D-BLOC Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1983 to Dec 2022, Cooper missed 482 of 18,956 roll call votes, which is 2.5%. This is on par with the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2022. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.
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
- United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
- Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
