Gerlach was the representative for Pennsylvania’s 6th congressional district and was a Republican. He served from 2003 to 2014.
![Photo of Rep. Jim Gerlach [R-PA6, 2003-2014]](/static/legislator-photos/400147-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2014 Report Card for Gerlach.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Gerlach is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2014 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 Gerlach sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2009 to Dec 11, 2014. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Gerlach was the primary sponsor of 6 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 5859 (113th): Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014
- H.R. 475 (113th): To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to include vaccines against seasonal influenza within the definition of taxable vaccines.
- H.R. 1053 (109th): To authorize the extension of nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations treatment) to the products of Ukraine.
- H.R. 1645 (109th): Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemoration Act of 2005
- H.R. 4731 (108th): To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reauthorize the National Estuary Program.
- H.R. 1516 (108th): National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003
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
Gerlach sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Foreign Trade and International Finance (45%) Taxation (30%) Health (12%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Gerlach recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 5859 (113th): Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014
- H.Res. 726 (113th): Strongly supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely determine …
- H.R. 5190 (113th): Ukraine Security Assistance Act of 2014
- H.R. 5002 (113th): Home Energy Savings Act of 2014
- H.R. 4855 (113th): To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an exception …
- H.R. 4696 (113th): Startup Innovation Credit Act of 2014
- H.R. 4592 (113th): Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Diagnosis and Treatment Act of 2014
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2003 to Dec 2014, Gerlach missed 308 of 8,776 roll call votes, which is 3.5%. This is worse than the median of 2.5% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2014. 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
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
