![Photo of Rep. Joe Wilson [R-SC2]](/data/photos/400433-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Wilson.
Sponsorship Analysis
Our unique analysis of the bills Wilson has sponsored and cosponsored provides insight into his position in the House of Representatives.
Each dot in the chart below is a member of the House of Representatives. The dots are positioned horizontally according to our progressive—conservative ideology score and vertically according to our leadership score (leaders toward the top). Wilson is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)
Committee Membership
Joe Wilson sits on the following committees:
-
Vice Chair,
House Committee on Education and the Workforce
- Member, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
- Member, Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
-
House Committee on Armed Services
- Chair, Subcommittee on Readiness
- Member, Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities
-
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Member, Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats
- Member, Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
Enacted Legislation
Wilson was the primary sponsor of 2 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 4170 (110th): To revise the boundaries of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System with respect to Daufuskie Island, South Carolina.
- H.R. 917 (108th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1830 South Lake Drive in Lexington, South Carolina, as the “Floyd Spence Post Office Building”.
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 about one third or more 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
Wilson sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
International Affairs (33%) Armed Forces and National Security (33%) Labor and Employment (11%) Energy (7%) Education (7%) Transportation and Public Works (7%)
Recent Bills
Some of Wilson’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 2775: Employee Privacy Protection Act
- H.R. 2624: Military Child Educational Freedom Act
- H.R. 2521: South Carolina Peanut Parity Act of 2017
- H.R. 2487: Military Family Stability Act
- H.Res. 253: Expressing gratitude and appreciation for the entry of the United States into World ...
- H.Res. 248: Commending the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team for winning the 2017 ...
- H.Res. 234: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the importance of effective ...
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Wilson’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Yea |
H.R. 1314: Trade Act of 2015
Oct 28, 2015. Passed 266/167.
This vote turned this bill into the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, by replacing the text of the bill in whole. H.R. 1314 was previously the Trade Act of 2015. |
| Yea |
H.R. 597: Reform Exports and Expand the American Economy Act
Oct 27, 2015. Passed 313/118.
House Democrats and a portion of the Republican House majority teamed up last week to win an important battle in the fight to bring back the Export-Import bank, a quasi-governmental agency that provides subsidies to foreign companies buying American goods. On Monday, October, 26, 2015, ... |
| Yea |
H.Res. 450: Providing for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 597) to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States, ...
Oct 27, 2015. Passed 275/154.
|
| Aye |
H.R. 2146: Defending Public Safety Employees’ Retirement Act
Jun 18, 2015. Passed 218/208.
This vote made H.R. 2146 the vehicle for passage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal currently being negotiated. H.R. 2146 was originally introduced as a bill to address issues with retirement funds of federal law enforcement officers and firefighters. ... |
| Yea |
H.R. 2048: Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015
May 13, 2015. Passed 338/88.
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 the Patriot Act, which had expired the day before. The act imposes some new limits on the bulk collection of ... |
| Aye |
H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 17, 2014. Passed 319/108.
|
| Nay |
S. 1603 (113th): Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act
Sep 16, 2014. Passed 359/64.
|
| Aye |
H.R. 1249 (112th): Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
Jun 23, 2011. Passed 304/117.
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 Obama on September 16, 2011. The law represents the most significant change to the U.S. patent system since 1952, and ... |
| Nay |
S. 3729 (111th): National Aeronautics and Space Administration Authorization Act of 2010
Sep 29, 2010. Passed 304/118.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 1830 (110th): To extend the authorities of the Andean Trade Preference Act until February 29, 2008.
Jun 27, 2007. Passed 365/59.
|
Missed Votes
From Dec 2001 to Jun 2017, Wilson missed 211 of 10,913 roll call votes, which is 1.9%. This is on par with the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. ProPublica has tracked 85 explanations for these missed votes. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
Primary Sources
The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including:
- Congress-Legislators, a community project collecting election information
- The House and Senate websites, for committee membership and voting records
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GPO.gov/FDSys, for sponsored bills