Wilson is the representative for South Carolina’s 2nd congressional district (view map) and is a Republican. He has served since Dec 18, 2001. Wilson is next up for reelection in 2020 and serves until Jan 3, 2021.
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Alleged misconduct & resolution
In 2010 Wilson was investigated for keeping the difference between his requested travel per diems and the amount he actually spent. The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommended no further action.
| Jul. 30, 2010 | House Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct further review the allegations |
| Dec. 31, 2010 | House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommended no further action |
In September 2009, Rep. Wilson heckled President Obama during an address to Congress by yelling "You lie!". A week later, the House reprimanded him, 240-179.
| Sep. 9, 2009 | Wilson heckled President Obama during an address to Congress by yelling "You lie!". |
| Sep. 15, 2009 | House reprimanded Rep. Wilson, 240-179 |
![Photo of Rep. Joe Wilson [R-SC2]](/static/legislator-photos/400433-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2019 Report Card for Wilson.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Wilson 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 Wilson has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Oct 20, 2020. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Joe Wilson sits on the following committees:
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House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism subcommittee Ranking Member
Europe, Eurasia, Energy, and the Environment subcommittees -
House Committee on Armed Services
Readiness, Strategic Forces subcommittees
Enacted Legislation
Wilson was the primary sponsor of 5 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 553: Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act
- H.R. 6141 (115th): To require the Secretary of Energy to develop a report on a pilot program to site, construct, and operate micro-reactors at critical national security locations, and for ...
- H.R. 2487 (115th): Military Family Stability Act
- H.R. 497 (110th): Brigadier General Francis Marion Memorial Act of 2007
- 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”.
Does 5 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
Wilson sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
International Affairs (67%) Armed Forces and National Security (12%) Labor and Employment (8%)
Recent Bills
Some of Wilson’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 8578: To prohibit the use of Federal funds to close or realign the Marine ...
- H.R. 8445: To impose certain measures with respect to Hezbollah-dominated areas in Lebanon and Latin ...
- H.Res. 1011: Celebrating 140 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Romania.
- H.R. 7148: United States-Israel Military Capability Act of 2020
- H.R. 7063: Foreign Influence Transparency Act
- H.R. 5491: Body Armor for Females Modernization Act
- H.R. 5408: Ukraine Religious Freedom Support Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Dec 2001 to Oct 2020, Wilson missed 258 of 12,723 roll call votes, which is 2.0%. This is on par with the median of 2.3% 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
