Olver was the representative for Massachusetts’s 1st congressional district and was a Democrat. He served from 1991 to 2012.
![Photo of Rep. John Olver [D-MA1, 1991-2012]](/static/legislator-photos/400301-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Olver is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2013 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 Olver sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 4, 2007 to Jan 1, 2013. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Olver was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 2767 (112th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 8 West Silver Street in Westfield, Massachusetts, as the “William T. Trant Post Office Building”.
- H.R. 3288 (111th): Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010
- H.R. 1814 (107th): Metacomet-Monadnock-Mattabesett Trail Study Act of 2002
- H.R. 2818 (102nd): To designate the Federal building located at 78 Center Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as the “Silvio O. Conte Federal Building”, and for other purposes.
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
Olver sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (18%) Economics and Public Finance (15%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (15%) Government Operations and Politics (12%) Environmental Protection (12%) Science, Technology, Communications (9%) Energy (9%) Social Welfare (9%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Olver recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 2767 (112th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at …
- H.R. 2134 (112th): Medicaid Advanced Practice Nurses and Physician Assistants Access Act of 2011
- H.R. 6373 (111th): Medicaid Advanced Practice Nurses and Physician Assistants Access Act of 2009
- H.R. 5850 (111th): Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2011
- H.R. 3288 (111th): Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010
- H.R. 7122 (110th): To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to require State …
- H.Res. 1050 (110th): Recognizing Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as being home to the earliest known reference to …
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jun 1991 to Jan 2013, Olver missed 401 of 14,207 roll call votes, which is 2.8%. This is on par with the median of 2.6% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Jan 2013. 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
- Congressional Pictorial Directory for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
