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Sen. John “Jack” Reed

Senator for Rhode Island

pronounced jon // reed

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Reed is the senior senator from Rhode Island and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 7, 1997. Reed is next up for reelection in 2020.

He was previously the representative for Rhode Island’s 2nd congressional district as a Democrat from 1991 to 1996.

Photo of Sen. John “Jack” Reed [D-RI]

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2017 Report Card for Reed.

Ideology–Leadership Chart

Reed is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate positioned according to our liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).

The chart is based on the bills Reed has sponsored and cosponsored. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

Committee Membership

John “Jack” Reed sits on the following committees:

Enacted Legislation

Reed was the primary sponsor of 16 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:

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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

Reed sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

Education (26%) Finance and Financial Sector (23%) Health (15%) Labor and Employment (14%) Armed Forces and National Security (9%) Taxation (8%) Housing and Community Development (3%) Arts, Culture, Religion (3%)

Recent Bills

Some of Reed’s most recently sponsored bills include...

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Voting Record

Key Votes

Reed’s Vote Vote Description
Yea S. 139: FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017
Jan 18, 2018. Motion Agreed to 65/34.
This bill became the vehicle for passage of the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017. The bill would extend so-called "section 702" government surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill was originally introduced and passed the Senate in 2017 as the Rapid DNA ...
Yea On the Nomination PN555: Owen West, of Connecticut, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense
Dec 18, 2017. Nomination Confirmed 74/23.
Yea On the Nomination PN43: Mike Pompeo, of Kansas, to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Jan 23, 2017. Nomination Confirmed 66/32.
This vote confirmed Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS4), a three-term Congressman first elected in 2010, as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. * * * Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS4), a three-term Congressman first elected in 2010, was President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as CIA Director. ...
Yea H.R. 5325: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2017
Sep 28, 2016. Bill Passed 72/26.
Yea H.R. 22: Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act
Dec 3, 2015. Conference Report Agreed to 83/16.
H.R 22, formerly the Hire More Heroes Act, has become the Senate’s vehicle for passage of the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy Act or DRIVE Act (S. 1647). The DRIVE Act is a major bipartisan transportation bill that would authorize funding ...
Yea H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 18, 2014. Joint Resolution Passed 78/22.
Nay S. 3240 (112th): Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012
Jun 21, 2012. Bill Passed 64/35.
Yea H.R. 4853 (111th): Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
Dec 15, 2010. Motion Agreed to 81/19.
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Pub.L. 111–312, H.R. 4853, 124 Stat. 3296, enacted December 17, 2010), also known as the 2010 Tax Relief Act, was passed by the United States Congress on December 16, 2010, and signed into ...
Nay H.R. 6124 (110th): Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
Jun 18, 2008. Veto Overridden 80/14.
Nay H.R. 2419 (110th): Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
Dec 14, 2007. Bill Passed 79/14.
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub.L. 110–234, H.R. 2419, 122 Stat. 923, enacted May 22, 2008, also known as the 2008 U.S. Farm Bill) was a $288 billion, five-year agricultural policy bill that was passed into law by the United States Congress ...

Missed Votes

From Jan 1997 to May 2018, Reed missed 35 of 6,662 roll call votes, which is 0.5%. This is better than the median of 1.4% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

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Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: