![Photo of Rep. John Sarbanes [D-MD3]](/data/photos/412212-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2016 Report Card for Sarbanes.
Sponsorship Analysis
Our unique analysis of the bills Sarbanes 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). Sarbanes is shown as a purple triangle. (analysis methodology)
Committee Membership
John Sarbanes sits on the following committees:
Enacted Legislation
Sarbanes was the primary sponsor of 3 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 1722 (111th): Telework Enhancement Act of 2010
- H.R. 4322 (111th): National Foundation on Physical Fitness and Sports Establishment Act
- H.R. 3218 (110th): To designate a portion of Interstate Route 395 located in Baltimore, Maryland, as “Cal Ripken Way”.
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
Sarbanes sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Government Operations and Politics (47%) Health (21%) Education (21%) Energy (11%)
Recent Bills
Some of Sarbanes’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 3063: To amend the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to reauthorize the Chesapeake ...
- H.R. 2507: 21st Century Power Grid Act
- H.R. 1363: Federal Firefighter Flexibility and Fairness Act
- H.R. 1027: Hallways to Health Act
- H.R. 20: Government By the People Act of 2017
- H.R. 6324 (114th): No Lobbyists on Presidential Transition Teams Act
- H.R. 4234 (114th): Primary Care Physician Reentry Act of 2015
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Sarbanes’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Nay |
H.R. 1695: Register of Copyrights Selection and Accountability Act of 2017
Apr 26, 2017. Passed 378/48.
This bill would change the appointment process for the head of the U.S. Copyright Office, known as the Register of Copyrights. Currently the Register of Copyrights is hired by the Librarian of Congress (who is the head of the Library of Congress). This bill would ... |
| No |
S. 612: A bill to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 1300 Victoria Street in Laredo, Texas, as the “George P. Kazen Federal Building ...
Dec 8, 2016. Passed 360/61.
|
| No |
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 ... |
| No |
H.R. 1731: National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015
Apr 23, 2015. Passed 355/63.
|
| Aye |
H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 17, 2014. Passed 319/108.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 1765 (113th): Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013
Apr 26, 2013. Passed 361/41.
|
| Nay |
H.R. 3630 (112th): Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012
Feb 17, 2012. Passed 293/132.
|
| 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 ... |
| No |
H.R. 5349 (110th): To extend the Protect America Act of 2007 for 21 days.
Feb 13, 2008. Failed 191/229.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 2007 to Jun 2017, Sarbanes missed 106 of 7,990 roll call votes, which is 1.3%. This is better than the median of 2.2% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. ProPublica has tracked 17 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