Sarbanes is the representative for Maryland’s 3rd congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 4, 2007. Sarbanes is next up for reelection in 2020 and serves until Jan 3, 2021.
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![Photo of Rep. John Sarbanes [D-MD3]](/static/legislator-photos/412212-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2019 Report Card for Sarbanes.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Sarbanes 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 Sarbanes has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Oct 27, 2020. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
John Sarbanes sits on the following committees:
Enacted Legislation
Sarbanes was the primary sponsor of 5 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 6263: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to waive cost sharing under the Medicare program for certain visits relating to testing for COVID-19.
- 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”.
- H.R. 1388 (110th): Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail Act
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
Sarbanes sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Government Operations and Politics (45%) Health (30%) Energy (15%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (10%)
Recent Bills
Some of Sarbanes’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 6263: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to waive cost sharing ...
- H.R. 6037: Fair Access to Legal Counsel Act of 2020
- H.R. 5684: Chesapeake Bay Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2019
- H.R. 5527: 21st Century Power Grid Act
- H.R. 4707: Federal Firefighter Flexibility and Fairness Act
- H.R. 3850: Creating Candidate Capacity to Protect Act
- H.R. 2441: What You Can Do For Your Country Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2007 to Oct 2020, Sarbanes missed 121 of 9,795 roll call votes, which is 1.2%. This is better than 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
