Vargas is the representative for California’s 51st congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 3, 2013. Vargas is next up for reelection in 2020.
![Photo of Rep. Juan Vargas [D-CA51]](/static/legislator-photos/412522-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Vargas.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Vargas 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 liberal–conservative ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).
The chart is based on the bills Vargas has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Apr 18, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Juan Vargas sits on the following committees:
- House Committee on Financial Services
-
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Member, Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa, and International Terrorism
- Member, Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Civilian Security, and Trade
Bills Sponsored
Issue Areas
Vargas sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Immigration (19%) International Affairs (17%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (14%) Environmental Protection (14%) Armed Forces and National Security (14%) Health (11%) Housing and Community Development (6%) Native Americans (6%)
Recent Bills
Some of Vargas’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 1031: Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2019
- H.R. 928: Immigrant Veterans Eligibility Tracking System (I-VETS) Act
- H.R. 623: To deem an alien who has been issued an employment authorization document under ...
- H.R. 502: FIND Trafficking Act
- H.R. 486: Chicano Park Preservation Act
- H.R. 358: California New River Restoration Act of 2019
- H.R. 6801: RaD Fund Act of 2018
Voting Record
Key Votes
| Vargas’s Vote | Vote Description |
|---|---|
| Yea |
H.R. 6157: Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019
Sep 26, 2018. Passed 361/61.
H.R. 6157 provides $674.6 billion in total discretionary budget authority for the Department of Defense for fiscal year (FY) 2019. The bill provides $606.5 billion for the Department of Defense base budget, which is an increase of $17.1 billion above FY18 levels, and $68.1 billion ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 6082: Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act
Jun 20, 2018. Passed 357/57.
H.R. 6082 amends the Public Health Service Act to permit substance use disorder (SUD) records to be shared among covered entities and Part 2 programs in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), for the purposes of treatment, payment, and ... |
| Yea |
H.R. 1638: Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act
Dec 13, 2017. Passed 289/135.
H.R. 1638 requires the Department of Treasury to provide a report to help further efforts to prevent the financing of terrorism, money laundering, or related illicit finance and to help clarify for financial institutions and legitimate businesses ways they can comply with remaining sanctions. The ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 2825: DHS Authorization Act of 2017
Jul 20, 2017. Passed 386/41.
H.R. 2825 authorizes the activities of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and provides necessary oversight and guidance to the Department to ensure that it is effectively carrying out the mission of securing the homeland. A full section-by-section of the legislation can be found here ... |
| Nay |
H.R. 1039: Probation Officer Protection Act of 2017
May 19, 2017. Passed 229/177.
H.R. 1039 amends the federal criminal code to authorize a probation officer to arrest a person, without warrant, if there is probable cause to believe that person forcibly assaulted or obstructed a probation officer while performing their official duties. The bill also would direct the ... |
| No |
H.J.Res. 43: Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the final rule submitted by Secretary of Health and Human Services relating ...
Feb 16, 2017. Passed 230/188.
Joe Biden never got the opportunity to break a single 50-50 Senate tie in eight years as vice president. Mike Pence has already broken two. One from last month has since become law: a measure allowing states to withhold federal Planned Parenthood funding. (The other ... |
| 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.
|
| Yea |
H.R. 5461: Iranian Leadership Asset Transparency Act
Sep 21, 2016. Passed 282/143.
|
| 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 ... |
| Aye |
H.J.Res. 124 (113th): Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015
Sep 17, 2014. Passed 319/108.
|
| No |
H.R. 3309 (113th): Innovation Act
Dec 5, 2013. Passed 325/91.
|
Missed Votes
From Jan 2013 to Apr 2019, Vargas missed 86 of 3,906 roll call votes, which is 2.2%. This is on par with the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.
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
