Chu is the representative for California’s 27th congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. She has served since Jan 3, 2013. Chu is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.
She was previously the representative for California’s 32nd congressional district as a Democrat from 2009 to 2012.
Misconduct/alleged misconduct
In 2017 Chu was investigated for having been arrested during a December protest outside of the White House. The House Committee on Ethics recommended no action as the fine has been paid.
| Dec. 21, 2017 | House Committee on Ethics recommended no action as the fine was paid |
In 2014 Chu received a letter of reproval for using House staff to perform campaign activities and then obstructing the investigation. The House Committee on Ethics concluded that the campaign work occured without her knowledge but because Chu attempted to obstruct the investigation, a letter of reproval was issued.
| Dec. 11, 2014 | House Committee on Ethics concluded that the campaign work occured without her knowledge but because Chu attempted to obstruct the investigation, a letter of reproval was issued |
![Photo of Rep. Judy Chu [D-CA27]](/static/legislator-photos/412379-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Chu 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 Chu has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 13, 2021. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Chu was the primary sponsor of 4 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 4761 (114th): To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 61 South Baldwin Avenue in Sierra Madre, California, as the “Louis Van Iersel Post Office”.
- H.R. 5060 (114th): Harry Lew Military Hazing Accountability and Prevention Act
- H.R. 6487 (111th): Preserving Foreign Criminal Assets for Forfeiture Act of 2010
- H.R. 5202 (111th): National School Lunch Protection Act of 2010
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
Chu sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Health (23%) Education (20%) Immigration (17%) Taxation (12%) Commerce (10%) Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (7%) Armed Forces and National Security (6%) Arts, Culture, Religion (4%)
Recent Bills
Some of Chu’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.Res. 1236: Recognizing the 80th birthday of Bruce Jun Fan Lee and the immense and ...
- H.Res. 1157: Expressing support for the recognition of September 28, 2020, to October 2, 2020, ...
- H.Res. 1137: Supporting the designation of the week of September 21 through September 25, 2020, ...
- H.Res. 1109: Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the founding of The Planetary Society.
- H.R. 8206: PEERS Act of 2020
- H.R. 7903: To amend the Small Business Act to establish the Community Advantage Loan Program.
- H.R. 7418: Encouraging Americans to Save Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jul 2009 to Jan 2021, Chu missed 206 of 7,423 roll call votes, which is 2.8%. 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.
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
