Clark is the representative for Massachusetts’s 5th congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. She has served since Dec 12, 2013. Clark is next up for reelection in 2020.
![Photo of Rep. Katherine Clark [D-MA5]](/static/legislator-photos/412600-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2018 Report Card for Clark.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Clark 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 Clark has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2015 to Sep 19, 2019. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Katherine Clark sits on the following committees:
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House Committee on Appropriations
- Member, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Member, Subcommittee on Legislative Branch
- Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Enacted Legislation
Clark was the primary sponsor of 5 bills that were enacted:
- H.R. 5102: Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Act of 2018
- H.R. 3528: Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act
- H.R. 909: Pet and Women Safety Act of 2017
- H.R. 4599 (114th): Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016
- H.R. 1462 (114th): Protecting Our Infants Act of 2015
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
Clark sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Education (35%) Crime and Law Enforcement (28%) Health (17%) International Affairs (7%) Families (4%) Taxation (4%) Government Operations and Politics (4%)
Recent Bills
Some of Clark’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 4381: To effectively staff the public elementary schools and secondary schools of the United ...
- H.R. 4146: Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2019
- H.R. 4102: Screening All Fentanyl-Enhanced Mail Act of 2019
- H.R. 3555: Exposing Discrimination in Higher Education Act
- H.R. 2632: CCAMPIS Reauthorization Act
- H.R. 2148: BE HEARD in the Workplace Act
- H.R. 1724: Higher Education Access and Success for Homeless and Foster Youth Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Dec 2013 to Sep 2019, Clark missed 82 of 3,642 roll call votes, which is 2.3%. 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
