Sen. Michael Bennet
Senator for Colorado
pronounced MĪ-kul // BEH-nut
Bennet is the senior senator from Colorado and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 22, 2009. Bennet is next up for reelection in 2028 and serves until Jan 3, 2029. He is 58 years old.
![Photo of Sen. Michael Bennet [D-CO]](/static/legislator-photos/412330-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2022 Report Card for Bennet.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Bennet is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the Senate 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 Bennet has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2019 to Sep 27, 2023. See full analysis methodology.
Committee Membership
Michael Bennet sits on the following committees:
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Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
- Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources subcommittee Chair
Rural Development and Energy subcommittees -
Senate Committee on Finance
- Taxation and IRS Oversight subcommittee Chair
- Senate Committee on Rules and Administration
- Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
Enacted Legislation
Bennet was the primary sponsor of 13 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- S. 1603 (117th): Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership Act of 2021
- S. 1897 (116th): A bill to establish a process for updating the labeling of certain drugs with outdated labeling.
- S. 1705 (116th): A bill to authorize the Every Word We Utter Monument to establish a commemorative work in the District of Columbia and its environs, and for other purposes.
- S. 2218 (115th): West Fork Fire Station Act of 2017
- S. 2073 (115th): National Forest System Vegetation Management Pilot Program Act of 2017
- S. 1705 (115th): Forest Service Flexible Partnerships Act of 2017
- S. 456 (115th): RACE for Children Act
Does 13 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
Bennet sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Public Lands and Natural Resources (24%) Health (22%) Taxation (15%) Government Operations and Politics (9%) Science, Technology, Communications (8%) Education (8%) Agriculture and Food (7%) Environmental Protection (5%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Bennet recently introduced the following legislation:
- S.Res. 377: A resolution recognizing Hispanic Restaurant Week and the contributions of Hispanic restaurant owners …
- S.Res. 364: Shutdown Accountability Resolution
- S. 2897: Give Kids a Chance Act of 2023
- S.Res. 355: A resolution recognizing the critical importance of access to reliable, clean drinking water …
- S. 2558: Joint Chiefs Reauthorization Act of 2023
- S. 2663: CONNECT Act of 2023
- S. 2604: Rural Outdoor Investment Act
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 2009 to Sep 2023, Bennet missed 172 of 4,833 roll call votes, which is 3.6%. This is worse than the median of 2.4% among the lifetime records of senators 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, major life events, and running for higher office. Legislators running for president or vice president typically miss votes while on the campaign trail — that’s normal. See our analysis of presidential candidates’ missed votes.
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
