Simpson is the representative for Idaho’s 2nd congressional district (view map) and is a Republican. He has served since Jan 6, 1999. Simpson is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.
![Photo of Rep. Michael “Mike” Simpson [R-ID2]](/static/legislator-photos/400376-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Simpson 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 Simpson has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Jan 19, 2021. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Enacted Legislation
Simpson was the primary sponsor of 21 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 482: To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes.
- H.R. 483: To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain public land within the Henry’s Lake Wilderness Study Area in the State of Idaho to resolve an unauthorized ...
- H.R. 5895 (115th): Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019
- H.R. 3266 (115th): Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018
- H.R. 2028 (114th): Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017
- H.R. 812 (114th): Indian Trust Asset Reform Act
- H.R. 1138 (114th): Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act
Does 21 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
Simpson sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Public Lands and Natural Resources (63%) Law (21%) Economics and Public Finance (16%)
Recent Bills
Some of Simpson’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 320: To amend title 28, United States Code, to provide for the appointment of ...
- H.R. 319: To authorize an additional district judgeship for the district of Idaho.
- H.R. 1113: Statistical Area Fairness Act of 2019
- H.R. 1026: LAND Act
- H.R. 482: To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and ...
- H.R. 483: To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain public land within ...
- H.R. 215: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2019
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1999 to Jan 2021, Simpson missed 491 of 14,493 roll call votes, which is 3.4%. This is worse than 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