Rahall was the representative for West Virginia’s 3rd congressional district and was a Democrat. He served from 1993 to 2014.
He was previously the representative for West Virginia’s 4th congressional district as a Democrat from 1977 to 1992.
![Photo of Rep. Nick Rahall [D-WV3, 1993-2014]](/static/legislator-photos/400331-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2014 Report Card for Rahall.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
Rahall is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot was a member of the House of Representatives in 2014 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 Rahall sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 6, 2009 to Dec 11, 2014. See full analysis methodology.
Enacted Legislation
Rahall was the primary sponsor of 14 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 3689 (111th): To provide for an extension of the legislative authority of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. to establish a Vietnam Veterans Memorial visitor center, and for other …
- H.R. 1109 (111th): Wild Monongahela Act: A National Legacy for West Virginia’s Special Places
- H.R. 6 (110th): Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
- H.R. 3858 (107th): New River Gorge Boundary Act of 2002
- H.R. 3646 (106th): For the relief of certain Persian Gulf evacuees.
- H.R. 2178 (103rd): Hazardous Materials Transportation Act Amendments of 1993
- H.R. 2763 (102nd): National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992
Does 14 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
Rahall sponsored bills primarily in these issue areas:
Public Lands and Natural Resources (25%) Transportation and Public Works (22%) Environmental Protection (12%) Armed Forces and National Security (12%) Labor and Employment (9%) Government Operations and Politics (6%) Health (6%) Arts, Culture, Religion (6%)
Recently Introduced Bills
Rahall recently introduced the following legislation:
- H.R. 3380 (113th): To delay any increases in premium rates for flood insurance coverage under …
- H.Con.Res. 57 (113th): Expressing the opposition of the Congress to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed …
- H.R. 2841 (113th): Guard and Reserve Equal Access to Health Act
- H.R. 2428 (113th): SAFE Bridges Act of 2013
- H.J.Res. 42 (113th): Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to clarify …
- H.R. 1486 (113th): No Carbon Tax Act of 2013
- H.R. 1066 (113th): To amend the Indian Arts and Crafts Act to clarify the definition …
View All » | View Cosponsors »
Most legislation has no activity after being introduced.
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1977 to Dec 2014, Rahall missed 844 of 22,834 roll call votes, which is 3.7%. This is worse than the median of 2.5% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Dec 2014. 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
- United States Congressional Roll Call Voting Records, 1789-1990 by Howard L. Rosenthal and Keith T. Poole.
- Martis’s “The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress”, via Keith Poole’s roll call votes data set, for political party affiliation for Members of Congress from 1789 through about year 2000
- GPO Member Guide for the photo
- GovInfo.gov, for sponsored bills
