DeFazio is the representative for Oregon’s 4th congressional district (view map) and is a Democrat. He has served since Jan 6, 1987. DeFazio is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.
![Photo of Rep. Peter DeFazio [D-OR4]](/static/legislator-photos/400100-200px.jpeg)
Analysis
Legislative Metrics
Read our 2020 Report Card for DeFazio.
Ideology–Leadership Chart
DeFazio 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 DeFazio has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Jul 22, 2021. See full analysis methodology.
Ratings from Advocacy Organizations
Committee Membership
Peter DeFazio sits on the following committees:
Enacted Legislation
DeFazio was the primary sponsor of 27 bills that were enacted. The most recent include:
- H.R. 1418 (116th): Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2020
- H.R. 8408 (116th): Aircraft Certification Reform and Accountability Act
- H.R. 8504 (116th): Payroll Support Program Extension Act
- H.R. 7575 (116th): Water Resources Development Act of 2020
- H.R. 2197 (116th): John F. Kennedy Center Reauthorization Act of 2019
- H.R. 1056 (116th): Frank and Jeanne Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act
- H.R. 993 (116th): Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Special Management Area Designation Act
Does 27 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
DeFazio sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:
Transportation and Public Works (39%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (13%) Health (13%) Taxation (10%) Armed Forces and National Security (7%) Social Welfare (6%) Environmental Protection (6%) Government Operations and Politics (6%)
Recent Bills
Some of DeFazio’s most recently sponsored bills include...
- H.R. 4042: Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2021
- H.R. 3684: INVEST in America Act
- H.R. 3095: Fair and Open Skies Act
- H.R. 3033: Resilient Ports Act
- H.R. 2918: Continuous Improvement and Accountability in Organic Standards Act
- H.R. 2770: Healthy Flights Act of 2021
- H.R. 2509: Selective Service Repeal Act
Voting Record
Key Votes
Missed Votes
From Jan 1987 to Jul 2021, DeFazio missed 854 of 21,111 roll call votes, which is 4.0%. This is worse than the median of 2.1% 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
- 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
